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AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Index Terms

  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Biosphere/atmosphere interactions
  • Global Change: Biogeochemical processes
  • Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Land/atmosphere interactions

Abstract

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 31, L20503, 4 PP., 2004
doi:10.1029/2004GL020919

Climate feedback from wetland methane emissions

N. Gedney

Hadley Centre, Met Office, Joint Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Research, Wallingford, UK

P. M. Cox

Hadley Centre, Met Office, Exeter, UK

C. Huntingford

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK

The potential for wetland emissions to feedback on climate change has been previously hypothesised [ Houghton et al., 2001 ]. We assess this hypothesis using an interactive wetlands scheme radiatively coupled to an integrated climate change effects model. The scheme predicts wetland area and methane (CH4) emissions from soil temperature and water table depth, and is constrained by optimising its ability to reproduce the observed inter-annual variability in atmospheric CH4. In transient climate change simulations the wetland response amplifies the total anthropogenic radiative forcing at 2100 by about 3.5–5%. The modelled increase in global CH4 flux from wetland is comparable to the projected increase in anthropogenic CH4 emissions over the 21st century under the IS92a scenario.

Received 5 July 2004; accepted 20 September 2004; published 23 October 2004.

Citation: Gedney, N., P. M. Cox, and C. Huntingford (2004), Climate feedback from wetland methane emissions, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L20503, doi:10.1029/2004GL020919.

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