Dr. Davide Oppo is an associate professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s School of Geosciences. He recently embarked on a research project investigating the role of methane seepage in the ocean’s carbon cycle. The project researches the process of methane release into the atmosphere from the seafloor and how methane emission can be reduced.
Oppo is a geologist whose research interests include methane seepage, marine geology, sedimentology and continental margins processes.
Oppo shared, “What we are doing is a very multi-disciplinary and broadly focused approach with a lot of different methodologies.
I am working with colleagues from other universities to really try to understand not only what is the geological control that allows this methane to move up and reach the seafloor where it is emitted but also to understand what all the processes are, chemical and biological.”
The process of methane escaping from the seafloor is a completely natural process, and this research project studies exactly how this happens along the Atlantic coast of the United States.
Methane is a very good source of energy for a lot of microorganisms such as bacteria which consume methane to sustain their lives. Due to this, those microorganisms are one of the main ways to remove methane from the environment to convert into something else, either into organic matter or into other minerals. Oppo and his team are looking at this as a solution to reducing methane emission.
When a lot of methane is put on the ocean floor, a very particular kind of chemical environment that is specialized and different from what is usually found on the bottom of the ocean, is created. In return, specialized organisms are required because oxygen levels may be lower and there may be other compounds in the water which may make life a little difficult to sustain at the bottom of the ocean.
When a lot of methane is emitted, the environment around them can be altered, potentially along large scale areas, especially the continental margins. Thus, extensive areas that are altered scientifically and purposefully will start to develop.
At the same time, the project seeks to understand what happens to the methane when it reaches around the seafloor and when it interacts with the microorganisms. If a lot of methane is escaping at the same time, it may reach the ocean surface and rise into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change. Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas, and the greenhouse effect caused by it is much more severe compared to carbon dioxide.
Currently, a lot of methane is trapped in shallow sub-surfaces in the oceans as gas hydrates, which are ice masses. As the temperature and chemistry of the environment changes due to the greenhouse effect, the ice melts and releases the methane into the atmosphere.
Oppo said, “So one of the big things that many people including us are trying to study at the moment is trying to understand where these gas hydrates are to really understand where we can have a potential big emission of methane in case we change the conditions of the seafloor.”
With the ocean warming up over the years due to climate change, this temperature incline can eventually transfer deeper into water columns. This causes the ice to be unstable and release the methane trapped within. This means there is a very high probability of the methane reaching the atmosphere, and it keeps increasing and raising the temperature of the atmosphere and the ocean.
This research project came about because all the methane that is escaping in the Atlantic margin of the US was not known to be happening until about 10 years ago. Furthermore, there was a lot of methane being released, so there was a crucial need to understand it and the processes involved.
When asked how this research project was decided on, Oppo said, “That specific project came about because there is a need of understanding that and because that is what I am interested in doing at the present and in the near future so I decided one day that I wanted to work on that. I had to reach out to a couple of colleagues and we said okay let’s find a way to do it, we wrote a proposal and got funding for it.”
The team for this project consists of four main principal investigators (PI) from UL Lafayette, University of Mississippi, University of Delaware and University of Georgia. Oppo shared, “What we do is very complementary but also very different from one another.”
Each PI works in a different area, and eventually the data and results each of them produce will be put together to have a 360 degrees overview of how the specific system of methane seepage works and potentially move and extrapolate from their little scope of research to a more general and broader case study.
Oppo and his team received a nearly three million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Ocean Sciences Division for this research project. The National Science Foundation has various open calls for research proposals, and the team submitted their proposal to the foundation through the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at UL Lafayette.
The grant received will go towards their hefty budget needed for instruments and resources required for their field expeditions as well as the costs for personnel, student workers and laboratory expenses.
This research project and the grant is significant for the School of Geosciences as well as the university. Besides bringing in funds for resources and students, it increases the collaboration between the College of Sciences at UL Lafayette and the colleges at other institutions. Oppo stated, “It really builds up a network of collaboration or strengthens it and that’s what creates future opportunities to do other things.”
Additionally, the media coverage will showcase the research potential of the College of Sciences. In recent years, UL Lafayette was designated as a Carnegie R1 university, which cemented the school’s position as a top-tier research institution. This project will contribute to the university’s R1 status, further making it recognized in Louisiana and in the country.