Cold season emissions dominate the Arctic tundra methane budget

Donatella Zona; Beniamino Gioli; Róisín Commane; Jakob Lindaas; Steven C. Wofsy; Charles E. Miller; Steven J. Dinardo; Sigrid Dengel; Colm Sweeney; Anna Karion; Rachel Y.W. Chang; John M. Henderson; Patrick C. Murphy; Jordan P. Goodrich; Virginie Moreaux; Anna Liljedahl; Jennifer D. Watts; John S. Kimball; David A. Lipson; Walter C. Oechel

doi:10.1073/pnas.1516017113

Cold season emissions dominate the Arctic tundra methane budget

Donatella Zona, Beniamino Gioli, Róisín Commane, Jakob Lindaas, Steven C. Wofsy, Charles E. Miller, Steven J. Dinardo, Sigrid Dengel, Colm Sweeney, Anna Karion, Rachel Y.W. Chang, John M. Henderson, Patrick C. Murphy, Jordan P. Goodrich, Virginie Moreaux, Anna Liljedahl, Jennifer D. Watts, John S. Kimball, David A. Lipson, Walter C. Oechel

Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

306 Scopus citations

Abstract

Arctic terrestrial ecosystems are major global sources of methane (CH₄); hence, it is important to understand the seasonal and climatic controls on CH₄ emissions from these systems. Here, we report year-round CH₄ emissions from Alaskan Arctic tundra eddy flux sites and regional fluxes derived from aircraft data. We find that emissions during the cold season (September to May) account for ≥50% of the annual CH₄ flux, with the highest emissions from noninundated upland tundra. A major fraction of cold season emissions occur during the "zero curtain" period, when subsurface soil temperatures are poised near 0°C. The zero curtain may persist longer than the growing season, and CH₄ emissions are enhanced when the duration is extended by a deep thawed layer as can occur with thick snow cover. Regional scale fluxes of CH₄ derived from aircraft data demonstrate the large spatial extent of late season CH₄ emissions. Scaled to the circumpolar Arctic, cold season fluxes from tundra total 12 ± 5 (95% confidence interval) Tg CH₄ y^-1, ~25% of global emissions from extratropical wetlands, or ~6% of total global wetland methane emissions. The dominance of late-season emissions, sensitivity to soil environmental conditions, and importance of dry tundra are not currently simulated in most global climate models. Because Arctic warming disproportionally impacts the cold season, our results suggest that higher cold-season CH₄ emissions will result from observed and predicted increases in snow thickness, active layer depth, and soil temperature, representing important positive feedbacks on climate warming.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	40-45
Number of pages	6
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	113
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1516017113
State	Published - Jan 5 2016

Funding

We thank the Global Change Research Group at San Diego State University, UMIAQ, Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation (UIC), CH2M HILL Polar Services for logistical support; Salvatore Losacco, Owen Hayman, and Herbert Njuabe for help with field data collection; David Beerling for comments on the manuscript; Scot Miller for suggestions on the statistical analysis; and George Burba for suggestions on the data quality assessment. The statistical analysis was performed using R, and we thank the R Developing Core Team. This research was conducted on land owned by the UIC. This work was funded by the Division of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Award 1204263); Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE), an Earth Ventures (EV-1) investigation, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and Department of Energy (DOE) Grant DE-SC005160. Logistical support was funded by the NSF Division of Polar Programs.

Funders	Funder number
1204263
DE-SC005160
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Natural Environment Research Council	NE/P002552/1

Keywords

Aircraft
Fall
Permafrost
Warming
Winter

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1073/pnas.1516017113

Cite this

Zona, D., Gioli, B., Commane, R., Lindaas, J., Wofsy, S. C., Miller, C. E., Dinardo, S. J., Dengel, S., Sweeney, C., Karion, A., Chang, R. Y. W., Henderson, J. M., Murphy, P. C., Goodrich, J. P., Moreaux, V., Liljedahl, A., Watts, J. D., Kimball, J. S., Lipson, D. A., & Oechel, W. C. (2016). Cold season emissions dominate the Arctic tundra methane budget. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(1), 40-45. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1516017113

@article{0819ae9507e7487284f372e179ed2b4c,

title = "Cold season emissions dominate the Arctic tundra methane budget",

abstract = "Arctic terrestrial ecosystems are major global sources of methane (CH4); hence, it is important to understand the seasonal and climatic controls on CH4 emissions from these systems. Here, we report year-round CH4 emissions from Alaskan Arctic tundra eddy flux sites and regional fluxes derived from aircraft data. We find that emissions during the cold season (September to May) account for ≥50\% of the annual CH4 flux, with the highest emissions from noninundated upland tundra. A major fraction of cold season emissions occur during the {"}zero curtain{"} period, when subsurface soil temperatures are poised near 0°C. The zero curtain may persist longer than the growing season, and CH4 emissions are enhanced when the duration is extended by a deep thawed layer as can occur with thick snow cover. Regional scale fluxes of CH4 derived from aircraft data demonstrate the large spatial extent of late season CH4 emissions. Scaled to the circumpolar Arctic, cold season fluxes from tundra total 12 ± 5 (95\% confidence interval) Tg CH4 y-1, \textasciitilde{}25\% of global emissions from extratropical wetlands, or \textasciitilde{}6\% of total global wetland methane emissions. The dominance of late-season emissions, sensitivity to soil environmental conditions, and importance of dry tundra are not currently simulated in most global climate models. Because Arctic warming disproportionally impacts the cold season, our results suggest that higher cold-season CH4 emissions will result from observed and predicted increases in snow thickness, active layer depth, and soil temperature, representing important positive feedbacks on climate warming.",

keywords = "Aircraft, Fall, Permafrost, Warming, Winter",

author = "Donatella Zona and Beniamino Gioli and R{\'o}is{\'i}n Commane and Jakob Lindaas and Wofsy, \{Steven C.\} and Miller, \{Charles E.\} and Dinardo, \{Steven J.\} and Sigrid Dengel and Colm Sweeney and Anna Karion and Chang, \{Rachel Y.W.\} and Henderson, \{John M.\} and Murphy, \{Patrick C.\} and Goodrich, \{Jordan P.\} and Virginie Moreaux and Anna Liljedahl and Watts, \{Jennifer D.\} and Kimball, \{John S.\} and Lipson, \{David A.\} and Oechel, \{Walter C.\}",

note = "Funding Information: We thank the Global Change Research Group at San Diego State University, UMIAQ, Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation (UIC), CH2M HILL Polar Services for logistical support; Salvatore Losacco, Owen Hayman, and Herbert Njuabe for help with field data collection; David Beerling for comments on the manuscript; Scot Miller for suggestions on the statistical analysis; and George Burba for suggestions on the data quality assessment. The statistical analysis was performed using R, and we thank the R Developing Core Team. This research was conducted on land owned by the UIC. This work was funded by the Division of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Award 1204263); Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE), an Earth Ventures (EV-1) investigation, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and Department of Energy (DOE) Grant DE-SC005160. Logistical support was funded by the NSF Division of Polar Programs.",

year = "2016",

month = jan,

day = "5",

doi = "10.1073/pnas.1516017113",

language = "English",

volume = "113",

pages = "40--45",

journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",

issn = "0027-8424",

publisher = "National Academy of Sciences",

number = "1",

}

Zona, D, Gioli, B, Commane, R, Lindaas, J, Wofsy, SC, Miller, CE, Dinardo, SJ, Dengel, S, Sweeney, C, Karion, A, Chang, RYW, Henderson, JM, Murphy, PC, Goodrich, JP, Moreaux, V, Liljedahl, A, Watts, JD, Kimball, JS, Lipson, DA & Oechel, WC 2016, 'Cold season emissions dominate the Arctic tundra methane budget', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 113, no. 1, pp. 40-45. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1516017113

TY - JOUR

T1 - Cold season emissions dominate the Arctic tundra methane budget

AU - Zona, Donatella

AU - Gioli, Beniamino

AU - Commane, Róisín

AU - Lindaas, Jakob

AU - Wofsy, Steven C.

AU - Miller, Charles E.

AU - Dinardo, Steven J.

AU - Dengel, Sigrid

AU - Sweeney, Colm

AU - Karion, Anna

AU - Chang, Rachel Y.W.

AU - Henderson, John M.

AU - Murphy, Patrick C.

AU - Goodrich, Jordan P.

AU - Moreaux, Virginie

AU - Liljedahl, Anna

AU - Watts, Jennifer D.

AU - Kimball, John S.

AU - Lipson, David A.

AU - Oechel, Walter C.

N1 - Funding Information: We thank the Global Change Research Group at San Diego State University, UMIAQ, Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation (UIC), CH2M HILL Polar Services for logistical support; Salvatore Losacco, Owen Hayman, and Herbert Njuabe for help with field data collection; David Beerling for comments on the manuscript; Scot Miller for suggestions on the statistical analysis; and George Burba for suggestions on the data quality assessment. The statistical analysis was performed using R, and we thank the R Developing Core Team. This research was conducted on land owned by the UIC. This work was funded by the Division of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Award 1204263); Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE), an Earth Ventures (EV-1) investigation, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and Department of Energy (DOE) Grant DE-SC005160. Logistical support was funded by the NSF Division of Polar Programs.

PY - 2016/1/5

Y1 - 2016/1/5

N2 - Arctic terrestrial ecosystems are major global sources of methane (CH4); hence, it is important to understand the seasonal and climatic controls on CH4 emissions from these systems. Here, we report year-round CH4 emissions from Alaskan Arctic tundra eddy flux sites and regional fluxes derived from aircraft data. We find that emissions during the cold season (September to May) account for ≥50% of the annual CH4 flux, with the highest emissions from noninundated upland tundra. A major fraction of cold season emissions occur during the "zero curtain" period, when subsurface soil temperatures are poised near 0°C. The zero curtain may persist longer than the growing season, and CH4 emissions are enhanced when the duration is extended by a deep thawed layer as can occur with thick snow cover. Regional scale fluxes of CH4 derived from aircraft data demonstrate the large spatial extent of late season CH4 emissions. Scaled to the circumpolar Arctic, cold season fluxes from tundra total 12 ± 5 (95% confidence interval) Tg CH4 y-1, ~25% of global emissions from extratropical wetlands, or ~6% of total global wetland methane emissions. The dominance of late-season emissions, sensitivity to soil environmental conditions, and importance of dry tundra are not currently simulated in most global climate models. Because Arctic warming disproportionally impacts the cold season, our results suggest that higher cold-season CH4 emissions will result from observed and predicted increases in snow thickness, active layer depth, and soil temperature, representing important positive feedbacks on climate warming.

AB - Arctic terrestrial ecosystems are major global sources of methane (CH4); hence, it is important to understand the seasonal and climatic controls on CH4 emissions from these systems. Here, we report year-round CH4 emissions from Alaskan Arctic tundra eddy flux sites and regional fluxes derived from aircraft data. We find that emissions during the cold season (September to May) account for ≥50% of the annual CH4 flux, with the highest emissions from noninundated upland tundra. A major fraction of cold season emissions occur during the "zero curtain" period, when subsurface soil temperatures are poised near 0°C. The zero curtain may persist longer than the growing season, and CH4 emissions are enhanced when the duration is extended by a deep thawed layer as can occur with thick snow cover. Regional scale fluxes of CH4 derived from aircraft data demonstrate the large spatial extent of late season CH4 emissions. Scaled to the circumpolar Arctic, cold season fluxes from tundra total 12 ± 5 (95% confidence interval) Tg CH4 y-1, ~25% of global emissions from extratropical wetlands, or ~6% of total global wetland methane emissions. The dominance of late-season emissions, sensitivity to soil environmental conditions, and importance of dry tundra are not currently simulated in most global climate models. Because Arctic warming disproportionally impacts the cold season, our results suggest that higher cold-season CH4 emissions will result from observed and predicted increases in snow thickness, active layer depth, and soil temperature, representing important positive feedbacks on climate warming.

KW - Aircraft

KW - Fall

KW - Permafrost

KW - Warming

KW - Winter

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84953226850

U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1516017113

DO - 10.1073/pnas.1516017113

M3 - Article

C2 - 26699476

AN - SCOPUS:84953226850

SN - 0027-8424

VL - 113

SP - 40

EP - 45

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

IS - 1

ER -

Cold season emissions dominate the Arctic tundra methane budget

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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