Open AccessThermokarst lakes increased atmospheric methane levels
Author(s) -
Balcerak Ernie
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2012eo170009
Subject(s) - thermokarst , permafrost , methane , deglaciation , atmospheric methane , ice core , environmental science , arctic , geology , greenhouse gas , atmospheric sciences , physical geography , earth science , oceanography , holocene , chemistry , geography , organic chemistry
Ice cores taken from Greenland indicate that during the last deglaciation, approximately 10,000 years ago, increases in temperature occurred at the same times as increases in atmospheric methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The source of the increase in atmospheric methane is still debated, but it has been suggested that thermokarst lakes, which form from thawing permafrost, contributed to the increased atmospheric methane. By establishing pathways of regionally varying hydrogen isotopes found in permafrost ground ice to methane produced in thermokarst lakes, Brosius et al. reconciled bottom‐up estimates of emission of methane from thermokarst lakes in various Arctic regions with isotope constraints from ice core records; they show that thermokarst lakes were indeed an important source of atmospheric methane during the deglacial period. ( Journal of Geophysical Research‐Biogeosciences , doi:10.1029/2011JG001810, 2012)