Methylotrophic communities associated with a Greenland Ice Sheet methane release hotspot

Subglacial environments provide conditions suitable for the microbial production of methane, an important greenhouse gas, which can be released from beneath the ice as a result of glacial melting. High gaseous methane emissions have recently been discovered at Russell Glacier, an outlet of the southwestern margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet, acting not only as a potential climate amplifier but also as a substrate for methane consuming microorganisms. The goal of the study was to describe the composition of the microbial assemblage exported in meltwater from the methane release hotspot at Russell Glacier and its changes over the melt season and as it travels downstream.