ИСТИНА

he question of the origin of methane and activity of methanogenesis at low temperatures remains unclear. Methane production was observed at low temperatures in the laboratory during a long-term experiment. Samples of frozen soils were taken from Yakutsk (Russia), Fairbanks (USA) and Tomakomai (Japan) and incubated at – 5 °C in order to study methane production. The soil was incubated in glass flasks for 4.5 years under anaerobic conditions. The measurement of methane content in the air of the flasks was conducted at various intervals, from one week to a month. During the experiment some samples were thawed and frozen again. There was little observed methane emission from the Yakutsk samples. The emission from the Alaskan and Tomakomai samples was slow. However, methane concentration in the air of flasks increased significantly at thawing