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

• 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: PNAS Plus; ice core
• 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

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.