Recent methane surges reveal heightened emissions from tropical inundated areas

Xin Lin (), Shushi Peng, Philippe Ciais, Didier Hauglustaine, Xin Lan, Gang Liu, Michel Ramonet, Yi Xi, Yi Yin, Zhen Zhang, Hartmut Bösch, Philippe Bousquet, Frédéric Chevallier, Bogang Dong, Cynthia Gerlein-Safdi, Santanu Halder, Robert J. Parker, Benjamin Poulter, Tianjiao Pu, Marine Remaud, Alexandra Runge, Marielle Saunois, Rona L. Thompson, Yukio Yoshida and Bo Zheng
Additional contact information
Xin Lin: Université Paris-Saclay
Shushi Peng: Peking University
Philippe Ciais: Université Paris-Saclay
Didier Hauglustaine: Université Paris-Saclay
Xin Lan: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences of University of Colorado
Gang Liu: Peking University
Michel Ramonet: Université Paris-Saclay
Yi Xi: Université Paris-Saclay
Yi Yin: New York University
Zhen Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Hartmut Bösch: University of Bremen
Philippe Bousquet: Université Paris-Saclay
Frédéric Chevallier: Université Paris-Saclay
Bogang Dong: Peking University
Cynthia Gerlein-Safdi: University of California
Santanu Halder: Université Paris-Saclay
Robert J. Parker: University of Leicester
Benjamin Poulter: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Tianjiao Pu: University of California
Marine Remaud: Université Paris-Saclay
Alexandra Runge: Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Marielle Saunois: Université Paris-Saclay
Rona L. Thompson: NILU
Yukio Yoshida: National Institute for Environmental Studies
Bo Zheng: Tsinghua University

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Record breaking atmospheric methane growth rates were observed in 2020 and 2021 (15.2±0.5 and 17.8±0.5 parts per billion per year), the highest since the early 1980s. Here we use an ensemble of atmospheric inversions informed by surface or satellite methane observations to infer emission changes during these two years relative to 2019. Results show global methane emissions increased by 20.3±9.9 and 24.8±3.1 teragrams per year in 2020 and 2021, dominated by heightened emissions from tropical and boreal inundated areas, aligning with rising groundwater storage and regional warming. Current process-based wetland models fail to capture the tropical emission surges revealed by atmospheric inversions, likely due to inaccurate representation of wetland extents and associated methane emissions. Our findings underscore the critical role of tropical inundated areas in the recent methane emission surges and highlight the need to integrate multiple data streams and modeling tools for better constraining tropical wetland emissions.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55266-y

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