Environment

Newly Discovered Microbe in Melting Tundra

A microbe recently discovered in the melting Arctic permafrost appears to be releasing vast amounts of the greenhouse gas methane, possibly speeding up climate change.

Methanoflorens stordalenmirensis “breathes out methane like we breathe out carbon dioxide,” said lead author Carmody McCalley, a scientist at the Earth Systems Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.

Methane makes up only about 9 percent of all the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but it can store up to 21 times more heat than carbon dioxide.

Researchers say they hope the microbic discovery will help scientists improve their simulations of future climate by providing a more accurate picture of how thawing permafrost releases greenhouse gases.

An instrument measuring methane emissions from Methanoflorens stordalenmirensis in northern Sweden