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Methane as a novel energy subsidy in rivers: old or new carbon?

甲烷作为河流的新型能源补贴：旧碳还是新碳？

基本信息

批准号：
NE/H011366/1
负责人：
Mark Trimmer
金额：
$ 5.93万
依托单位：
Queen Mary University of London
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2010
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2010 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FH011366%2F1
关键词：
Methane novel energy subsidy rivers

项目摘要

We are probably all familiar with the basic principle that life on earth is reliant on plant production driven by the sun's energy. There was a great deal of interest in 1977 when images of bizarre 6ft tubeworms and giant clams came up from the depths of the Pacific to reveal significant production, indeed whole communities, far below the influence of the sun's rays. These organisms were being fuelled, not by light, but by chemical energy from the core of the Earth itself. Such a mode of life would seem rather strange in the classic chalk rivers of southern England fished by J.R. Hartley! However, using a technique known as stable isotope analysis, we have demonstrated that this may actually be the case. We measured the stable carbon isotope values of common aquatic invertebrates (insects and crustaceans) and their food sources in the River Lambourn. Some invertebrates such as Gammarus shrimps and Simulium fly larvae reflected that of the dominant plant food sources in the river, whereas the cased larvae of the caddisflies Agapetus, Silo and Drusus indicated that their food source was likely to be derived partly from methane as a carbon source (up to 30%). We have identified such alternative 'fuelling' of food webs before in stagnant lakes but not in 'pristine' chalk rivers. Of course, methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and the more we know about how it is produced and cycled in the environment, the better. What could be even more exciting is the prospect that the original source of methane in groundwater fed rivers is both a subsidy to the system and ancient i.e. potentially formed thousands of years ago. Here we ask a simple question: Is there or is there not an ancient signal in the invertebrates from CH4? If we can show that a typically <1 year old invertebrate is made up in part by >100+ year old carbon, then this would change our perception of the ecology of such commonplace habitats. Hence, our proposal to combine the expertise from Queen Mary University of London in stable isotopes and biogeochemical cycling, with the expertise from Queen's University Belfast in radiocarbon dating to pursue such research.

我们可能都熟悉这个基本原理：地球上的生命依赖于由太阳能驱动的植物生产。1977年，当奇怪的6英尺长的管虫和巨大的蛤蜊从太平洋深处浮出水面时，人们引起了极大的兴趣，因为它们揭示了大量的生产，实际上是整个群落，远远低于太阳光线的影响。这些生物的能量来源不是光，而是地球内核本身的化学能。在J.R.哈特利捕鱼的英格兰南部经典白垩河中，这样的生活方式看起来相当奇怪！然而，使用一种被称为稳定同位素分析的技术，我们已经证明这可能是真的。测量了兰伯恩河中常见的水生无脊椎动物（昆虫和甲壳类）及其食物来源的稳定碳同位素值。一些无脊椎动物如Gammarus虾和Simulium蝇幼虫反映了河流中主要的植物食物来源，而Agapetus， Silo和Drusus的幼虫则表明它们的食物来源可能部分来自甲烷作为碳源（高达30%）。我们以前在停滞的湖泊中发现过这种食物网的替代“燃料”，但在“原始的”白垩河中却没有。当然，甲烷是一种强大的温室气体，我们对它是如何产生和在环境中循环的了解越多越好。更令人兴奋的是，河流地下水中甲烷的原始来源既是对该系统的补贴，也是古老的，即可能形成于数千年前。这里我们问一个简单的问题：在无脊椎动物体内有没有来自CH4的古老信号？如果我们能证明一个典型的小于1岁的无脊椎动物是由100多岁的碳组成的，那么这将改变我们对这种常见栖息地生态的看法。因此，我们建议将伦敦玛丽女王大学在稳定同位素和生物地球化学循环方面的专业知识与贝尔法斯特女王大学在放射性碳定年方面的专业知识结合起来进行这方面的研究。