1. Spatio-temporal variations of atmospheric methane and its response to climate on the Tibetan Plateau from 2010 to 2022.
- Author
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Wei, Yuanyuan, Yang, Xiaojing, Qiu, Xianting, Wei, Heli, and Tang, Chaoli
- Subjects
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SPATIO-temporal variation , *GREENHOUSE gases , *PRINCIPAL components analysis , *ATMOSPHERIC methane , *SPRING , *AUTUMN - Abstract
The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is a pivotal region for investigating climate change and the emission of greenhouse gases in terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, atmospheric methane columnar concentration (XCH 4) data obtained from GOSAT products were used from March 2010 to February 2022. The comparative study between GOSAT XCH 4 and Waliguan (WLG) ground-based methane measurements in annual terms demonstrated a high consistency, with a correlation coefficient of 0.996, indicating similar trends and amplitudes. Subsequently, a comprehensive investigation was carried out to explore the long-term trends and spatial differences of XCH 4 on the TP, along with its association with climate variables. The findings revealed an east-west gradient in the spatial distribution of XCH 4 , characterized by higher concentrations in the southeast and lower concentrations in the northwest. During the 12-year study period, a consistent upward trend of XCH 4 was exhibited across the whole plateau, ranging from 7.53 to 10.15 ppb/yr, and the areas of exceeding 9 ppb/yr accounted for 80.4% of the study area. The seasonal variation of XCH 4 displayed a typical unimodal distribution, with the highest XCH 4 occurring in late August to early September. The interannual growth rate of XCH 4 was the highest in summer, followed by autumn, winter, and the lowest in spring. To better understand the climate variables influencing XCH 4 on the TP, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed with a biplot. The results indicated that temperature (TEM), precipitation (PER), soil temperature (Soil_TEM), and soil humidity (Soil_HUM) were positively correlated with XCH 4. However, wind speed (WSPD) and wind direction (WDIR) demonstrated negative correlations with XCH 4. • XCH 4 exhibits a pronounced increasing trend in Tibetan Plateau during 2010–2022. • The spatial distribution of XCH 4 and its interannual growth rates indicate strong regional signals and seasonal cycle. • Principal Component Analysis (PCA) reveals different correlations between XCH 4 and climate factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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