Abstract
METHANE is an important greenhouse gas, whose concentration in the troposphere is steadily increasing. To estimate the flux of methane into the atmosphere and its atmospheric lifetime, its rate of removal needs to be accurately determined. The main loss process for atmospheric methane is the reaction with the hydroxyl radical OH. We have measured the rate coefficient for this reaction in carefully controlled experiments and found it to be smaller than currently accepted values. Our results indicate a longer CH4 lifetime (by ∼25%) and a correspondingly smaller flux (by ∼100 Tg CH4 yr−1) than previously calculated.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ramanathan, V., Cicerone, R. J., Singh, H. B. & Kiehl, J. T. J. geophys. Res. 90, 5547–5566 (1985).
Mitchell, J. F. B. Rev. Geophys. 27, 115–139 (1989).
Steele, L. P. et al. J. atmos. Chem. 5, 125–171 (1987).
Khalil, M. A. K. & Rasmussen, R. A. Envir. Sci. Technol. 24, 549–553 (1990).
Blake, D. R. & Rowland, F. S. Science 239, 1129–1131 (1988).
Cicerone, R. J. & Oremland, R. S. Global biogeochem. Cycles 2, 299–327 (1988).
Ravishankara, A. R. Ann. Rev. phys. Chem. 39, 367–394 (1988).
Davis, D. D., Fischer, S. & Schiff, R. J. chem. Phys. 61, 2213–2219 (1974).
Margitan, J. J., Kaufman, F. & Anderson, J. G. Geophys. Res. Lett. 1, 80–81 (1974).
Jeong, K. M. & Kaufman, F. J. phys. Chem. 86, 1808–1815 (1982).
Hancock, G. Measurements of Thermal Rate Data in Modern Gas Kinetics: Theory, Experiment and Applications (eds Pilling, M. J. & Smith, I. W. M., Blackwell, Oxford, 1987).
Vaghjiani, G. L. & Ravishankara, A. R. J. phys. Chem. 93, 1948–1959 (1989).
Brouard, M., McPherson, M. T. & Pilling, M. J. J. phys. Chem. 93, 4047–4059 (1989).
Sworski, T. J. & Hochanadel, C. J. & Ogren, P. J. J. phys. Chem. 84, 129–134 (1980).
Tsang, W. & Hampson, R. F. J. phys. chem. Ref. Data 15, 1087–1279 (1986).
DeMore, W. B. et al. NASA JPL Publ. 90–1 1990.
Atkinson, R. et al. J. phys. chem. Ref. Data 18, 881–1097 (1989).
Taylor, J. A., Brasseur, G., Zimmerman, P. & Cicerone, R. J. J. geophys. Res. 96, 3013–3044 (1991).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vaghjiani, G., Ravishankara, A. New measurement of the rate coefficient for the reaction of OH with methane. Nature 350, 406–409 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/350406a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/350406a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Spatiotemporal distribution patterns of atmospheric methane using GOSAT data in Iran
Environment, Development and Sustainability (2020)
-
Decadal trends of atmospheric methane in East Asia from 1991 to 2013
Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health (2015)
-
Snowpack production of formaldehyde and its effect on the Arctic troposphere
Nature (1999)
-
Another source of atmospheric methane
Chinese Journal of Geochemistry (1997)