Lalk et al. (2025): Organic Matter Availability and the Production of Methane-Derived Dissolved Organic Carbon at Methane Seeps

Ellen Lalk, John W. Pohlman, Laura L. Lapham, IN: Global Biogeochemical Cycles, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GB008535

Methane seeps located along continental margins and slopes export sedimentary methane and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) into the ocean. The flux of these reduced carbon molecules from the seafloor into the ocean impacts ocean chemistry and supports deep-sea life. While significant effort has been made to understand how the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) regulates the release of methane from the seafloor, little is known about the production of DOC in association with AOM or its flux and fate in the ocean. The authors hypothesize a mechanism for methane incorporation into DOC at seeps and investigate the relationship between sediment total organic carbon (TOC) availability and the incorporation of methane-derived carbon into DOC at four methane seep regions along the Cascadia margin, with a range of microbial and thermogenic methane sources.

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