Large changes in biomass burning over the last millennium inferred from paleoatmospheric ethane in polar ice cores
Biomass burning drives changes in greenhouse gases, climate-forcing aerosols, and global atmospheric chemistry. There is controversy about the magnitude and timing of changes in biomass burning emissions on millennial time scales from preindustrial to present and about the relative importance of cli...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:6298114 2023-05-15T13:59:39+02:00 Large changes in biomass burning over the last millennium inferred from paleoatmospheric ethane in polar ice cores Nicewonger, Melinda R. Aydin, Murat Prather, Michael J. Saltzman, Eric S. 2018-12-04 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6298114/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30455300 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807172115 en eng National Academy of Sciences http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6298114/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30455300 http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807172115 Published under the PNAS license (http://www.pnas.org/site/aboutpnas/licenses.xhtml) . Physical Sciences Text 2018 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807172115 2019-06-09T00:09:48Z Biomass burning drives changes in greenhouse gases, climate-forcing aerosols, and global atmospheric chemistry. There is controversy about the magnitude and timing of changes in biomass burning emissions on millennial time scales from preindustrial to present and about the relative importance of climate change and human activities as the underlying cause. Biomass burning is one of two notable sources of ethane in the preindustrial atmosphere. Here, we present ice core ethane measurements from Antarctica and Greenland that contain information about changes in biomass burning emissions since 1000 CE (Common Era). The biomass burning emissions of ethane during the Medieval Period (1000–1500 CE) were higher than present day and declined sharply to a minimum during the cooler Little Ice Age (1600–1800 CE). Assuming that preindustrial atmospheric reactivity and transport were the same as in the modern atmosphere, we estimate that biomass burning emissions decreased by 30 to 45% from the Medieval Period to the Little Ice Age. The timing and magnitude of this decline in biomass burning emissions is consistent with that inferred from ice core methane stable carbon isotope ratios but inconsistent with histories based on sedimentary charcoal and ice core carbon monoxide measurements. This study demonstrates that biomass burning emissions have exceeded modern levels in the past and may be highly sensitive to changes in climate. Text Antarc* Antarctica Greenland ice core PubMed Central (PMC) Greenland Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115 49 12413 12418 |
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Physical Sciences Nicewonger, Melinda R. Aydin, Murat Prather, Michael J. Saltzman, Eric S. Large changes in biomass burning over the last millennium inferred from paleoatmospheric ethane in polar ice cores |
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Physical Sciences |
description |
Biomass burning drives changes in greenhouse gases, climate-forcing aerosols, and global atmospheric chemistry. There is controversy about the magnitude and timing of changes in biomass burning emissions on millennial time scales from preindustrial to present and about the relative importance of climate change and human activities as the underlying cause. Biomass burning is one of two notable sources of ethane in the preindustrial atmosphere. Here, we present ice core ethane measurements from Antarctica and Greenland that contain information about changes in biomass burning emissions since 1000 CE (Common Era). The biomass burning emissions of ethane during the Medieval Period (1000–1500 CE) were higher than present day and declined sharply to a minimum during the cooler Little Ice Age (1600–1800 CE). Assuming that preindustrial atmospheric reactivity and transport were the same as in the modern atmosphere, we estimate that biomass burning emissions decreased by 30 to 45% from the Medieval Period to the Little Ice Age. The timing and magnitude of this decline in biomass burning emissions is consistent with that inferred from ice core methane stable carbon isotope ratios but inconsistent with histories based on sedimentary charcoal and ice core carbon monoxide measurements. This study demonstrates that biomass burning emissions have exceeded modern levels in the past and may be highly sensitive to changes in climate. |
format |
Text |
author |
Nicewonger, Melinda R. Aydin, Murat Prather, Michael J. Saltzman, Eric S. |
author_facet |
Nicewonger, Melinda R. Aydin, Murat Prather, Michael J. Saltzman, Eric S. |
author_sort |
Nicewonger, Melinda R. |
title |
Large changes in biomass burning over the last millennium inferred from paleoatmospheric ethane in polar ice cores |
title_short |
Large changes in biomass burning over the last millennium inferred from paleoatmospheric ethane in polar ice cores |
title_full |
Large changes in biomass burning over the last millennium inferred from paleoatmospheric ethane in polar ice cores |
title_fullStr |
Large changes in biomass burning over the last millennium inferred from paleoatmospheric ethane in polar ice cores |
title_full_unstemmed |
Large changes in biomass burning over the last millennium inferred from paleoatmospheric ethane in polar ice cores |
title_sort |
large changes in biomass burning over the last millennium inferred from paleoatmospheric ethane in polar ice cores |
publisher |
National Academy of Sciences |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6298114/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30455300 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807172115 |
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Greenland |
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Greenland |
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Antarc* Antarctica Greenland ice core |
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Antarc* Antarctica Greenland ice core |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6298114/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30455300 http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807172115 |
op_rights |
Published under the PNAS license (http://www.pnas.org/site/aboutpnas/licenses.xhtml) . |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807172115 |
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
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115 |
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49 |
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12413 |
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12418 |
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1766268324075798528 |