Comparative analysis of land,marine, and satellite observations of methane in the lower Atmosphere in the Russian Arctic under conditions of climate change

Land, marine, and satellite observations have been used to study changes in methane concentrations in the lower atmosphere during the warm months of the year (July through October) in Arctic regions having different potentials for methane production. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) data for 2002–2013 are used to explore the interplay between local methane sources in the terrestrial region of the Eurasian Arctic and on the Arctic shelf over the warm period of the year. Linear trends in atmospheric methane concentrations over different Arctic regions are calculated, and a hypothesis of the relation of concentration variations to climatic parameters is tested. The combination of land, marine, and satellite observation is used to develop a conceptual model of the atmospheric methane field in the terrestrial part of the Russian Arctic and on the Arctic shelf. It is shown that the modern methane growth rate in the Arctic does not exceed the Northern Hemisphere mean. It is concluded that the methane emission in the Arctic has little effect on global climate compared to other factors.     

Modeling the contribution of dissolved organic carbon to carbon sequestration during the last glacial maximum

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a carbon reservoir that is as large as the atmospheric CO₂ pool, and its contribution to the global carbon cycle is gaining attention. As DOC is a dissolved tracer, its distribution can serve to trace the mixing of water masses and the pathways of ocean circulation. Published proxy and model reconstructions have revealed that, during the last glacial maximum (LGM), the pattern of deep ocean circulation differed from that of the modern ocean, whereby additional carbon is assumed to have been sequestered in stratified LGM deep water. The aim of this study is to explore the distribution of DOC and its production/removal rate during the LGM using the Grid ENabled Integrated Earth system model (GENIE). Modeled results reveal that increased salinity of bottom waters in the Southern Ocean is associated with stronger stratification and oxygen depletion. The stratified LGM deep ocean traps more nutrients, resulting in a decrease in the DOC reservoir size that, in turn, causes a negative feedback for carbon sequestration. This finding requires an increase in DOC lifetime to compensate for the negative feedback. The upper limit of DOC lifetime is assumed to be 20,000 years. Modeled results derive an increase (decrease) in DOC reservoir by 100 Pg C leading to an atmospheric CO₂ decrease (increase) of 9.1 ppm and a dissolved inorganic carbon δ¹³C increase (decrease) of 0.06‰. The DOC removal rate is estimated to be 39.5 Tg C year^–1 in the deep sea during the LGM. The contribution of DOC to the LGM carbon cycle elucidates potential carbon sink-increasing strategies.     

Some features of seasonal variations in the methane content in the atmosphere over northern Eurasia

The climatic trends and basic features of seasonal variations in and anomalies of the concentration of methane in the atmospheric surface layer are considered on the basis of the current notion of the processes that form the global field of methane in the Earth’s atmosphere. Measurement data on the surface concentration of methane, which were obtained in Moscow and at a number of observation stations in Europe and Siberia in the fall-winter period of the first decade of the 21st century, have been analyzed. It is shown that, in the anomalously warm winter months of 2006/2007, the concentration of methane in the atmosphere over Moscow was higher than in the previous and following years. The excess concentration of methane amounted to 10% in March 2007, which is higher than the mean range of seasonal variations in the monthly mean concentration of surface methane. A comparison between the data obtained in Moscow and the data obtained at three stations of the NOAA global monitoring network and at three Russian Hydrometeorological Research Center stations shows the high spatial variability of the methane concentration in the atmosphere over northern Eurasia. The complex and multifactor processes that determine the content of methane in the atmospheric surface layer result in noticeable spatial and interannual deviations from the mean seasonal cycle of its concentration, which can manifest themselves on both regional and global scales. It is possible that the resumed increase in the content of methane in the Earth’s atmosphere recorded in 2007 (after its relative stabilization in the early 2000s) at the global monitoring network was also caused, to some extent, by the anomalously warm winter of 2006–2007 in northern Europe and western Siberia.     

Contribution of tundra lakes in western Siberia to the atmospheric methane budget

The emission of methane from tundra lakes in western Siberia is estimated on the basis of experimental data. According to these estimates, over the warm season, the methane flux from the surfaces of lakes to the atmosphere amounts to 0.5 KtCH₄ for Arctic tundra, 2.9 KtCH₄ for typical tundra, and 8.5 KtCH₄ for southern tundra. The short-term spring emission of methane as ice melts in tundra lakes of the region under consideration is determined with consideration for published estimates of the rate of generation of methane in northern-latitude lakes during the cold season. The contribution made by tundra lakes in western Siberia to the atmospheric methane budget is estimated at 20 KtCH₄/year.     

Investigation of the biogeochemistry of methane and mechanisms of its transfer in the Black Sea

We demonstrate the importance of investigation of the behavior of methane as a source of energy and an element of the Black-Sea ecosystem affecting the global behavior of the climate. We describe the genesis of methane and the processes of its aerobic and anaerobic oxidation. An especially important biogeochemical and ecological role is played by the anaerobic oxidation of methane guaranteeing the formation of its effective sink inside the anaerobic zone and preventing its penetration into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas. On the basis of the analysis of the experimental data available from the literature, we also discuss the principal regularities of the distribution of concentration of methane and its flows. It is shown that the formation of methane hydrates at the bottom in the abyssal part of the Black Sea and the events of jet gas release on the periphery of the basin can be regarded as the components of a single global process of gas release from the bottom of the Black Sea. We present estimates of the components of methane budget in the Black Sea. The results of simulation of the dynamics of methane bubbles and the processes of their gas exchange with the medium are analyzed. The data of hydroacoustic measurements are used to evaluate the distribution of methane bubbles in sizes and the mass transfer of methane through the ocean–atmosphere interface. Finally, we consider the methods of mathematical simulation of the distribution of methane in the ecosystem of the Black Sea. Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 5, pp. 40–56, September–October, 2008.     

Numerical simulation of the world ocean circulation and its climatic variability for 1948–2007 using the INMOM

The results of simulating global ocean circulation and its interannual variability in 1948–2007 using INM RAS ocean general circulation model INMOM (Institute of Numerical Mathematics Ocean Model) are presented. One of the INMOM versions is also used for the Black Sea dynamics simulation. The CORE datasets were used to set realistic atmospheric forcing. Sea ice area decrease by 2007 was reproduced in the Arctic Ocean that is in good agreement with observations. The interdecadal climatic variability was revealed with significant decrease of Atlantic thermohaline circulation (ATHC) and meridional heat transport (MHT) in North Atlantic (NA) since the late 1990’s. MHT presents decrease of heat transport from NA to the atmosphere since the mid-1990’s. Therefore the negative feedback is revealed in the Earth climate system that leads to reducing of climate warming caused primarily by anthropogenic factor for the last decades. Long-term variability (60 years) of ATHC is revealed as well which influences NA thermal state with 10 year delay. The assumption is argued that this mechanism can make a contribution in the ATHC own long-term variability.     

Interaction of the methane cycle and processes in wetland ecosystems in a climate model of intermediate complexity

The climate model of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IAP RAS CM) has been supplemented with a module of soil thermal physics and the methane cycle, which takes into account the response of methane emissions from wetland ecosystems to climate changes. Methane emissions are allowed only from unfrozen top layers of the soil, with an additional constraint in the depth of the simulated layer. All wetland ecosystems are assumed to be water-saturated. The molar amount of the methane oxidized in the atmosphere is added to the simulated atmospheric concentration of CO₂. A control preindustrial experiment and a series of numerical experiments for the 17th–21st centuries were conducted with the model forced by greenhouse gases and tropospheric sulfate aerosols. It is shown that the IAP RAS CM generally reproduces preindustrial and current characteristics of both seasonal thawing/freezing of the soil and the methane cycle. During global warming in the 21st century, the permafrost area is reduced by four million square kilometers. By the end of the 21st century, methane emissions from wetland ecosystems amount to 130–140 Mt CH₄/year for the preindustrial and current period increase to 170–200 MtCH₄/year. In the aggressive anthropogenic forcing scenario A2, the atmospheric methane concentration grows steadily to ≈3900 ppb. In more moderate scenarios A1B and B1, the methane concentration increases until the mid-21st century, reaching ≈2100–2400 ppb, and then decreases. Methane oxidation in air results in a slight additional growth of the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. Allowance for the interaction between processes in wetland ecosystems and the methane cycle in the IAP RAS CM leads to an additional atmospheric methane increase of 10–20% depending on the anthropogenic forcing scenario and the time. The causes of this additional increase are the temperature dependence of integral methane production and the longer duration of a warm period in the soil. However, the resulting enhancement of the instantaneous greenhouse radiative forcing of atmospheric methane and an increase in the mean surface air temperature are small (globally < 0.1 W/m² and 0.05 K, respectively).     

Methane in the East China Sea water

Methane in the East China Sea water was determined four times at a fixed vertical section along PN line consisting of 11–14 stations, in February 1993, October 1993, June 1994 and August 1994. The mean concentration of methane in the surface water was not significantly higher than that in the open ocean. The methane concentration below the pycnocline increased during the stratified period in summer to autumn and reached to 15 nmoles/l at most in October. The concentration of methane was fairly well correlated with AOU in the layer below the pycnocline in the stratified season. This means that methane in the bottom water has only a single source, which is expected to be anoxic sediments near the coast, and that the oxidation rate of methane in the water is extremely slow in the oxic water. The high methane observed in October completely disappeared in February, indicating that the methane was escaped to the atmosphere or transported to the pelagic ocean by the Kuroshio current. The East China Sea, therefore, is not a large direct and stationary source for the atmospheric methane, but may have some role as a source by supplying it sporadically to the atmosphere in early winter or indirectly from the surface of the pelagic ocean.     

冷泉系统甲烷气体渗漏的声学特征及潜在环境效应

The amount of methane leaked from deep sea cold seeps is enormous and potentially affects the global warming,ocean acidification and global carbon cycle. It is of great significance to study the methane bubble movement and dissolution process in the water column and its output to the atmosphere. Methane bubbles produce strong acoustic impedance in water bodies, and bubble strings released from deep sea cold seeps are called "gas flares"which expressed as flame-like strong backscatter in the water column. We characterized the morphology and movement of methane bubbles released into the water using multibeam water column data at two cold seeps. The result shows that methane at site I reached 920 m water depth without passing through the top of the gas hydrate stability zone(GHSZ, 850 m), while methane bubbles at site II passed through the top of the GHSZ(597 m) and entered the non-GHSZ(above 550 m). By applying two methods on the multibeam data, the bubble rising velocity in the water column at sites I and II were estimated to be 9.6 cm/s and 24 cm/s, respectively. Bubble velocity is positively associated with water depth which is inferred to be resulted from decrease of bubble size during methane ascending in the water. Combined with numerical simulation, we concluded that formation of gas hydrate shells plays an important role in helping methane bubbles entering the upper water bodies, while other factors, including water depth, bubble velocity, initial kinetic energy and bubble size, also influence the bubble residence time in the water and the possibility of methane entering the atmosphere. We estimate that methane gas flux at these two sites is 0.4×10~6–87.6×10~6 mol/a which is extremely small compared to the total amount of methane in the ocean body, however, methane leakage might exert significant impact on the ocean acidification considering the widespread distributed cold seeps. In addition, although methane entering the atmosphere is not observed, further research is still needed to understand its potential impact on increasing methane concentration in the surface seawater and gas-water interface methane exchange rate, which consequently increase the greenhouse effect.     

黄海春季海雾形成的气候特征

采用合成与个例分析相结合的方法,对黄海春季(4月)海雾形成的大气环流条件、水汽输送条件以及海面条件(SST)进行了分析,并讨论了海面的有效长波辐射,结果表明,黄海春季海雾形成的水汽不是由局地提供的,而是由热带大气提供的,大气环流提供了暖湿空气的输送条件,海面条件相对并不重要,海雾在低层大气与海洋的热交换中具有明显地反馈作用.     

Modelling snowdrift sublimation and its effect on the moisture budget of the atmospheric boundary layer

A one‐dimensional atmospheric surface layer model including turbulent diffusion and gravitational settling of suspended snow particles is used to simulate vertical profiles of snowdrift sublimation rates and the associated effects on the humidity and temperature profiles in the lowest 10 m. The simulations show that the thermodynamic feedback effects associated with snowdrift sublimation, i.e., strong increases in humidity and cooling, can significantly reduce the snowdrift sublimation rate, in particular in strong winds when large numbers of particles are being suspended. This negative feedback occurs because snowdrift sublimation depends on the undersaturation and temperature. Mechanisms that take away moisture from the surface layer, such as entrainment or horizontal advection of dry air, tend to weaken this feedback and enhance modelled snowdrift sublimation as the air generally remains undersaturated. Near the surface, however, the thermodynamic feedbacks dominate in strong winds, reducing the upward moisture flux from the surface. Then, snowdrift sublimation is the main contributor to the upward moisture flux at 10 m. Interestingly, in strong winds, the simulated total upward moisture flux in snowdrifting conditions is less than that in similar non‐drifting conditions. Hence, the model results indicate that occurrence of snowdrift sublimation may, counterintuitively, eventually lead to a reduction of the surface‐atmosphere moisture transport.     

An experiment demonstrating that marine slumping is a mechanism to transfer methane from seafloor gas-hydrate deposits into the upper ocean and atmosphere

The scientific community is engaged in a lively debate over whether and how venting from the gas-hydrate reservoir and the Earth’s climate is connected. The various scenarios which have been proposed are based on the following assumptions: the inventory of methane gas-hydrate deposits is locally enormous, the stability of marine gas-hydrate deposits can easily be perturbed by temperature and pressure changes, enough methane can be released from these deposits to contribute adequate volumes of this isotopically distinct greenhouse gas to alter the composition of oceanic or atmospheric methane reservoirs, and the mechanisms exist for the transfer of methane from deeper geologic reservoirs to the ocean and/or atmosphere. However, some potential transfer mechanisms have been difficult to evaluate. Here, we consider the possibility of marine slumping as a mechanism to transfer methane carbon from gas hydrates within the seafloor into the ocean and atmosphere. Our analyses and field experiments indicate that large slumps could release volumetrically significant quantities of solid gas hydrates which would float upwards in the water column. Large pieces of gas hydrate would reach the upper layers of the ocean before decomposing, and some of the methane would be directly injected into the atmosphere.     

A method for the calculation of anaerobic oxidation of methane rates across regional scales: an example from the Belt Seas and The Sound (North Sea–Baltic Sea transition)

Estimating the amount of methane in the seafloor globally as well as the flux of methane from sediments toward the ocean–atmosphere system are important considerations in both geological and climate sciences. Nevertheless, global estimates of methane inventories and rates of methane production and consumption through anaerobic oxidation in marine sediments are very poorly constrained. Tools for regionally assessing methane formation and consumption rates would greatly increase our understanding of the spatial heterogeneity of the methane cycle as well as help constrain the global methane budget. In this article, an algorithm for calculating methane consumption rates in the inner shelf is applied to the gas-rich sediments of the Belt Seas and The Sound (North Sea–Baltic Sea transition). It is based on the depth of free gas determined by hydroacoustic techniques and the local methane solubility concentration. Due to the continuous nature of shipboard hydroacoustic measurements, this algorithm captures spatial heterogeneities in methane fluxes better than geochemical analyses of point sources such as observational/sampling stations. The sensibility of the algorithm with respect to the resolution of the free gas depth measurements (2 m vs. 50 cm) is proven of minor importance (a discrepancy of <10%) for a small part of the study area. The algorithm-derived anaerobic methane oxidation rates compare well with previous measured and modeling studies. Finally, regional results reveal that contemporary anaerobic methane oxidation in worldwide inner-shelf sediments may be an order of magnitude lower (ca. 0.24 Tmol year^–1) than previous estimates (4.6 Tmol year^–1). These algorithms ultimately help improve regional estimates of anaerobic oxidation of methane rates.     

Calculation of Long-Term Averages of Surface Air Temperature Based on Insolation Data

The solar radiation coming to the Earth’s ellipsoid is considered without taking into account the atmosphere on the basis of the astronomical ephemerides for the time interval from 3000 BC to 3000 AD. Using the regression equations between the Earth’s insolation and near-surface air temperature, the insolation annual and semiannual climatic norms of near-surface air temperature for the Earth as a whole and the hemispheres are calculated in intervals of 30 years for the period from 2930 BC to 2930 AD with 100 and 900- to 1000-year time steps. The analysis shows that the annual insolation rates of the near-surface air temperature of the Earth and the hemispheres decrease at all intervals. The semiannual insolation rates of the near-surface air temperature increase in winter and decrease in summer. This means that the seasonal difference decreases. The annual and semiannual rates of insolation near-surface air temperature of the Earth increase in the equatorial and decrease in the polar regions; the latitudinal contrast increases. The interlatitudinal gradient is higher in the Southern Hemisphere. It practically does not change in winter and increases in summer, most strongly in the Southern Hemisphere.     

厦门东屿白骨壤林土壤甲烷的产生量、氧化量、传输率与库量

测定了厦门东屿白骨壤（Avicennia marina）林土壤的甲烷产生量及其在土壤中的氧化、传输与库量．土壤甲烷产生量基本上呈内滩>中滩>外滩的滩面变化趋势，季节变化趋势为秋、冬季低于春、夏季，与甲烷氧化量的时空变化模式一致，与甲烷库量的时空变化模式也基本相同．所有季节所有滩面土壤甲烷产生量、氧化量、库量的平均值分别为9.11mg/(m     

Current changes of the lower troposphere temperature in the Moscow region

Modern climatic changes for 1991–2013 in the lower 4-km layer of the atmosphere in the Moscow region are discussed based on long-term measurements using radiosondes in Dolgoprudny near Moscow and sensors installed on a high mast in Obninsk and on a television tower in Ostankino in Moscow. It is shown that at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century the mean-annual air temperature at all heights from 2 to 4000 m increased by an average of 0.1°C per year. In recent years, the warming has slowed. Over the last two decades, long-term changes were multidirectional, depending on the season: warming in May–December, cooling in January–February, and no statistically significant changes in March and April. The probable reason for the temperature decrease in the middle of the cold period is changes in the large-scale atmospheric circulation during recent years (the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation in early 2010s). In recent years, the Moscow region climate continentality has increased because of warming in summer and cooling in winter, despite the secular decreasing trend, which was noted before. Mean daily and annual warming rates in Dolgoprudny were higher than in Obninsk. The probable reason is the northward construction expansion and the strengthening of the Moscow heat island. The highest annual temperature amplitude is recorded at heights of 200–300 m.     

Methane cycle in the INM RAS climate model

The atmosphere-ocean general circulation model with the carbon cycle is coupled to a model of methane evolution, in which methane sources in the soil of wetlands and methane evolution in the atmosphere are calculated. A numerical experiment on the simulation of climate and methane-cycle changes in 1860–2100 has been conducted with the model forced by methane emissions prescribed from scenario A1B. The distribution of the sources of methane from soil agrees with the available estimates and amounts to about 240 Mt/year in the 20th century. The methane flux from soil increases to 340 Mt/year by the end of the 21st century. The model adequately reproduces an increase in the atmospheric methane concentration from 800 ppb in 1860 to about 1800 ppb in 2000, but does not produce the observed stabilization of methane concentration in the early 21st century. By 2060, the methane concentration in the model attains 2700 ppb. The increase in atmospheric methane concentration is due mainly to anthropogenic emissions. A similar numerical experiment with fixed sources of methane from soil at the 1860–1900 level suggests that the maximum methane concentration in the model in this case could amount to 2400 ppb. A temperature increase at the end of the 21st century relative to the 19th century is 3.5° for a simulated change in the methane flux from soil and 0.25° less for a fixed methane flux.     

夏季北冰洋无冰海域次表层暖水结构的形成机理

在夏季北冰洋的无冰海域,经常可以观测到次表层暖水现象,即在水深20～50m的范围内发生海水温度的极大值。建立了一个一维的热力学解析模式,用于研究夏季北冰洋次表层暖水的形成机制。模式的计算结果表明,太阳辐射作用是形成次表层暖水的关键因素。在北冰洋的开阔水域,大气吸收海洋热量的过程导致了海面温度下降,使温度极大值出现在次表层。海洋垂向湍流热扩散对次表层暖水温度有显著影响;当湍流热扩散较弱时,热扩散的范围较小,有利于形成次表层暖水。次表层暖水的位置随着时间的推移不断加深,温度不断增高。在北极,大气温度低于海面温度是普遍现象,次表层暖水经常发生。虽然当海面气温发生变化时,次表层海水温度结构会发生相应的变化,但次表层暖水结构形成之后,如果不受强烈天气过程的破坏,则会一直存在下去。按照本文的结论,随着北极气候变暖,海冰将进一步减少,次表层暖水现象还会明显增加,海洋对气候变化将有更加强烈的响应和反馈,对全球气候变化产生意义深远的影响。     

台湾地区湖泊甲烷释放量

本研究首次对台湾湖泊的甲烷释放量化评估,以期了解湖泊在台湾地区甲烷总释出量,研究主要利用两种方式进行,一是收集箱实测法,大多运用在交通便利地区,使用甲烷收集箱,定时收集甲烷气,进行浓度分析后,进而估算释放量,另一是利用水汽浓度差估算法,大多运用在交通不便地区,以水体内及接近水体的空气甲烷浓度差,考虑风速及利用理论方程式估算甲烷释放通量,两方法所得到的甲烷释放通量误差在一次方左右。     

Air temperature and energy consumption feedbacks within urbanized areas

In the 21st century, the climate of expanding megacities and urbanized areas is increasingly forming and changing under the influence of the growing power consumption of the urban economy. To understand the urban climate dynamic and estimate the energy needs of cities in the 21st century, it is necessary to consider not only global and regional climatic factors, but also the presence of feedback between temperature and energy consumption in urbanized areas. This feedback can be both negative and positive, and their significance depends essentially on the climate and landform of the region, system of electricity and heat supply of a city, and some other factors. This article describes the main factors of formation and development of temperature and energy-consumption feedback within urbanized areas in cold and warm seasons when indoor heating or air conditioning is being used. The role of advection in strengthening and weakening of this feedback is studied. The estimates of the parameter and coefficient of feedback strengthening with the influence of anthropogenic heat fluxes and advection on the urban air temperature are presented.