Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
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7
1
2007
10.5194/acp-7-237-2007
http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/7/237/2007/
http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/7/237/2007/acp-7-237-2007.html
http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/7/237/2007/acp-7-237-2007.pdf
237
241
2007-01-17
Stable isotopes provide revised global limits of aerobic methane emissions from plants
D. F. Ferretti
d.ferretti@niwa.co.nz
J. B. Miller
J. W. C. White
K. R. Lassey
D. C. Lowe
D. M. Etheridge
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO, USA
Marine and Atmospheric Research, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Aspendale, Victoria, Australia
Recently Keppler et al. (2006) discovered a surprising new source of methane
– terrestrial plants under aerobic conditions, with an estimated global
production of 62–236 Tg yr<sup>−1</sup> by an unknown mechanism. This is ~10–40% of the annual total of methane entering the modern atmosphere
and ~30–100% of annual methane entering the pre-industrial (0 to
1700 AD) atmosphere. Here we test this reported global production of methane
from plants against ice core records of atmospheric methane concentration
(CH<sub>4</sub>) and stable carbon isotope ratios (δ<sup>13</sup>CH<sub>4</sub>) over
the last 2000 years. Our top-down approach determines that global plant
emissions must be much lower than proposed by Keppler et al. (2006) during
the last 2000 years and are likely to lie in the range 0–46 Tg yr<sup>−1</sup> and
0–176 Tg yr<sup>−1</sup> during the pre-industrial and modern eras, respectively.
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