Methane from extinct herbivores
Nature Geoscience
2010년5월24일
The extinction of large plant-eaters such as mammoths and mastodons, which began about 13,000 years ago, led to a dramatic decline in the total amount of methane emitted to the atmosphere annually, suggests a paper online this week in Nature Geoscience. Over 114 species of large-bodied herbivores ― megafauna ― throughout North and South America vanished during the extinction.
Like modern plant-eaters, such as cattle, the extinct herbivores released methane as part of their digestive process. Felisa Smith and colleagues estimate that these megafauna released about 9.6 teragrams of methane annually ― with the range of estimates between 2.3 and 25.5 teragrams ― to the atmosphere. Intriguingly, the extinction coincides with a significant drop in atmospheric methane concentrations, as recorded in ice cores. The team suggests that the loss of methane emissions could account for between 12 and 100% of that decline.
doi: 10.1038/ngeo877
리서치 하이라이트
-
6월23일
Environment: Household water crisis in the USA assessedNature Communications
-
6월18일
Climate change: Cleaner fuels may reduce impact of aviation on climate warmingCommunications Earth＆Environment
-
6월17일
Astronomy: ‘Great Dimming’ of Betelgeuse caused by dust veilNature
-
6월17일
Environment: Flow interrupted for more than half of the world’s riversNature
-
6월16일
Environment: EU agricultural imports vulnerable to future climate changeNature Communications
-
6월15일
Climate change: Tailored online messaging shifts Republican voters' understanding of climate changeNature Climate Change
