NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology - Pakitsoq outcrop - Methane Carbon Isotope Data

We report atmospheric methane carbon isotope ratios (δ13CH4) from the Western Greenland ice margin spanning the Younger Dryas–to–Preboreal (YD-PB) transition. Over the recorded ∼800 years, δ13CH4 was around –46 per mil (‰); that is, ∼1‰ higher than in the modern atmosphere and ∼5.5‰ higher than would be expected from budgets without 13C-rich anthropogenic emissions. This requires higher natural 13C-rich emissions or stronger sink fractionation than conventionally assumed. Constant δ13CH4 during the rise in methane concentration at the YD-PB transition is consistent with additional emissions from tropical wetlands, or aerobic plant CH4 production, or with a multisource scenario. A marine clathrate source is unlikely.