REVIEW article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Biogeochemistry
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1609892
This article is part of the Research TopicBiogeochemical Cycles in Marine Sediments: Insights from Elemental Enrichment, Mineralogy, and Stable Isotope VariabilityView all articles
Anaerobic oxidation of methane by manganese oxides in marine sediments: A review
Provisionally accepted
- 1Beijing International Center for Gas Hydrate, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
- 2National Engineering Research Center for Gas Hydrate Exploration and Development, Guangzhou, China
- 3The Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
- 4Beijing Key Laboratory of Mineral Environmental Function, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
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Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is a key methane sink in marine sediments, driven by electron acceptors such as sulfate, nitrate, and metal oxides. Manganese (Mn) oxides, owing to their high oxidizing capacity and rapid turnover, are also recognized as critical oxidants in AOM. However, Mn-AOM has not been well reviewed although several relevant studies have been published. In this paper, current results about Mn-AOM are summarized by synthesizing its geochemical characteristics, pathways for manganese activity, and microbial communities involved under certain marine environments. Two dominant pathways have been proposed for microbial involvement in Mn-AOM in marine sediments: direct AOM coupled to Mn oxide reduction, and indirect AOM via Mn oxide-mediated sulfate reduction. Mn-AOM activity is observed in methane-rich cold seeps or continental margins with substantial Mn oxides input.Future research efforts are still needed to prioritize quantifying the role of Mn-AOM in global carbon and marine manganese cycles.
Keywords: manganese oxide, Aom (anaerobic oxidation of methane), Mn-AOM, microbial communities, marine sediments
Received: 11 Apr 2025; Accepted: 16 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xue, Lu, Li, Yang, Tang and Lu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Hailong Lu, Beijing International Center for Gas Hydrate, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
Hailin Yang, Beijing International Center for Gas Hydrate, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
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