Late Holocene methane rise caused by orbitally controlled increase in tropical sources
Considerable debate surrounds the source of the apparently ‘anomalous’1 increase of atmospheric methane concentrations since the mid-Holocene (5,000 years ago) compared to previous interglacial periods as recorded in polar ice core records2. Proposed mechanisms for the rise in methane concentrations...
Published in: | Nature |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Nature Publishing
2011
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/33541/ https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/33541/1/nature09739.pdf |
id |
ftunivreading:oai:centaur.reading.ac.uk:33541 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivreading:oai:centaur.reading.ac.uk:33541 2024-06-23T07:53:43+00:00 Late Holocene methane rise caused by orbitally controlled increase in tropical sources Singarayer, Joy S. Valdes, Paul J. Friedlingstein, Pierre Nelson, Sarah Beerling, David J. 2011-02 text https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/33541/ https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/33541/1/nature09739.pdf en eng Nature Publishing https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/33541/1/nature09739.pdf Singarayer, J. S. <https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/view/creators/90005422.html>, Valdes, P. J., Friedlingstein, P., Nelson, S. and Beerling, D. J. (2011) Late Holocene methane rise caused by orbitally controlled increase in tropical sources. Nature, 470 (7332). pp. 82-85. ISSN 1476-4687 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09739 <https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09739> Article PeerReviewed 2011 ftunivreading https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09739 2024-06-11T15:01:09Z Considerable debate surrounds the source of the apparently ‘anomalous’1 increase of atmospheric methane concentrations since the mid-Holocene (5,000 years ago) compared to previous interglacial periods as recorded in polar ice core records2. Proposed mechanisms for the rise in methane concentrations relate either to methane emissions from anthropogenic early rice cultivation1, 3 or an increase in natural wetland emissions from tropical4 or boreal sources5, 6. Here we show that our climate and wetland simulations of the global methane cycle over the last glacial cycle (the past 130,000 years) recreate the ice core record and capture the late Holocene increase in methane concentrations. Our analyses indicate that the late Holocene increase results from natural changes in the Earth's orbital configuration, with enhanced emissions in the Southern Hemisphere tropics linked to precession-induced modification of seasonal precipitation. Critically, our simulations capture the declining trend in methane concentrations at the end of the last interglacial period (115,000–130,000 years ago) that was used to diagnose the Holocene methane rise as unique. The difference between the two time periods results from differences in the size and rate of regional insolation changes and the lack of glacial inception in the Holocene. Our findings also suggest that no early agricultural sources are required to account for the increase in methane concentrations in the 5,000 years before the industrial era. Article in Journal/Newspaper ice core CentAUR: Central Archive at the University of Reading Nature 470 7332 82 85 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
CentAUR: Central Archive at the University of Reading |
op_collection_id |
ftunivreading |
language |
English |
description |
Considerable debate surrounds the source of the apparently ‘anomalous’1 increase of atmospheric methane concentrations since the mid-Holocene (5,000 years ago) compared to previous interglacial periods as recorded in polar ice core records2. Proposed mechanisms for the rise in methane concentrations relate either to methane emissions from anthropogenic early rice cultivation1, 3 or an increase in natural wetland emissions from tropical4 or boreal sources5, 6. Here we show that our climate and wetland simulations of the global methane cycle over the last glacial cycle (the past 130,000 years) recreate the ice core record and capture the late Holocene increase in methane concentrations. Our analyses indicate that the late Holocene increase results from natural changes in the Earth's orbital configuration, with enhanced emissions in the Southern Hemisphere tropics linked to precession-induced modification of seasonal precipitation. Critically, our simulations capture the declining trend in methane concentrations at the end of the last interglacial period (115,000–130,000 years ago) that was used to diagnose the Holocene methane rise as unique. The difference between the two time periods results from differences in the size and rate of regional insolation changes and the lack of glacial inception in the Holocene. Our findings also suggest that no early agricultural sources are required to account for the increase in methane concentrations in the 5,000 years before the industrial era. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Singarayer, Joy S. Valdes, Paul J. Friedlingstein, Pierre Nelson, Sarah Beerling, David J. |
spellingShingle |
Singarayer, Joy S. Valdes, Paul J. Friedlingstein, Pierre Nelson, Sarah Beerling, David J. Late Holocene methane rise caused by orbitally controlled increase in tropical sources |
author_facet |
Singarayer, Joy S. Valdes, Paul J. Friedlingstein, Pierre Nelson, Sarah Beerling, David J. |
author_sort |
Singarayer, Joy S. |
title |
Late Holocene methane rise caused by orbitally controlled increase in tropical sources |
title_short |
Late Holocene methane rise caused by orbitally controlled increase in tropical sources |
title_full |
Late Holocene methane rise caused by orbitally controlled increase in tropical sources |
title_fullStr |
Late Holocene methane rise caused by orbitally controlled increase in tropical sources |
title_full_unstemmed |
Late Holocene methane rise caused by orbitally controlled increase in tropical sources |
title_sort |
late holocene methane rise caused by orbitally controlled increase in tropical sources |
publisher |
Nature Publishing |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/33541/ https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/33541/1/nature09739.pdf |
genre |
ice core |
genre_facet |
ice core |
op_relation |
https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/33541/1/nature09739.pdf Singarayer, J. S. <https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/view/creators/90005422.html>, Valdes, P. J., Friedlingstein, P., Nelson, S. and Beerling, D. J. (2011) Late Holocene methane rise caused by orbitally controlled increase in tropical sources. Nature, 470 (7332). pp. 82-85. ISSN 1476-4687 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09739 <https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09739> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09739 |
container_title |
Nature |
container_volume |
470 |
container_issue |
7332 |
container_start_page |
82 |
op_container_end_page |
85 |
_version_ |
1802645493869707264 |