Rising methane emissions from northern wetlands associated with sea ice decline
Abstract
The Arctic is rapidly transitioning toward a seasonal sea ice-free state, perhaps one of the most apparent examples of climate change in the world. This dramatic change has numerous consequences, including a large increase in air temperatures, which in turn may affect terrestrial methane emissions. Nonetheless, terrestrial and marine environments are seldom jointly analyzed. By comparing satellite observations of Arctic sea ice concentrations to methane emissions simulated by three process-based biogeochemical models, this study shows that rising wetland methane emissions are associated with sea ice retreat. Our analyses indicate that simulated high-latitude emissions for 2005-2010 were, on average, 1.7 Tg CH4 yr(-1) higher compared to 1981-1990 due to a sea ice-induced, autumn-focused, warming. Since these results suggest a continued rise in methane emissions with future sea ice decline, observation programs need to include measurements during the autumn to further investigate the impact of this spatial connection on terrestrial methane emissions.
- Authors:
-
- Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science Lund University Lund Sweden, Arctic Research Centre Aarhus University Aarhus Denmark
- Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science Lund University Lund Sweden
- Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences VU University Amsterdam Amsterdam Netherlands, Institute of Arctic Biology University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks Alaska USA
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences and Department of Agronomy Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana USA
- Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences VU University Amsterdam Amsterdam Netherlands
- Environmental Sciences Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge Tennessee USA
- U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks Alaska USA
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1222499
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1240459; OSTI ID: 1335325
- Grant/Contract Number:
- DE‐SC0007007; AC05-00OR22725
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Volume: 42 Journal Issue: 17; Journal ID: ISSN 0094-8276
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Citation Formats
Parmentier, Frans‐Jan W., Zhang, Wenxin, Mi, Yanjiao, Zhu, Xudong, van Huissteden, Jacobus, Hayes, Daniel J., Zhuang, Qianlai, Christensen, Torben R., and McGuire, A. David. Rising methane emissions from northern wetlands associated with sea ice decline. United States: N. p., 2015.
Web. doi:10.1002/2015GL065013.
Parmentier, Frans‐Jan W., Zhang, Wenxin, Mi, Yanjiao, Zhu, Xudong, van Huissteden, Jacobus, Hayes, Daniel J., Zhuang, Qianlai, Christensen, Torben R., & McGuire, A. David. Rising methane emissions from northern wetlands associated with sea ice decline. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL065013
Parmentier, Frans‐Jan W., Zhang, Wenxin, Mi, Yanjiao, Zhu, Xudong, van Huissteden, Jacobus, Hayes, Daniel J., Zhuang, Qianlai, Christensen, Torben R., and McGuire, A. David. Thu .
"Rising methane emissions from northern wetlands associated with sea ice decline". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL065013.
@article{osti_1222499,
title = {Rising methane emissions from northern wetlands associated with sea ice decline},
author = {Parmentier, Frans‐Jan W. and Zhang, Wenxin and Mi, Yanjiao and Zhu, Xudong and van Huissteden, Jacobus and Hayes, Daniel J. and Zhuang, Qianlai and Christensen, Torben R. and McGuire, A. David},
abstractNote = {The Arctic is rapidly transitioning toward a seasonal sea ice-free state, perhaps one of the most apparent examples of climate change in the world. This dramatic change has numerous consequences, including a large increase in air temperatures, which in turn may affect terrestrial methane emissions. Nonetheless, terrestrial and marine environments are seldom jointly analyzed. By comparing satellite observations of Arctic sea ice concentrations to methane emissions simulated by three process-based biogeochemical models, this study shows that rising wetland methane emissions are associated with sea ice retreat. Our analyses indicate that simulated high-latitude emissions for 2005-2010 were, on average, 1.7 Tg CH4 yr(-1) higher compared to 1981-1990 due to a sea ice-induced, autumn-focused, warming. Since these results suggest a continued rise in methane emissions with future sea ice decline, observation programs need to include measurements during the autumn to further investigate the impact of this spatial connection on terrestrial methane emissions.},
doi = {10.1002/2015GL065013},
journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
number = 17,
volume = 42,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Sep 10 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Thu Sep 10 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}
https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL065013
Web of Science
Works referenced in this record:
Modeling regional to global CH 4 emissions of boreal and arctic wetlands : MODELING GLOBAL CH
journal, October 2010
- Petrescu, A. M. R.; van Beek, L. P. H.; van Huissteden, J.
- Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 24, Issue 4
Attribution of Arctic temperature change to greenhouse-gas and aerosol influences
journal, February 2015
- Najafi, Mohammad Reza; Zwiers, Francis W.; Gillett, Nathan P.
- Nature Climate Change, Vol. 5, Issue 3
CryoSat-2 estimates of Arctic sea ice thickness and volume: CRYOSAT-2 SEA ICE THICKNESS AND VOLUME
journal, February 2013
- Laxon, Seymour W.; Giles, Katharine A.; Ridout, Andy L.
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 40, Issue 4
September Arctic sea-ice minimum predicted by spring melt-pond fraction
journal, April 2014
- Schröder, David; Feltham, Daniel L.; Flocco, Daniela
- Nature Climate Change, Vol. 4, Issue 5
Accelerated Arctic land warming and permafrost degradation during rapid sea ice loss
journal, January 2008
- Lawrence, David M.; Slater, Andrew G.; Tomas, Robert A.
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 35, Issue 11
CarbonTracker-CH 4 : an assimilation system for estimating emissions of atmospheric methane
journal, January 2014
- Bruhwiler, L.; Dlugokencky, E.; Masarie, K.
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 14, Issue 16
A process-based, climate-sensitive model to derive methane emissions from natural wetlands: Application to five wetland sites, sensitivity to model parameters, and climate
journal, September 2000
- Walter, Bernadette P.; Heimann, Martin
- Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 14, Issue 3
Methane fluxes between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere at northern high latitudes during the past century: A retrospective analysis with a process-based biogeochemistry model: METHANE EMISSIONS FROM NORTHERN HIGH LATITUDES
journal, August 2004
- Zhuang, Q.; Melillo, J. M.; Kicklighter, D. W.
- Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 18, Issue 3
An analysis of the carbon balance of the Arctic Basin from 1997 to 2006
journal, January 2010
- Mcguire, A. D.; Hayes, D. J.; Kicklighter, D. W.
- Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, Vol. 62, Issue 5
The central role of diminishing sea ice in recent Arctic temperature amplification
journal, April 2010
- Screen, James A.; Simmonds, Ian
- Nature, Vol. 464, Issue 7293
Soil moisture control over autumn season methane flux, Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska
journal, January 2012
- Sturtevant, C. S.; Oechel, W. C.; Zona, D.
- Biogeosciences, Vol. 9, Issue 4
Processes and impacts of Arctic amplification: A research synthesis
journal, May 2011
- Serreze, Mark C.; Barry, Roger G.
- Global and Planetary Change, Vol. 77, Issue 1-2
Climate science: Understand Arctic methane variability
journal, May 2014
- Christensen, Torben R.
- Nature, Vol. 509, Issue 7500
Revisiting factors controlling methane emissions from high-Arctic tundra
journal, January 2013
- Mastepanov, M.; Sigsgaard, C.; Tagesson, T.
- Biogeosciences, Vol. 10, Issue 7
Is the northern high-latitude land-based CO 2 sink weakening? : THE HIGH-LATITUDE CO
journal, August 2011
- Hayes, D. J.; McGuire, A. D.; Kicklighter, D. W.
- Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 25, Issue 3
An assessment of the carbon balance of Arctic tundra: comparisons among observations, process models, and atmospheric inversions
journal, January 2012
- McGuire, A. D.; Christensen, T. R.; Hayes, D.
- Biogeosciences, Vol. 9, Issue 8
Implications of Arctic Sea Ice Decline for the Earth System
journal, October 2014
- Bhatt, Uma S.; Walker, Donald A.; Walsh, John E.
- Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Vol. 39, Issue 1
Implementation and evaluation of a new methane model within a dynamic global vegetation model: LPJ-WHyMe v1.3.1
journal, January 2010
- Wania, R.; Ross, I.; Prentice, I. C.
- Geoscientific Model Development, Vol. 3, Issue 2
The importance of spring atmospheric conditions for predictions of the Arctic summer sea ice extent
journal, July 2014
- Kapsch, Marie-Luise; Graversen, Rune G.; Economou, Theodoros
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 41, Issue 14
The impact of lower sea-ice extent on Arctic greenhouse-gas exchange
journal, February 2013
- Parmentier, Frans-Jan W.; Christensen, Torben R.; Sørensen, Lise Lotte
- Nature Climate Change, Vol. 3, Issue 3
Atmospheric forcing of sea ice in Hudson Bay during the spring period, 1980–2005
journal, December 2011
- Hochheim, K. P.; Lukovich, J. V.; Barber, D. G.
- Journal of Marine Systems, Vol. 88, Issue 3
Future increases in Arctic precipitation linked to local evaporation and sea-ice retreat
journal, May 2014
- Bintanja, R.; Selten, F. M.
- Nature, Vol. 509, Issue 7501
Observational determination of albedo decrease caused by vanishing Arctic sea ice
journal, February 2014
- Pistone, Kristina; Eisenman, Ian; Ramanathan, V.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 111, Issue 9
Present state of global wetland extent and wetland methane modelling: conclusions from a model inter-comparison project (WETCHIMP)
journal, January 2013
- Melton, J. R.; Wania, R.; Hodson, E. L.
- Biogeosciences, Vol. 10, Issue 2
Environmental and physical controls on northern terrestrial methane emissions across permafrost zones
journal, November 2012
- Olefeldt, David; Turetsky, Merritt R.; Crill, Patrick M.
- Global Change Biology, Vol. 19, Issue 2
Improving a plot-scale methane emission model and its performance at a northeastern Siberian tundra site
journal, January 2014
- Mi, Y.; van Huissteden, J.; Parmentier, F. J. W.
- Biogeosciences, Vol. 11, Issue 14
Local and remote controls on observed Arctic warming: CONTROLS ON ARCTIC WARMING
journal, May 2012
- Screen, J. A.; Deser, C.; Simmonds, I.
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 39, Issue 10
The Role of Sea Ice in 2×CO 2 Climate Model Sensitivity. Part I: The Total Influence of Sea Ice Thickness and Extent
journal, March 1995
- Rind, D.; Healy, R.; Parkinson, C.
- Journal of Climate, Vol. 8, Issue 3
Representation of vegetation dynamics in the modelling of terrestrial ecosystems: comparing two contrasting approaches within European climate space: Vegetation dynamics in ecosystem models
journal, November 2001
- Smith, Benjamin; Prentice, I. Colin; Sykes, Martin T.
- Global Ecology and Biogeography, Vol. 10, Issue 6
Surface water inundation in the boreal-Arctic: potential impacts on regional methane emissions
journal, June 2014
- Watts, Jennifer D.; Kimball, John S.; Bartsch, Annett
- Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 9, Issue 7