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How do deep-sea archaea remove methane from marine sediments?
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Archaea
Archaea are found in a diverse range of extreme environments, including the salt deposits on the shores of the Dead Sea.
In deep-sea marine sediments, uncultivated organisms belonging to the subdivision Euryarchaeota are responsible for removing methane. They accomplish this through the anaerobic oxidation of methane stored within those sediments. This process is ecologically significant because it helps mitigate the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the environment.1