Cryospheric melting enhances methane emissions from inland waters on the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

Inland waters over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are significant sources of atmospheric methane (CH4), which plays a critical role in the regional carbon cycle. Rapid climate warming on the TP has caused siginficant cryosphere retreating during the past decades, mainly including the glacier melting and permafrost thawing. They are changing inland water status, as evidenced by the increasing river runoff, enpanding lake areas, emerging glacier lakes and permafrost thermokarst lakes. These substantial changes have resulted in enhanced CH4 emissions. The estimated CH4 emissions from inland waters on the TP vary from 1.8–3.4 Tg CH4 yr-1. However, there remains a lack of sufficient CH4 data from glacier lakes, permafrost thermokarst lakes, and river headwaters on the TP, which urgently needs to be systematically measured. Morewover, we highlight the possible impact of on gong warming-induced cryospheric melting on CH4 emissions from inland waters over the TP.