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Recent decreases in fossil-fuel emissions of ethane and methane derived from firn air

Recent decreases in fossil-fuel emissions of ethane and methane derived from firn air Methane is a greenhouse gas with a significant warming effect on climate — only water vapour and carbon dioxide are more important — yet the factors influencing its atmospheric concentration are poorly understood. In particular, a rapid rise in methane levels in the mid-twentieth century gradually (but temporarily) levelled off around the turn of the millennium; the reasons for this decline in growth rate are still being debated. Two new studies shed light on this conundrum — but reach conflicting conclusions. Fuu Ming Kai et al. measure differences in the concentration and isotopic signature of methane between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and conclude that reduced microbial activity in wetlands was primarily responsible. Changing rice agricultural practices seem to explain about half of the Northern Hemispheric trend. By contrast, Murat Aydin et al. combine measurements of ethane trapped in Antarctic ice with a simple atmospheric model and conclude that the slow-down was caused by reduced methane emissions from fossil-fuel production. In News and Views, Martin Heimann discusses the differing findings of these two studies. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Nature Springer Journals

Recent decreases in fossil-fuel emissions of ethane and methane derived from firn air

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References (36)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 by Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Subject
Science, Humanities and Social Sciences, multidisciplinary; Science, Humanities and Social Sciences, multidisciplinary; Science, multidisciplinary
ISSN
0028-0836
eISSN
1476-4687
DOI
10.1038/nature10352
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Methane is a greenhouse gas with a significant warming effect on climate — only water vapour and carbon dioxide are more important — yet the factors influencing its atmospheric concentration are poorly understood. In particular, a rapid rise in methane levels in the mid-twentieth century gradually (but temporarily) levelled off around the turn of the millennium; the reasons for this decline in growth rate are still being debated. Two new studies shed light on this conundrum — but reach conflicting conclusions. Fuu Ming Kai et al. measure differences in the concentration and isotopic signature of methane between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and conclude that reduced microbial activity in wetlands was primarily responsible. Changing rice agricultural practices seem to explain about half of the Northern Hemispheric trend. By contrast, Murat Aydin et al. combine measurements of ethane trapped in Antarctic ice with a simple atmospheric model and conclude that the slow-down was caused by reduced methane emissions from fossil-fuel production. In News and Views, Martin Heimann discusses the differing findings of these two studies.

Journal

Nature – Springer Journals

Published: Aug 10, 2011

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