Project Details
Description
The subglacial environment of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) show surprisingly
large release of methane to the atmosphere demonstrating that ice sheets may be
active components of the global carbon and methane (CH4) cycle with potential
short- and long term impacts on the global climate system. We lack reliable
estimates of the total CH4 emissions from glaciated land areas and with estimated global carbon reserves in sediments and paleosoils below glaciers surpassing that stored in non-glaciated permafrost, the recent discoveries of direct CH4 emissions from GrIS point to an overlooked, but likely significant, source of CH4 in the Arctic. We aim to understand the importance of subglacial CH4 emissions for past, present and future atmospheres by investigating the release mechanism, the sources and ages of the CH4 using field measurements and novel isotope techniques. We hypothesize that the CH4 is recently biogenic and its emission driven by the seasonality of glacial hydrology.
large release of methane to the atmosphere demonstrating that ice sheets may be
active components of the global carbon and methane (CH4) cycle with potential
short- and long term impacts on the global climate system. We lack reliable
estimates of the total CH4 emissions from glaciated land areas and with estimated global carbon reserves in sediments and paleosoils below glaciers surpassing that stored in non-glaciated permafrost, the recent discoveries of direct CH4 emissions from GrIS point to an overlooked, but likely significant, source of CH4 in the Arctic. We aim to understand the importance of subglacial CH4 emissions for past, present and future atmospheres by investigating the release mechanism, the sources and ages of the CH4 using field measurements and novel isotope techniques. We hypothesize that the CH4 is recently biogenic and its emission driven by the seasonality of glacial hydrology.
| Status | Finished |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 01/01/2021 → 30/06/2024 |