Marsh gas

thumb|248x248px|Bubbles of methane, created by methanogens, that are present in the marsh, more commonly known as marsh gas.

Marsh gas, also known as swamp gas or bog gas, is a mixture primarily of methane and smaller amounts of hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and trace phosphine that is produced naturally within some geographical marshes, swamps, and bogs.

The surface of marshes, swamps, and bogs is initially porous vegetation that rots to form a crust that prevents oxygen from reaching the organic material trapped below. That is the condition that allows anaerobic digestion and fermentation of any plant or animal matter, which then produces methane.

The trapped methane can escape through any of three main pathways: by the diffusion of methane molecules across an air–water interface, by bubbling out of water in a process known as ebullition, or through plant-mediated transport.

Methane formation

Methane is the primary gas that makes up the product colloquially known as "marsh gas". Much of the biogenic methane produced in nature is derived from either acetate cleavage or by the hydrogen reduction of carbon dioxide. Methane can also be produced by methanogens, archaea that produce methane under anoxic conditions, in a process known as methanogenesis. Methanogenic genera Methanosarcina are common in marsh environments. They are both known to stimulate methane production in aquatic muds and use acetate, methanol, and trimethylamine as substrates for methane production.

Escape routes

Global wetlands are one of the largest sources of atmospheric methane. This methane, which is produced by the decomposition of organic matter in an anoxic environment, escapes through either diffusion, a process that occurs mostly at night, ebullition, or plant-mediated transportation.thumb|600x600px|Methane gas escaping via three routes: ebullition (bubbling), plant-mediated transport, and diffusion.|centerThe diffusive process is controlled by the passage of gas across the air–water interface.

Ebullition, also known as bubbling, is a type of one-way transport of gases from nutrient rich sediments, to the water column, and then to the atmosphere. It is a major mechanism for gas exchange in freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems and is known to peak during the daytime and at warm temperatures. It has been reported that ebullition is responsible for 45% of the annual methane flux for fresh water marshes

Methane formation

Escape routes

See also

References