Advances of study on atmospheric methane oxidation (consumption) in forest soil

Next to CO2, methane (CH4) is the second important contributor to global warming in the atmosphere and global atmospheric CH4 budget depends on both CH4 sources and sinks. Unsaturated soil is known as a unique sink for atmospheric CH4 in terrestrial ecosystem. Many comparison studies proved that forest soil had the biggest capacity of oxidizing atmospheric CH4 in various unsaturated soils. However, up to now, there is not an overall review in the aspect of atmospheric CH4 oxidation (consumption) in forest soil. This paper analyzed advances of studies on the mechanism of atmospheric CH4 oxidation, and re-lated natural factors (Soil physical and chemical characters, temperature and moisture, ambient main greenhouse gases con-centrations, tree species, and forest fire) and anthropogenic factors (forest clear-cutting and thinning, fertilization, exogenous aluminum salts and atmospheric deposition, adding biocides, and switch of forest land use) in forest soils. It was believed that CH4 consumption rate by forest soil was limited by diffusion and sensitive to changes in water status and temperature of soil. CH4 oxidation was also particularly sensitive to soil C/N, Ambient CO2, CH4 and N2O concentrations, tree species and forest fire. In most cases, anthropogenic disturbances will decrease atmospheric CH4 oxidation, thus resulting in the elevating of atmos-pheric CH4. Finally, the author pointed out that our knowledge of atmospheric CH4 oxidation (consumption) in forest soil was insufficient. In order to evaluate the contribution of forest soils to atmospheric CH4 oxidation and the role of forest played in the process of global environmental change, and to forecast the trends of global warming exactly, more researchers need to studies further on CH4 oxidation in various forest soils of different areas.

Atmospheric Methane over the Past 2000 Years from a Sub-tropical Ice Core, Central Himalayas

A high-resolution 2ooo-year methane record has been constructed from an ice core recovered at 7200 m a.s.1, on the Dasuopu Glacier in the central Himalayas. This sub-tropical methane record reveals an increasing trend in the concentration of methane during the industrial era that is similar to observations from polar regions. However, we also observed the differences in the atmospheric methane mixing ratio between this monsoon record and those from polar regions during pre-industrial times. In the time interval o N 1850 A.D., the average methane concentration in the Dasuopu ice core was 782±40 ppbv and the maximum temporal variation exceeded 200 ppbv. The difference gradient of methane concentration in Dasuopu ice core with Greenland and Antarctica cores are 66±40 ppbv and 107±40 ppbv, respectively. This suggests that the tropical latitudes might have acted as a major global methane source in preindustrial times. In addition, the temporal fluctuation of the pre-industrial methane records suggests that monsoon evolution incorporated with high methane emission from south Asia might be responsible for the relatively high methane concentration observed in the Dasuopu ice core around A.D. 800 and A.D. 1600. These results provide a rough understanding of the contribution of tropical methane source to the global methane budget and also the relationship betweenatmospheric methane and climate change.

Study of atmospheric CO2 and CH4 at Longfengshan WMO/GAW regional station： The variations, trends, influence of local sources/sinks, and transport

Atmospheric CO_2 and CH_4 have been continuously measured since 2009 at Longfengshan WMO/GAW station(LFS) in China. Variations of the mole fractions, influence of long-distance transport, effects of local sources/sinks and the characteristics of synoptic scale variations have been studied based on the records from 2009 to 2013. Both the CO_2 and CH_4 mole fractions display increasing trends in the last five years, with growth rates of 3.1±0.02 ppm yr.1 for CO_2 and 8±0.04 ppb yr.1(standard error, 1-σ)for CH_4. In summer, the regional CO_2 mole fractions are apparently lower than the Marine Boundary Layer reference, with the lowest value of.13.6±0.7 ppm in July, while the CH_4 values are higher than the MBL reference, with the maximum of 139±6 ppb.From 9 to 17(Local time, LT) in summer, the atmospheric CO_2 mole fractions at 10 m a.g.l. are always lower than at 80 m, with a mean difference of.1.1±0.2 ppm, indicating that the flask sampling approach deployed may underestimate the background mole fractions in summer. In winter, anthropogenic emissions dominate the regional CO_2 and CH_4 mole fractions. Cluster analysis of backward trajectories shows that atmospheric CO_2 and CH_4 at LFS are influenced by anthropogenic emissions from the southwest(Changchun and Jilin city) all year. The synoptic scale variations indicate that the northeastern China plain acts as an important source of atmospheric CO_2 and CH_4 in winter.

Holocene initiation and expansion of the southern margins of northern peatlands triggered by the East Asian summer monsoon recession

Northern peatlands represent one of the largest biospheric carbon reservoirs in the world.Their southern margins act as new carbon reservoirs,which can greatly influence the global carbon dynamics.However,the Holocene initiation,expansion and climate sensitivity of these peatlands remain intensely debated.Here we used a compilation of basal peat ages across six isolated peatlands at the southern margins of northern peatlands to address these issues.We found that the earliest initiation event of these peatlands occurred after the Younger Dryas(YD,12,800–11,700 years ago)period.The second initiation event and rapid expansion occurred since 5 ka cal.BP.The recession of East Asian summer monsoon(EASM)during the YD period and at around 5 ka cal.BP likely played a major role in controlling the initiation and expansion of these peatlands.The rapid expansion of these peatlands possibly contributed to the significant increases in atmospheric methane concentrations during the late Holocene because of the minerotrophic fens status and rapid expansion of them.These ecological processes are different from northern peatlands,indicating the special carbon sink and source implications of these peatlands in the global carbon cycle.

Greenhouse gas emissions from oilfield-produced water in Shengli Oilfield,Eastern China

Greenhouse gas（GHG） emissions from oil and gas systems are an important component of the GHG emission inventory. To assess the carbon emissions from oilfield-produced water under atmospheric conditions correctly, in situ detection and simulation experiments were developed to study the natural release of GHG into the atmosphere in the Shengli Oilfield,the second largest oilfield in China. The results showed that methane（CH4） and carbon dioxide（CO2） were the primary gases released naturally from the oilfield-produced water.The atmospheric temperature and release time played important roles in determining the CH4 and CO2emissions under atmospheric conditions. Higher temperatures enhanced the carbon emissions. The emissions of both CH4 and CO2from oilfield-produced water were highest at 27°C and lowest at 3°C. The bulk of CH4 and CO2was released from the oilfield-produced water during the first release period, 0–2 hr, for each temperature, with a maximum average emission rate of 0.415 g CH4/（m3·hr） and 3.934 g CO2/（m3·hr）, respectively. Then the carbon emissions at other time periods gradually decreased with the extension of time. The higher solubility of CO2 in water than CH4 results in a higher emission rate of CH4 than CO2over the same release duration. The simulation proved that oilfield-produced water is one of the potential emission sources that should be given great attention in oil and gas systems.