CHEMISTRY OF THE ATMOSPHERE | Methane

Synopsis This article discusses the role of methane in the atmosphere and its historic and recent variations. Techniques are described for monitoring its atmospheric abundance from the ground, and recently also from space. An overview is given of the main sources and sinks of atmospheric methane, and the large-scale constraints on the size of these processes as provided by the atmospheric measurements. The use of models is discussed, including the use of inverse modeling techniques for obtaining more detailed information on the spatiotemporal variation of methane emissions and sinks.