Rapid Variations in Atmospheric Methane Concentration During the Past 110,000 Years
Abstract
A methane record from the GISP2 ice core reveals that millennial-scale variations in atmospheric methane concentration characterized much of the past 110,000 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 suggests that insolation may have modulated the effects of interstadial climate change on the terrestrial biosphere.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1
ADAM D.P., 130,000-YR CONTINUOUS POLLEN RECORD FROM CLEAR LAKE, LAKE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, GEOLOGY 9, 373 (1981).
2
ALLEY R.B., ABRUPT INCREASE IN GREENLAND SNOW ACCUMULATION AT THE END OF THE YOUNGER DRYAS EVENT, NATURE 362, 527 (1993).
3
ALLEY R.B., COMPARISON OF DEEP ICE CORES, NATURE 373, 393 (1995).
4
BARTLETT K, CHEMOSPHERE 26, 26 (1993).
5
BENDER M, EOS 74, 78 (1993).
6
BENDER M, NATURE 373, 663 (1995).
7
BERGER A, INSOLATION VALUES FOR THE CLIMATE OF THE LAST 10000000 YEARS, QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS 10, 297 (1991).
8
BLUNIER T, ATMOSPHERIC METHANE, RECORD FROM A GREENLAND ICE CORE OVER THE LAST 1000 YEAR, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 20, 2219 (1993).
9
BLUNIER T, VARIATIONS IN ATMOSPHERIC METHANE CONCENTRATION DURING THE HOLOCENE EPOCH, NATURE 374, 46 (1995).
10
BOND G, EVIDENCE FOR MASSIVE DISCHARGES OF ICEBERGS INTO THE NORTH-ATLANTIC OCEAN DURING THE LAST GLACIAL PERIOD, NATURE 360, 245 (1992).
11
BOND G, CORRELATIONS BETWEEN CLIMATE RECORDS FROM NORTH-ATLANTIC SEDIMENTS AND GREENLAND ICE, NATURE 365, 143 (1993).
12
BROOK E, EOS 74, 381 (1994).
13
CHAPPELIAZ J, unpublished data.
14
CHAPPELLAZ J, ICE-CORE RECORD OF ATMOSPHERIC METHANE OVER THE PAST 160,000 YEARS, NATURE 345, 127 (1990).
15
CHAPPELLAZ J, SYNCHRONOUS CHANGES IN ATMOSPHERIC CH4 AND GREENLAND CLIMATE BETWEEN 40-KYR AND 8-KYR BP, NATURE 366, 443 (1993).
16
CHAPPELLAZ J.A., THE ATMOSPHERIC CH4 INCREASE SINCE THE LAST GLACIAL MAXIMUM, TELLUS SERIES B-CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL METEOROLOGY 45, 228 (1993).
17
CRAIG H, METHANE - THE RECORD IN POLAR ICE CORES, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 9, 1221 (1982).
18
CROWLEY T.J., ICE-AGE METHANE VARIATIONS, NATURE 353, 122 (1991).
19
CUFFEY K.M., LARGE ARCTIC TEMPERATURE-CHANGE AT THE WISCONSIN-HOLOCENE GLACIAL TRANSITION, SCIENCE 270, 455 (1995).
20
EHHALT D.H., ATMOSPHERIC CYCLE OF METHANE, TELLUS 26, 58 (1974).
21
ETHERIDGE D.M., CHANGES IN TROPOSPHERIC METHANE BETWEEN 1841 AND 1978 FROM A HIGH ACCUMULATION-RATE ANTARCTIC ICE CORE, TELLUS SERIES B-CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL METEOROLOGY 44, 282 (1992).
22
FUNG I, 3-DIMENSIONAL MODEL SYNTHESIS OF THE GLOBAL METHANE CYCLE, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES 96, 13033 (1991).
23
GROOTES P.M., COMPARISON OF OXYGEN-ISOTOPE RECORDS FROM THE GISP2 AND GRIP GREENLAND ICE CORES, NATURE 366, 552 (1993).
24
JOUZEL J, EXTENDING THE VOSTOK ICE-CORE RECORD OF PALEOCLIMATE TO THE PENULTIMATE GLACIAL PERIOD, NATURE 364, 407 (1993).
25
KEIGWIN L.D., THE ROLE OF THE DEEP-OCEAN IN NORTH-ATLANTIC CLIMATE-CHANGE BETWEEN 70-KYR AND 130-KYR AGO, NATURE 371, 323 (1994).
26
MARTINERIE P, THE CHEMICAL-COMPOSITION OF ANCIENT ATMOSPHERES - A MODEL STUDY CONSTRAINED BY ICE CORE DATA, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES 100, 14291 (1995).
27
MARTINSON D.G., AGE DATING AND THE ORBITAL THEORY OF THE ICE AGES - DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH-RESOLUTION-0 TO 300,000-YEAR CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHY, QUATERNARY RESEARCH 27, 1 (1987).
28
MATTHEWS E, ATMOSPHERIC METHANE: 314 (1993).
29
MEESE D, 941 COLD REG RES ENG (1994).
30
MIX A.C., GEOLOGICAL SOC AM SP 270, 19 (1992).
31
PETITMAIRE N, ATMOSPHERIC METHANE RATIO AND ENVIRONMENTAL-CHANGES IN THE SAHARA AND SAHEL DURING THE LAST 130 KYRS, PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY 86, 197 (1991).
32
PRELL W.L., MONSOON VARIABILITY OVER THE PAST 150,000 YEARS, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES 92, 8411 (1987).
33
PRINN R, ATMOSPHERIC TRENDS IN METHYLCHLOROFORM AND THE GLOBAL AVERAGE FOR THE HYDROXYL RADICAL, SCIENCE 238, 945 (1987).
34
PRINN R.G., ATMOSPHERIC TRENDS AND LIFETIME OF CH3CCL3 AND GLOBAL OH CONCENTRATIONS, SCIENCE 269, 187 (1995).
35
RASMUSSEN R.A., ATMOSPHERIC METHANE IN THE RECENT AND ANCIENT ATMOSPHERES - CONCENTRATIONS, TRENDS, AND INTERHEMISPHERIC GRADIENT, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES 89, 11599 (1984).
36
RAYNAUD D, CLIMATIC AND CH4 CYCLE IMPLICATIONS OF GLACIAL INTERGLACIAL CH4 CHANGE IN THE VOSTOK ICE CORE, NATURE 333, 655 (1988).
37
SEVERINGHAUS J, EOS 76, F291 (1995).
38
SEVERINGHAUS J.P., EOS T AGU 77, S157 (1996).
39
SHACKLETON N.J., OXYGEN ISOTOPES, ICE VOLUME AND SEA-LEVEL, QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS 6, 183 (1987).
40
SOWERS T, DELTA-N-15 OF N2 IN AIR TRAPPED IN POLAR ICE - A TRACER OF GAS-TRANSPORT IN THE FIRN AND A POSSIBLE CONSTRAINT ON ICE AGE-GAS AGE-DIFFERENCES, JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES 97, 15683 (1992).
41
SOWERS T, A 135,000-YEAR VOSTOK-SPECMAP COMMON TEMPORAL FRAMEWORK, PALEOCEANOGRAPHY 8, 737 (1993).
42
SOWERS T, CLIMATE RECORDS COVERING THE LAST DEGLACIATION, SCIENCE 269, 210 (1995).
43
STUIVER M, The GISP2 delta O-18 climate record of the past 16,500 years and the role of the sun, ocean, and volcanoes, QUATERNARY RESEARCH 44, 341 (1995).
44
THOMPSON A.M., THE OXIDIZING CAPACITY OF THE EARTHS ATMOSPHERE - PROBABLE PAST AND FUTURE CHANGES, SCIENCE 256, 1157 (1992).
45
THOMPSON A.M., THE ATMOSPHERIC CH4 INCREASE SINCE THE LAST GLACIAL MAXIMUM .2. INTERACTIONS WITH OXIDANTS, TELLUS SERIES B-CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL METEOROLOGY 45, 242 (1993).
46
TZEDAKIS P.C., LONG-TERM TREE POPULATIONS IN NORTHWEST GREECE THROUGH MULTIPLE QUATERNARY CLIMATIC CYCLES, NATURE 364, 437 (1993).
47
WOILLARD G.M., GRANDE PILE PEAT BOG - CONTINUOUS POLLEN RECORD FOR LAST 140,000 YEARS, QUATERNARY RESEARCH 9, 1 (1978).
(0)eLetters
eLetters is a forum for ongoing peer review. eLetters are not edited, proofread, or indexed, but they are screened. eLetters should provide substantive and scholarly commentary on the article. Embedded figures cannot be submitted, and we discourage the use of figures within eLetters in general. If a figure is essential, please include a link to the figure within the text of the eLetter. Please read our Terms of Service before submitting an eLetter.
Log In to Submit a ResponseNo eLetters have been published for this article yet.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Science
Volume 273 | Issue 5278
23 August 1996
23 August 1996
Copyright
© 1996 American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Submission history
Published in print: 23 August 1996
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Article Usage
Altmetrics
Citations
Cite as
- Edward J. Brook et al.
Export citation
Select the format you want to export the citation of this publication.
Cited by
- 155,000 Years of West African Monsoon and Ocean Thermal Evolution, Science, 316, 5829, (1303-1307), (2021)./doi/10.1126/science.1140461
- Atmospheric Methane and Nitrous Oxide of the Late Pleistocene from Antarctic Ice Cores, Science, 310, 5752, (1317-1321), (2021)./doi/10.1126/science.1120132
- Abrupt Tropical Vegetation Response to Rapid Climate Changes, Science, 304, 5679, (1955-1959), (2021)./doi/10.1126/science.1092995
- Late Quaternary Atmospheric CH4 Isotope Record Suggests Marine Clathrates Are Stable, Science, 311, 5762, (838-840), (2006)./doi/10.1126/science.1121235
- Synchroneity of Tropical and High-Latitude Atlantic Temperatures over the Last Glacial Termination, Science, 301, 5638, (1361-1364), (2003)./doi/10.1126/science.1088470
- Ice Core Records of Atmospheric N2O Covering the Last 106,000 Years, Science, 301, 5635, (945-948), (2003)./doi/10.1126/science.1085293
- Does the Trigger for Abrupt Climate Change Reside in the Ocean or in the Atmosphere?, Science, 300, 5625, (1519-1522), (2003)./doi/10.1126/science.1083797
Loading...
View Options
Check Access
Log in to view the full text
AAAS login provides access to Science for AAAS Members, and access to other journals in the Science family to users who have purchased individual subscriptions.
- Become a AAAS Member
- Activate your AAAS ID
- Purchase Access to Other Journals in the Science Family
- Account Help
Log in via OpenAthens.
Log in via Shibboleth.
More options
Purchase digital access to this article
Download and print this article for your personal scholarly, research, and educational use.
Buy a single issue of Science for just $15 USD.
View options
PDF format
Download this article as a PDF file
Download PDF