Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 15, 2025

Measuring Dissolved Methane in Aquatic Ecosystems Using An Optical Spectroscopy Gas Analyzer
Published on: July 26, 2024
Limited evidence that tropical inundation and precipitation powered the 2020-2022 methane surge
Ying Xiong1, Eric A Kort1, A Anthony Bloom2
1Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA.
Abstract:
Atmospheric methane is rapidly increasing, and the role of tropical wetlands in the global methane budget raises concerns about a potential climate-wetland-methane feedback. Here we use Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System observations to map monthly inundation dynamics across the tropics (37.4°S to 37.4°N) at high resolution (0.01° × 0.01°) over five years (2018-2023), including cloud and vegetation-covered regions. Our results reveal large seasonal and interannual variations in wetland extent not captured in traditional inundation products, with strong El Niño-Southern Oscillation correlations. Tropical wetland models driven by these inundation observations, independent precipitation products, or constrained by total water observations do not show growth in wetland methane emissions from 2020-2022. This suggests the 2020-2022 growth in methane is best explained by other methane source or sink mechanisms, or that non-hydrological controls are more important in tropical wetland methane emissions than currently understood.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Global Climate Change
Threats to Biodiversity
Overview of Metabolism
Plant Metabolism
Sunlight, the primary source of energy in plants, is first absorbed by the chlorophyll pigments present in their leaves. Plants then use this energy to carry out photosynthesis, where water is oxidized into oxygen and carbon dioxide...
Responses to Drought and Flooding
The Fossil Record
Mass Spectrum

