Aug 7, 2026 07:54 AM
Siberian methane emissions have doubled in a decade, study co-led by UK scientists finds
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1139031
INTRO: Methane emissions from Siberia have more than doubled over the past decade, according to new research co-led by scientists at the University of Edinburgh’s National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO). The study, initiated as a collaborative project with researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences during their stay at the University of Edinburgh, reveals that rapid warming, alongside increasing wildfires and shifting wetland activity, is driving a sharp rise in methane emissions from the vast permafrost regions of northern Russia. The findings raise concerns that these accelerating emissions could undermine effects to meet global climate targets... (MORE - no ads)
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Siberia’s growing methane threat could offset 20% of global methane reduction targets by 2050
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1138027
INTRO: The Arctic is warming at an accelerating pace. As permafrost thaws across vast areas and wildfires become more frequent, large amounts of methane (CH4) are being released. Together, these changes are reshaping the region's greenhouse-gas emissions and further intensifying climate change.
In a study published in Science on August 6, an international team led by Prof. LIU Yi from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences investigated how CH4 emissions in Siberia are evolving under climate change, showing how atmospheric circulation promotes wildfire activity and methanogenesis and thereby drives the recent sharp rise in CH4 emissions.
Although Siberia accounts for only ~5% of global CH4 emissions, sparse observations and complex environmental conditions have made its emissions difficult to quantify, resulting in widely varied estimates. Under these conditions, researchers have long struggled to understand changes in the region's emissions and the role played by temperature, making Siberia an important source of uncertainty in the global CH4 budget.
Using a methane flux inversion system developed by Dr. ZHU Sihong from IAP, first author of this study, researchers integrated measurements from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) with data from a global network of near-surface monitoring stations, including tall-tower observations in Siberia. This approach reduced uncertainties in estimates of both Siberian CH4 emissions and their growth trend to roughly 10%.
Researchers found that annual CH4 emissions in Siberia rose by 12.0 ± 1.9 teragrams (Tg) between 2010 and 2023, increasing by an average of 1.1 ± 0.1 Tg each year. Notably, this rate of increase was equivalent to 92% of the increase in emissions from wetlands worldwide, which account for nearly one-third of global CH4 emissions... (MORE - no ads)
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1139031
INTRO: Methane emissions from Siberia have more than doubled over the past decade, according to new research co-led by scientists at the University of Edinburgh’s National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO). The study, initiated as a collaborative project with researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences during their stay at the University of Edinburgh, reveals that rapid warming, alongside increasing wildfires and shifting wetland activity, is driving a sharp rise in methane emissions from the vast permafrost regions of northern Russia. The findings raise concerns that these accelerating emissions could undermine effects to meet global climate targets... (MORE - no ads)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Siberia’s growing methane threat could offset 20% of global methane reduction targets by 2050
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1138027
INTRO: The Arctic is warming at an accelerating pace. As permafrost thaws across vast areas and wildfires become more frequent, large amounts of methane (CH4) are being released. Together, these changes are reshaping the region's greenhouse-gas emissions and further intensifying climate change.
In a study published in Science on August 6, an international team led by Prof. LIU Yi from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences investigated how CH4 emissions in Siberia are evolving under climate change, showing how atmospheric circulation promotes wildfire activity and methanogenesis and thereby drives the recent sharp rise in CH4 emissions.
Although Siberia accounts for only ~5% of global CH4 emissions, sparse observations and complex environmental conditions have made its emissions difficult to quantify, resulting in widely varied estimates. Under these conditions, researchers have long struggled to understand changes in the region's emissions and the role played by temperature, making Siberia an important source of uncertainty in the global CH4 budget.
Using a methane flux inversion system developed by Dr. ZHU Sihong from IAP, first author of this study, researchers integrated measurements from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) with data from a global network of near-surface monitoring stations, including tall-tower observations in Siberia. This approach reduced uncertainties in estimates of both Siberian CH4 emissions and their growth trend to roughly 10%.
Researchers found that annual CH4 emissions in Siberia rose by 12.0 ± 1.9 teragrams (Tg) between 2010 and 2023, increasing by an average of 1.1 ± 0.1 Tg each year. Notably, this rate of increase was equivalent to 92% of the increase in emissions from wetlands worldwide, which account for nearly one-third of global CH4 emissions... (MORE - no ads)