Peru's highest mountain confirms tropics were a major methane source before the industrial era
A new analysis of ice cores collected from the Andes in Peru has produced the first global record of historical tropical methane, filling a critical gap in our understanding of the origins of Earth's greenhouse gases.
Scientists have analyzed ice cores from Peru's Nevado Huascarán, the world's highest tropical mountain, to gain insights into historical methane emissions. The research, detailed in the journal Nature, provides the first global record of tropical methane, filling a significant gap in our understanding of Earth's greenhouse gases.
By examining air bubbles trapped in ancient ice, researchers studied a 2,000-year-old methane record. The findings confirm that tropical sources, particularly wetlands in South America or Asia, substantially contributed to preindustrial methane emissions. While the ice cores showed slightly higher methane concentrations compared to polar regions, they also revealed a more biogenic isotopic signature, suggesting a natural origin.
These results support the hypothesis that tropical sources, such as the Amazon rainforest, were major methane emitters in the preindustrial period. The study also highlights the importance of the tropics in monitoring and understanding global greenhouse gas emissions, emphasizing the need for more targeted ice core sampling in these regions to address pressing environmental uncertainties.
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