Glacial/interglacial wetland, biomass burning, and geologic methane emissions constrained by dual stable isotopic CH4 ice core records

Polar ice is a unique archive of past atmosphere. Here, we present methane stable isotope records (used as source fingerprint) for the current and two past interglacials and their preceding glacial maxima. Our data are used to constrain global emissions of methane. Tropical wetlands and floodplains...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Main Authors: Bock, Michael, Schmitt, Jochen, Beck, Jonas, Seth, Barbara, Chappellaz, Jérôme, Fischer, Hubertus
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: National Academy of Sciences 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5530640/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28673973
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1613883114
Description
Summary:Polar ice is a unique archive of past atmosphere. Here, we present methane stable isotope records (used as source fingerprint) for the current and two past interglacials and their preceding glacial maxima. Our data are used to constrain global emissions of methane. Tropical wetlands and floodplains seem to be the dominant sources of atmospheric methane changes, steered by past variations in sea level, monsoon intensity, temperature, and the water table. In contrast, geologic emissions of methane are stable over a wide range of climatic conditions. The long-term shift seen in both isotopes for the last 25,000 y compared with older intervals is likely connected to changes in the terrestrial biosphere and fire regimes as a consequence of megafauna extinction.