Rapid variations in atmospheric methane concentration during the past 110,000 years
- Univ. of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI (United States)
- Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
A methane record from the GISP2 ice core reveals that millennial-scale variations in atmospheric methane concentration characterized much of the past 110,00 years. As previously observed in a shorter record from central Greenland, abrupt concentration shifts of about 50 to 300 parts per billion by volume were coeval with most of the interstadial warming events (better known as Dansgaard-Oeschger events) recorded in the GISP2 ice core throughout the last glacial period. The magnitude of the rapid concentration shifts varied on a longer time scale in a manner consistent with variations in Northern Hemisphere summer insolation, which suggest that insolation may have modulated the effects of interstadial climate change on the terrestrial biosphere. 38 refs., 2 figs.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 426023
- Journal Information:
- Science, Journal Name: Science Journal Issue: 5278 Vol. 273; ISSN SCIEAS; ISSN 0036-8075
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Laurentide Ice Sheet meltwater and abrupt climate change during the last glaciation
The hierarchical structure of glacial climatic oscillations: Interactions between ice-sheet dynamics and climate
Journal Article
·
Sun Oct 02 00:00:00 EDT 2005
· Paleoceanography, vol. 21, N/A, March 3, 2006, doi:10.1029/2005PA001186
·
OSTI ID:898043
The hierarchical structure of glacial climatic oscillations: Interactions between ice-sheet dynamics and climate
Journal Article
·
Fri Mar 31 23:00:00 EST 1995
· Climate Dynamics
·
OSTI ID:285030