Abstract
The global evolution of atmospheric CH4 has been documented by sporadic direct measurements in the atmosphere during the 1960s and 1970s and by systematic survey only since 1979. The data from this time up to 1983 indicate an increasing trend at a rate of about 1% per year (Rasmussen and Khalil, 1986; Steele et al., 1987; Blake and Rowland, 1988). The most recent measurements indicate a decrease of the global accumulation of atmospheric CH4 during the years 1991 and 1992, and a return to a 1%/yr increase afterward (Steele et al., 1992; Dlugokencky et al., 1994; Lowe et al., 1994). The analysis of infrared solar absorption spectra (Rinsland et al., 1985; Zander et al., 1989) provides additional data of global concentrations for a few specific years (1951, 1975, 1981, 1984–87) and shows a mean increase of about 30% over the past 40 years. This long-term accumulation of CH4 in the atmosphere is related to human activities, particularly from agriculture.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alley, R. B., P.A. Mayewski, T. Sowers, M. Stuiver, K.C. Taylor, P. U. Clark. 1997. Holocene climate instability: A prominent, widespread event 8200 yr ago. Geology, 25: 483–486.
Barnola, J.-M., P. Pimienta, D. Raynaud, Y. S. Korotkevich. 1991. CO2-climate relationship as deduced from the Vostok ice core: A reexamination based on new measurements and on a re-evaluation of the air dating. Tellus, 43B: 83–90.
Blake, D. R., F. S. Rowland. 1988. Continuing worldwide increase in tropospheric methane, 1978 to 1987. Science, 239: 1129–1131.
Blunier, T., J. Chappellaz, J. Schwander, J. M. Barnola, T. Desperts, B. Stauffer, D. Raynaud. 1993. Atmospheric methane, record from a Greenland ice core over the last 1,000 years. Geophys. Res. Lett., 20: 2219–2222.
Blunier, T., J. Chappellaz, J. Schwander, B. Stauffer, D. Raynaud. 1995. Variations in atmospheric methane concentration during the Holocene epoch. Nature, 374: 46–49.
Blunier, T., J. Schwander, B. Stauffer, T. Stocker, A. Dällenbach, A. Indermühle, J. Tschumi, J. Chappellaz, D. Raynaud, J.-M. Bamola. 1997. Timing of the Antarctic Cold Reversal and the atmospheric CO2 increase with respect to the Younger Dryas event. Geophys. Res. Lett., 24: 2683.
Broccoli, A. J., S. Manabe. 1987. The influence of continental ice, atmospheric CO2, land albedo on the climate of the Last Glacial Maximum. Clim. Dyn., 1: 87–99.
Brook, E. J., T. Sowers, J. Orchardo. 1996. Rapid variations in atmospheric methane concentrations during the past 110,000 years. Science, 273: 1087–1091.
Chaix, L., J. Ocampo, F. Dominé. 1996. Adsorption of CH, on laboratory-made crushed ice and on natural snow at 77 K. Atmospheric implications. C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris, 322: 609–616.
Chappellaz, J. 1990. Etude du méthane atmosphérique au cours du dernier cycle climatique à partir de l’analyse de I’air piégé dans la glace antarctique. Ph-D thesis, Grenoble University, France, 214 pp.
Chappellaz, J., J. M. Bamola, D. Raynaud, Y. S. Korotkevich, C. Lorius. 1990. Ice-core record
of atmospheric methane over the past 160,000 years, Nature,345:127–131.
Chappellaz, J., I. Y Fung, A.M. Thompson. 1993. The atmospheric CH„ increase since the Last
Glacial Maximum: I. Source estimates. Tellus, 45B: 228–241.
Chappellaz, J., T. Blunier, D. Raynaud, J. M. Bamola, J. Schwander, B. Stauffer. 1993. Synchronous changes in atmospheric CH, and Greenland climate between 40 and 8 kyr BP. Nature, 366: 443–445.
Chappellaz, J., T. Blunier, S. Kints, A. Dällenbach, J. M. Barnola, J. Schwander, D. Raynaud, B. Stauffer. 1997. Changes in the atmospheric CH, gradient between Greenland and Antarctica during the Holocene. J. Geophys. Res., 102:15, 987–15, 997.
Craig, H., C. C. Chou. 1982. Methane: the record in polar ice cores. Geophys. Res. Lett., 9: 1221–1224.
Craig, H., C. C. Chou, J. A. Welhan, C.M. Stevens, A. Engelkemeir. 1988. The isotopic composition of methane in polar ice cores. Science, 242: 1535–1539.
Crutzen, P. J., C. Brühl. 1993. A model study of atmospheric temperatures and the concentrations of ozone, hydroxyl, and some other photochemically active gases during the glacial, the pre-industrial Holocene and the present. Geophys. Res. Lett., 20: 1047–1050.
Dibb, J. E., R.A. Rasmussen, P.A. Mayewski, G. Holdsworth. 1993. Northern Hemisphere concentrations of methane and nitrous oxide since 1800: results from the Mt Logan and 20D ice cores. Chemosphere, 27: 2413–2423.
Dlugokencky, E. J., L.P. Steele, P.M. Lang, K. A. Masarie. 1994. The growth rate and distribution of atmospheric methane. J. Geophys. Res., 99: 17, 021–17, 043.
Etheridge, D. M., G. I. Pearman, F. De Silva. 1988. Atmospheric trace-gas variations as revealed by air trapped in an ice core from Law Dome, Antarctica. Ann. Glacio1., 10: 28–33.
Etheridge, D. M., G. I. Pearman, P. J. Fraser. 1992. Changes in tropospheric methane between 1841 and 1978 from a high accumulation-rate Antarctic ice core. Tellus, 44B: 282–294.
Fuchs, A., J. Schwander, B. Stauffer. 1993. A new ice mill allows precise concentration determination of methane and most probably also other trace gases in the bubble air of very small ice samples. J. Glaciol., 39: 199–203.
Fung, I., J. John, J. Lerner, E. Matthews, M. Prather, L.P. Steele, P. J. Fraser. 1991. Three-dimensional model synthesis of the global methane cycle. J. Geophys. Res., 96: 13, 03313, 065.
Grootes, P., M. Stuiver, J. W. C. White, S. Johnsen, J. Jouzel. 1993. Comparison of oxygen isotope records from the GISP2 and GRIP ice cores. Nature, 366: 552–554.
Johnsen, S. J., H. B. Clausen, W. Dansgaard, K. Fuhrer, N. Gundestrup, C. U. Hammer, P. Iversen, J. Jouzel, B. Stauffer, J.P. Steffensen. 1992. Irregular glacial interstadials recorded in a new Greenland ice core. Nature, 359: 311–313.
Khalil, M.A.K., R.A. Rasmussen. 1982. Secular trends of atmospheric methane (CH,). Chemosphere, 11: 877–883.
Legrand, M., P. Mayewski. 1997. Glaciochemistry of polar ice cores: a review. Rev. Geophys., 35: 219–243.
Lelieveld, J., P. J. Crutzen. 1992. Indirect chemical effects of methane on climate warming. Nature, 355: 339–342.
Lorius, C., J. Jouzel, D. Raynaud, J. Hansen, H. Le Treut. 1990. The ice-core record: climate sensitivity and future greenhouse warming. Nature, 347: 139–145.
Lowe, D.C., C. A. M. Brenninkmeijer, G. W. Brailsford, K. R. Lassey, A. J. Gomez. 1994. Concentration and “C records of atmospheric methane in New Zealand and Antarctica: evidence for changes in methane sources. J. Geophys. Res., 99: 16, 913–16, 925.
Martinerie, P., G. P. Brasseur, C. Granier. 1995. The chemical composition of ancient atmospheres: A model study constrained by ice core data. J. Geophys. Res., 100: 14, 29114, 304.
Nakazawa, T., T. Machida, K. Esumi, M. Tanaka, Y. Fujii, S. Aoki, O. Watanabe. 1993a. Measurements of CO, and CH„ concentrations in air in a polar ice core. J. Glaciol., 39: 209215.
Nakazawa, T., T. Machida, M. Tanaka, Y. Fujii, S. Aoki, O. Watanabe. 1993b. Differences of the atmospheric CH, concentration between the Arctic and Antarctic regions in preindustrial/pre-agricultural era. Geophys. Res. Lett., 20: 943–946.
Nisbet, E.G. 1992. Sources of atmospheric CH, in early postglacial time. J. Geophys. Res., 97: 12, 859–12, 867.
Paull, C. K., W. Ussler, W. P. Dillon. 1991. Is the extent of glaciation limited by marine gas hydrates? Geophys. Res. Lett., 18: 432–434.
Pearman, G.I., D. Etheridge, F. De Silva, P. J. Fraser. 1986. Evidence of changing concentrations of atmospheric CO2, N2O and CH, from air bubbles in Antarctic ice. Nature, 320: 248–250.
Rasmussen, R.A., M.A.K. Khalil. 1984. Atmospheric methane in the recent and ancient atmospheres: concentrations, trends and interhemispheric gradient. J. Geophys. Res., 89: 11, 599–11, 605.
Rasmussen, R.A., M.A.K. Khalil. 1986. Atmospheric trace gases: trends and distributions over the last decade. Science 232:1623–1624.
Rasmussen, R.A., M.A.K. Khalil, S.D. Hoyt. 1982. Methane and carbon monoxide in snow. J. Air Poll. Cont. Asso., 32: 176–178.
Raynaud, D., J. Chappellaz, J. M. Barnola, Y. S. Korotkevich, C. Lorius. 1988. Climatic and CH,-cycle implications of glacial-interglacial CH, change in the Vostok ice core. Nature, 333: 655–657.
Rind, D., D. Peteet, G. Kukla. 1989. Can Milankovitch orbital variation initiate the growth of ice sheets in a General Circulation Model? J. Geophys. Res., 41: 12, 851–12, 871.
Rinsland, C.P., J. S. Levine, T. Miles. 1985. Concentration of methane in the troposphere deduced from 1951 infrared solar spectra. Nature, 330: 245–249.
Robbins, R. C., L.A. Cavanagh, L. J. Salas, E. Robinson. 1973. Analysis of ancient atmosphere. J. Geophys. Res. 78:5341–5344.
Schwander, J. 1989. The transformation of snow to ice and the occlusion of gases. In: The Environmental Record in Glaciers and Ice Sheets, Report of the Dahlem Workshop held in Berlin 1988, March 13–18, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, 51–67.
Schwander, J., T. Sowers, J.-M. Barnola, T. Blunier, A. Fuchs, B. Malaizé. 1997. Age scale of the air in the summit ice: Implications for glacial-interglacial temperature change. J. Geophys. Res., 102: 19, 483–19, 493.
Severinghaus, J.P., T. Sowers, E.J. Brook, R. B. Alley, M.L. Bender. 1997. Timing of abrupt climate change at the end of the Younger Dryas from thermally fractionated gases in polar ice. Nature,in press.
Sowers, T., M. Bender, D. Raynaud. 1989. Elemental and isotopic composition of occluded 02 and N2 in polar ice. J. Geophys. Res., 94: 5137–5150.
Sowers, T., E. Brook, D. Etheridge, T. Blunier, A. Fuchs, M. Leuenberger, J. Chappellaz, J. M. Barnola, M. Wahlen, B. Deck, C. Weyhenmeyer. 1997. An interlaboratory comparison of techniques for extracting and analyzing trapped gases in ice cores. J. Geophys. Res., 102:26, 527–26, 538.
Stauffer, B., G. Fischer, A. Neftel, H. Oeschger. 1985. Increase of atmospheric methane in Antarctic ice core. Science 229:1386–1388.
Stauffer, B., E. Lochbronner, H. Oeschger, J. Schwander. 1988. Methane concentrations in the glacial atmosphere was only half that of the preindustrial Holocene Nature 332:812–814.
Steele, L.P., P. J. Fraser, R.A. Rasmussen, M.A.K. Khalil, T. J. Conway, A. J. Crawford, R.H. Gammon, K. A. Masarie, K. W. Thoning. 1987. The global distribution of methane in the troposphere. J. Atmos. Chem., 5: 125–171.
Steele, L.P., E. J. Dlugokencky, P.M. Lang, P.P. Tans, R. C. Martin, K. A. Masarie. 1992. Slowing down of the global accumulation of atmospheric methane during the 1980s. Nature, 358: 313–316.
Stevens, C.M. 1993. Isotopic abundances in the atmosphere and sources. In: Atmospheric Methane: Sources, Sinks, and Role in Global Change, NATO ASI Series I13, Springer-Verlag, New York, 62–88.
Thompson, A.M. 1992. The oxidizing capacity of the Earth’s atmosphere: probable past and future changes. Science, 256: 1157–1168.
Thompson, A.M., J. A. Chappellaz, I. Y. Fung, T. L. Kucsera. 1993. Atmospheric methane increase since the Last Glacial Maximum. 2. Interactions with oxidants. Tellus 45B:242–257.
Thompson, A.M. 1996. Modeling framework for atmospheric trace gas measurements at the air-snow interface. In: Chemical Exchange Between the Atmosphere and Polar Snow, NATO ASI Series I43, Springer-Verlag, New York, 225–248.
Thorpe, R. B., K. S. Law, S. Bekki, J. A. Pyle, E.G. Nisbet. 1996. Is methane-driven deglaciation consistent with the ice core record ? J. Geophys. Res., 101:28, 627–28, 635.
Trudinger, C. M., I.G. Enting, D. M. Etheridge, R. J. Francey, V. A. Levchenko, L. P. Steele, D. Raynaud, L. Arnaud. 1997. Modeling air movement and bubble trapping in firn. J. Geophys. Res., 102: 6747–6763.
Zander, R., P. Demoulin, D. H. Ehhalt, U. Schmidt. 1989. Secular increases of the vertical abundance of methane derived from IR solar spectra recorded at the Jungfraujoch Station. J. Geophys. Res., 94: 1129–1139.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2000 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chappellaz, J., Raynaud, D., Blunier, T., Stauffer, B. (2000). The Ice Core Record of Atmospheric Methane. In: Khalil, M.A.K. (eds) Atmospheric Methane. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04145-1_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04145-1_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-08451-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-04145-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive