Nüsslein Lab- teresa Conneely

Patricia Waldron
pwaldron@microbio.umass.edu

Subsurface Methanogenesis Microbes from the Antrim Shale

Core drilled from the Antrim Shale Deposit outside Alpena, MI

In the Antrim shale of Northern Michigan large quantities of biogenic methane are released by microbes living in the subsurface. The isotopic fractionation of the gases released from gas wells indicate that this is a biogenic rather than a thermogenic process. I am interested in revealing the consortia of microbes involved in the pathways used to decompose organic matter within the shale to create methane. It is likely that a number of microbes, such as hydrolytic, fermenting, homoacetogenic, synthrophic and methanogenic organisms are active in this pathway. By characterizing the populations of microbes present, through culture and molecular analysis we hope to have a greater understanding of the communities that are actively generating methane, and how their syntrophic interactions support life in this extreme environment.

Patricia Waldron on site

Patricia Waldron’s CV

Collaborators:
Dr. Steven Petsch, UMASS Geosciences
Dr. Anna Martini, Amherst College Geology

Methanogen Links:
·Methanogen Overview from Kenyon College

Natural Gas Links:
·ICDP Gas Hydrite Sediment Project
·USGS Fact Sheet on Gas Hydrates
·Gas Research Institute ·Nation Energy Technology Laboratory: Strategic Center for Natural Gas and Oil