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Abstract:
Atmospheric methane (CH4) has changed considerably in the time between the last glacial maximum (LGM) and the preindustrial period (PI). We investigate these changes in transient experiments with an Earth System Model, focusing on the rapid changes during the deglaciation, especially pronounced in the Bølling Allerød (BA) and Younger Dryas (YD) periods. We consider all relevant natural sources and sinks of methane and examine the drivers of changes in methane emissions as well as in the atmospheric lifetime of methane. We find that the evolution of atmospheric methane is largely driven by emissions from tropical wetlands, while variations in atmospheric lifetime are not negligible but small. Our model reproduces most changes in atmospheric methane very well, with the exception of the mid-Holocene decrease in methane, though the timing of ice sheet meltwater fluxes needs to be adjusted slightly in order to exactly reproduce the variations of the BA and YD.
