Abstract
The atmospheric CH4 increase from ∼0.7 to 1.68 p.p.m.v. over about the past 300 years which has been documented from analysis of air trapped in ice cores1–4 and from tropospheric measurements (see ref. 5 for example) is attributed to anthropogenic modifications of the CH4 cycle. The concern about this increase is due to the radiatively and chemically active nature of CH4. Here we present strong evidence from analysis of the Vostok ice core, that CH4 concentrations increased from 0.34 to 0.62 p.p.m.v. between the end of the penultimate ice age and the following interglacial, about 160–120 kyr BP. This CH4 change may be explained by considering the effect of the climatic change on the CH4 cycle. Its contribution (including chemical feedback) to the global climatic warming is estimated to be about 25% of that due to CO2.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Craig, H. & Chou, C. C. Geophys. Res. Lett. 9, 1221–1224 (1982).
Khalil, M. A. K. & Rasmussen, R. A. Chemosphere 11, 877–883 (1982).
Rasmussen, R. A. & Khalil, M. A. K. J. geophys. Res. 89, 11599–11605 (1984).
Stauffer, B., Fischer, G., Neftel, A. & Oeschger, H. Science 229, 1386–1388 (1985).
Blake, D. R. & Rowland, F. S. Science 239, 1129–1131 (1988).
Jouzel, J. et al. Nature 329, 403–408 (1987).
Barnola, J-M., Raynaud, D., Korotkevich, Y. S. & Lorius, C. Nature 329, 408–414 (1987).
Legrand, M. R., Lorius, C., Barkov, N. I. & Petrov, V. N. Atmos. Environ. 22, 317–331 (1988).
Raynaud, D. & Barnola, J. M. Nature 315, 309–311 (1985).
Lorius, C. et al. Nature 316, 591–596 (1985).
Rind, D. & Peteet, D. Quat. Res. 24, 1–22 (1985).
Hameed, S. & Cess, R. D. Tellus 35B, 1–7 (1983).
Ramanathan, V. et al. Rev. Geophys. 25, 1441–1482 (1987).
World Meteorological Organization, WMO Report 16 (1985).
Bolle, H. J., Seller, W. & Bolin, B. in The Greenhouse Effect, Climatic Change and Ecosystems (eds Bolin, B. et al.) 157–203 (Wiley, Chichester, 1986).
Hansen, J. et al. J. geophys. Res. submitted.
Lacis, A., Hansen, J., Lee, P., Mitchell, T. & Lebedeff, S. Geophys. Res. Lett. 8, 1035–1038 (1981).
Owens, A. J. et al. J. geophys. Res. 90, 2283–2311 (1985).
Brasseur, G. & De Rudder, A. J. geophys. Res. 92, 10903–10920 (1987).
Hansen, J. et al. Climate Processes and Climate Sensitivity (eds Hansen, J. E. & Takahashi, T.) 130–163 (American Geophysical Union, Washington, 1984).
Stauffer, B., Loehbronner, E., Oeschger, H. & Schwander, J. Nature 332, 812–814 (1988).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Raynaud, D., Chappellaz, J., Barnola, J. et al. Climatic and CH4 cycle implications of glacial–interglacial CH4 change in the Vostok ice core. Nature 333, 655–657 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/333655a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/333655a0
This article is cited by
-
Atmospheric methane over the past 2000 years from a sub-tropical ice core, central Himalayas
Journal of Mountain Science (2010)
-
Another source of atmospheric methane
Chinese Journal of Geochemistry (1997)
-
Factors affecting methane emission from rice paddies
Chinese Journal of Geochemistry (1995)
-
Clues to ancient methane release
Nature (1994)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
