Old carbon reservoirs were not important in the deglacial methane budget
Thursday, February 20, 2020 - 14:20
in Earth & Climate
Permafrost and methane hydrates are large, climate-sensitive old carbon reservoirs that have the potential to emit large quantities of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, as the Earth continues to warm. We present ice core isotopic measurements of methane (14C, 13C, and D) from the last deglaciation, which is a partial analog for modern warming. Our results show that methane emissions from old carbon reservoirs in response to deglacial warming were small (