Barbara Bayer

Microorganisms in aquatic ecosystems produce the strong greenhouse gas methane – and other specialized microorganisms break it down again. However, we do not fully understand yet which microbial processes are involved and how changes in environmental factors affect the natural methane cycle. The ERC project METHANIAQ investigates how the over-fertilization of oceans and lakes affects the production and degradation of methane and which microorganisms are involved in these processes. The overarching goal is to thereby better understand the contributions of aquatic ecosystems to global methane emissions in the future.