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Cossa D, Dang DH, Knoery J, Patel-Sorrentino N, Tessier E, Démoulin L, Garnier C. Sources, chronology of deposition, and mobility of mercury and methylmercury in the sediments of a contaminated Mediterranean bay. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 949:175021. [PMID: 39094652 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2024] [Revised: 07/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024]
Abstract
Coastal sediments constitute a major reservoir for natural and anthropogenic mercury (Hg) and can be used as geochronological records of past Hg deposition. They may also act as secondary Hg sources for pelagic ecosystems via the efflux of toxic methylmercury (MeHg) diffusing from sediment porewaters and/or mobilized by sediment resuspension. In Toulon Bay sediments, which are known as one of the Hg hot spots of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea, we explored Hg species accumulation and mobility. The total Hg concentrations averaged 0.014 μg g-1 ca. 2000 years ago, then exhibited three major peaks during the Medieval Period, the Early Modern Period of Europe, and the Industrial Era, reaching 0.06, 0.07, and 13 μg g-1, respectively. The Medieval peak is attributed to the massive development of metallurgy in Europe accompanied by the burning of soil and vegetation, the second peak to the optimum of Hg extraction in Europe (Almadén mine), and the resumption of deforestation after the great plague. The third most recent Hg enrichment is associated with Hg-fulminate production, the scuttling of the French navy fleet during World War II, and ship salvaging and removal in the post-war years. Sampling of the dissolved phase at high vertical resolution above and below the sediment-water interface (SWI) enables us to conclude that MeHg was produced in situ by microbiological pathways and its diffusion across the SWI was negligible. On the other hand, ex-situ resuspension experiments showed that sorption and/or photodemethylation restrict MeHg from the dissolved phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Cossa
- Université Grenoble Alpes, ISTerre, CS40700, 38058 Grenoble Cedex 9, France; IFREMER, Contamination Chimique des Ecosystèmes Marins (CCEM), BP21105, 44311 Nantes, France.
| | - Duc Huy Dang
- Laboratoire MIO, Université de Toulon, BP20132, 83957 La Garde, France; Trent University, School of the environment and Department of Chemistry, 1600 W Bank Dr, Peterborough, ON K9L0G2, Canada
| | - Joël Knoery
- IFREMER, Contamination Chimique des Ecosystèmes Marins (CCEM), BP21105, 44311 Nantes, France
| | | | - Erwan Tessier
- Laboratoire MIO, Université de Toulon, BP20132, 83957 La Garde, France
| | - Léo Démoulin
- IFREMER, Contamination Chimique des Ecosystèmes Marins (CCEM), BP21105, 44311 Nantes, France
| | - Cédric Garnier
- Laboratoire MIO, Université de Toulon, BP20132, 83957 La Garde, France
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2
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Brewer JF, Millet DB, Wells KC, Payne VH, Kulawik S, Vigouroux C, Cady-Pereira KE, Pernak R, Zhou M. Space-based observations of tropospheric ethane map emissions from fossil fuel extraction. Nat Commun 2024; 15:7829. [PMID: 39244593 PMCID: PMC11380669 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52247-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2024] [Indexed: 09/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Ethane is the most abundant non-methane hydrocarbon in the troposphere, where it impacts ozone and reactive nitrogen and is a key tracer used for partitioning emitted methane between anthropogenic and natural sources. However, quantification has been challenged by sparse observations. Here, we present a satellite-based measurement of tropospheric ethane and demonstrate its utility for fossil-fuel source quantification. An ethane spectral signal is detectable from space in Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) radiances, revealing ethane signatures associated with fires and fossil fuel production. We use machine-learning to convert these signals to ethane abundances and validate the results against surface observations (R2 = 0.66, mean CrIS/surface ratio: 0.65). The CrIS data show that the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico exhibits the largest persistent ethane enhancements on the planet, with regional emissions underestimated by seven-fold. Correcting this underestimate reveals Permian ethane emissions that represent at least 4-7% of the global fossil-fuel ethane source.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared F Brewer
- University of Minnesota, Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, Saint Paul, MN, USA
| | - Dylan B Millet
- University of Minnesota, Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, Saint Paul, MN, USA.
| | - Kelley C Wells
- University of Minnesota, Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, Saint Paul, MN, USA
| | - Vivienne H Payne
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | - Corinne Vigouroux
- Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
| | | | - Rick Pernak
- Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Lexington, MA, USA
| | - Minqiang Zhou
- Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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3
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Strawson I, Faïn X, Bauska TK, Muschitiello F, Vladimirova DO, Tetzner DR, Humby J, Thomas ER, Liu P, Zhang B, Grilli R, Rhodes RH. Historical Southern Hemisphere biomass burning variability inferred from ice core carbon monoxide records. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2402868121. [PMID: 39102536 PMCID: PMC11331105 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2402868121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 08/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Biomass burning plays an important role in climate-forcing and atmospheric chemistry. The drivers of fire activity over the past two centuries, however, are hotly debated and fueled by poor constraints on the magnitude and trends of preindustrial fire regimes. As a powerful tracer of biomass burning, reconstructions of paleoatmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) can provide valuable information on the evolution of fire activity across the preindustrial to industrial transition. Here too, however, significant disagreements between existing CO records currently allow for opposing fire histories. In this study, we reconstruct a continuous record of Antarctic ice core CO between 1821 and 1995 CE to overlap with direct atmospheric observations. Our record indicates that the Southern Hemisphere CO burden ([CO]) increased by 50% from a preindustrial mixing ratio of ca. 35 ppb to ca. 53 ppb by 1995 CE with more variability than allowed for by state-of-the-art chemistry-climate models, suggesting that historic CO dynamics have been not fully accounted for. Using a 6-troposphere box model, a 40 to 50% decrease in Southern Hemisphere biomass-burning emissions, coincident with unprecedented rates of early 20th century anthropogenic land-use change, is identified as a strong candidate for this mismatch.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivo Strawson
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 3EQ, United Kingdom
- British Antarctic Survey, CambridgeCB3 0ET, United Kingdom
| | - Xavier Faïn
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Grenoble Institut National du Patrimoine, Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement, Grenoble38000, France
| | | | - Francesco Muschitiello
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 3EN, United Kingdom
- Centre for Climate Repair, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB3 0WA, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Jack Humby
- British Antarctic Survey, CambridgeCB3 0ET, United Kingdom
| | | | - Pengfei Liu
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA30332
| | - Bingqing Zhang
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA30332
| | - Roberto Grilli
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Grenoble Institut National du Patrimoine, Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement, Grenoble38000, France
| | - Rachael H. Rhodes
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 3EQ, United Kingdom
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4
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Zhang B, Chellman NJ, Kaplan JO, Mickley LJ, Ito T, Wang X, Wensman SM, McCrimmon D, Steffensen JP, McConnell JR, Liu P. Improved biomass burning emissions from 1750 to 2010 using ice core records and inverse modeling. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3651. [PMID: 38688918 PMCID: PMC11061293 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47864-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Estimating fire emissions prior to the satellite era is challenging because observations are limited, leading to large uncertainties in the calculated aerosol climate forcing following the preindustrial era. This challenge further limits the ability of climate models to accurately project future climate change. Here, we reconstruct a gridded dataset of global biomass burning emissions from 1750 to 2010 using inverse analysis that leveraged a global array of 31 ice core records of black carbon deposition fluxes, two different historical emission inventories as a priori estimates, and emission-deposition sensitivities simulated by the atmospheric chemical transport model GEOS-Chem. The reconstructed emissions exhibit greater temporal variabilities which are more consistent with paleoclimate proxies. Our ice core constrained emissions reduced the uncertainties in simulated cloud condensation nuclei and aerosol radiative forcing associated with the discrepancy in preindustrial biomass burning emissions. The derived emissions can also be used in studies of ocean and terrestrial biogeochemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingqing Zhang
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Nathan J Chellman
- Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Jed O Kaplan
- Department of Earth, Energy, and Environment, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Loretta J Mickley
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Takamitsu Ito
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Xuan Wang
- School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Sophia M Wensman
- Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Drake McCrimmon
- Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Jørgen Peder Steffensen
- Physics of Ice, Climate, and Earth, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Joseph R McConnell
- Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Pengfei Liu
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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5
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Liu P, Kaplan JO, Mickley LJ, Li Y, Chellman NJ, Arienzo MM, Kodros JK, Pierce JR, Sigl M, Freitag J, Mulvaney R, Curran MAJ, McConnell JR. Improved estimates of preindustrial biomass burning reduce the magnitude of aerosol climate forcing in the Southern Hemisphere. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/22/eabc1379. [PMID: 34049885 PMCID: PMC8163089 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abc1379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2020] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Fire plays a pivotal role in shaping terrestrial ecosystems and the chemical composition of the atmosphere and thus influences Earth's climate. The trend and magnitude of fire activity over the past few centuries are controversial, which hinders understanding of preindustrial to present-day aerosol radiative forcing. Here, we present evidence from records of 14 Antarctic ice cores and 1 central Andean ice core, suggesting that historical fire activity in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) exceeded present-day levels. To understand this observation, we use a global fire model to show that overall SH fire emissions could have declined by 30% over the 20th century, possibly because of the rapid expansion of land use for agriculture and animal production in middle to high latitudes. Radiative forcing calculations suggest that the decreasing trend in SH fire emissions over the past century largely compensates for the cooling effect of increasing aerosols from fossil fuel and biofuel sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengfei Liu
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Jed O Kaplan
- Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Loretta J Mickley
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Yang Li
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Department of Environmental Science, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA
| | - Nathan J Chellman
- Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV 89512, USA
| | - Monica M Arienzo
- Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV 89512, USA
| | - John K Kodros
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Jeffrey R Pierce
- Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Michael Sigl
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
- Climate and Environmental Physics, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Johannes Freitag
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
| | | | - Mark A J Curran
- Australian Antarctic Division and Antarctic Climate and Ecosystem Cooperative Research Centre, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Joseph R McConnell
- Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV 89512, USA
- Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 9AL, UK
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6
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Dyonisius MN, Petrenko VV, Smith AM, Hua Q, Yang B, Schmitt J, Beck J, Seth B, Bock M, Hmiel B, Vimont I, Menking JA, Shackleton SA, Baggenstos D, Bauska TK, Rhodes RH, Sperlich P, Beaudette R, Harth C, Kalk M, Brook EJ, Fischer H, Severinghaus JP, Weiss RF. Old carbon reservoirs were not important in the deglacial methane budget. Science 2020; 367:907-910. [PMID: 32079770 DOI: 10.1126/science.aax0504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
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 (Δ14C, δ13C, and δD) 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 (<19 teragrams of methane per year, 95% confidence interval) and argue against similar methane emissions in response to future warming. Our results also indicate that methane emissions from biomass burning in the pre-Industrial Holocene were 22 to 56 teragrams of methane per year (95% confidence interval), which is comparable to today.
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Affiliation(s)
- M N Dyonisius
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.
| | - V V Petrenko
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
| | - A M Smith
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Lucas Heights, NSW 2234, Australia
| | - Q Hua
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Lucas Heights, NSW 2234, Australia
| | - B Yang
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Lucas Heights, NSW 2234, Australia
| | - J Schmitt
- Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - J Beck
- Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - B Seth
- Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - M Bock
- Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - B Hmiel
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
| | - I Vimont
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - J A Menking
- College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
| | - S A Shackleton
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - D Baggenstos
- Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.,Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - T K Bauska
- College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.,British Antarctic Survey High Cross, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
| | - R H Rhodes
- College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.,Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK
| | - P Sperlich
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), 6021 Wellington, New Zealand
| | - R Beaudette
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - C Harth
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - M Kalk
- College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
| | - E J Brook
- College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
| | - H Fischer
- Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - J P Severinghaus
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - R F Weiss
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
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7
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Preindustrial 14CH 4 indicates greater anthropogenic fossil CH 4 emissions. Nature 2020; 578:409-412. [PMID: 32076219 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-1991-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2019] [Accepted: 11/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Atmospheric methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas, and its mole fraction has more than doubled since the preindustrial era1. Fossil fuel extraction and use are among the largest anthropogenic sources of CH4 emissions, but the precise magnitude of these contributions is a subject of debate2,3. Carbon-14 in CH4 (14CH4) can be used to distinguish between fossil (14C-free) CH4 emissions and contemporaneous biogenic sources; however, poorly constrained direct 14CH4 emissions from nuclear reactors have complicated this approach since the middle of the 20th century4,5. Moreover, the partitioning of total fossil CH4 emissions (presently 172 to 195 teragrams CH4 per year)2,3 between anthropogenic and natural geological sources (such as seeps and mud volcanoes) is under debate; emission inventories suggest that the latter account for about 40 to 60 teragrams CH4 per year6,7. Geological emissions were less than 15.4 teragrams CH4 per year at the end of the Pleistocene, about 11,600 years ago8, but that period is an imperfect analogue for present-day emissions owing to the large terrestrial ice sheet cover, lower sea level and extensive permafrost. Here we use preindustrial-era ice core 14CH4 measurements to show that natural geological CH4 emissions to the atmosphere were about 1.6 teragrams CH4 per year, with a maximum of 5.4 teragrams CH4 per year (95 per cent confidence limit)-an order of magnitude lower than the currently used estimates. This result indicates that anthropogenic fossil CH4 emissions are underestimated by about 38 to 58 teragrams CH4 per year, or about 25 to 40 per cent of recent estimates. Our record highlights the human impact on the atmosphere and climate, provides a firm target for inventories of the global CH4 budget, and will help to inform strategies for targeted emission reductions9,10.
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