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Abstract
The distribution of methanotrophs was examined in shallow aquifers contaminated with trichloroethylene in the southern Kanto gas field, Chiba, Japan. The total populations of methanotrophs and the numbers of methanotrophs producing soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) were determined separately. Hydrostratigraphic units of a Pleistocene to Holocene stratum consisted of three aquifers separated by nontransmissive silt layers. Dissolved methane concentrations increased with depth and were highest in the third aquifer. The number of methanotrophs was higher in the second aquifer than in the first aquifer. A clear relationship was observed between microbial populations and lithofacies. The greatest abundance of methanotrophs was observed in the coarse sand layers of the second aquifer, with the lowest abundance observed in silt layers. The high abundance of methanotrophs in the coarse sand in the second aquifer implied that this part of the stratum plays an important role in in situ bioremediation.