Physics Commons^™

Atmospheric Methane Isotopic Record Favors Fossil Sources Flat In 1980s And 1990s With Recent Increase, Andrew L. Rice, Christopher Butenhoff, Doaa Galal Mohammed Teama, Florian H. Roger, M. A. K. Khalil, R. A. Rasmussen

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Observations of atmospheric methane (CH4) since the late 1970s and measurements of CH4 trapped in ice and snow reveal a meteoric rise in concentration during much of the twentieth century. Since 1750, levels of atmospheric CH4 have more than doubled to current globally averaged concentration near 1,800 ppb. During the late 1980s and 1990s, the CH4 growth rate slowed substantially and was near or at zero between 1999 and 2006. There is no scientific consensus on the drivers of this slowdown. Here, we report measurements of the stable isotopic composition of atmospheric CH4 (13C/12C and D/H) from a rare air …