Methane is supersaturated in surface seawater and shallow coastal waters dominate global
ocean methane emissions to the atmosphere. Aerobic methane oxidation (MOx) can reduce
atmospheric evasion, but the magnitude and control of MOx remain poorly understood. Here
we investigate methane sources and fates in the East China Sea and map global MOx rates
in shallow waters by training machine-learning models. We show methane is produced
during methylphosphonate decomposition under phosphate-limiting conditions and …