The concentration of atmospheric methane is strongly linked to variations in Earth’s climate. Currently, we can directly reconstruct the total atmospheric concentration of methane, but not individual terms of the methane cycle. Northern wetlands, dominated by Sphagnum, are an important contributor of atmospheric methane, and we seek to understand the methane cycle in these systems. We present a...

Tyler B. Coplen*, Willi A. Brand, Matthias Gehre, Manfred Gröning, Harro A. J. Meijer, Blaza Toman and R. Michael Verkouteren US Geological Survey, 431 National Center, Reston, VA 20192, USA Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, Beutenberg Campus, P.O. Box 100164, 07701 Jena, Germany UFZ Umweltforschungszentrum Leipzig-Halle GmbH, Labor für Stabile Isotope, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig...

Understanding the carbon sources supporting aquatic consumers in large rivers is essential for the protection of ecological integrity and for wildlife management. The relative importance of terrestrial and algal carbon to the aquatic food webs is still under intensive debate. The Yangtze River is the largest river in China and the third longest river in the world. The completion of the Three Go...

Introduction William ‘‘Bill’’ Back (Figure 1) was one of the great ‘‘idea people’’ in low-temperature geochemistry during the blossoming of ground water hydrology in the latter half of the twentieth century. Prior to the1950s, most of the research in ground water chemistry was related to water quality and was carried out by chemists who rarely ventured into the field. Bill, Ivan Barnes, Bruce H...

BACKGROUND Environmental agencies have to take measures to either reduce discharges and emissions of nitrate or to remediate nitrate-polluted water bodies where the nitrate concentrations exceed threshold values. Isotope data can support the identification of nitrate pollution sources and natural attenuation processes of nitrate. REVIEW This review article gives an overview of the information...

Biostimulation is one of the most mature methods of bioremediation of hydrocarbons, yet recent advances in geophysics, stable isotope analyses, and molecular microbiology promise dramatic increases in the depth, breadth, and throughput of biostimulation strategies. Using a systems biology approach we can now understand not only what microbes are present, but their in situ activities to trace nu...