May 29, 2014
AUBURN – Dr. Hanqin Tian recent work on on methane and nitrous oxide emission from North America has been featured on the website of the North American Carbon Program. Dr. Tian teamed up with scientist from Harvard University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Northern Arizona University to implement this work. Other members of the International Center for Climate and Global Change Research – Dr. Chaoqun Lu, Dr. Susan Pan, and Dr. Wei Ren also contributed to this pioneer work.
The research found that methane and nitrous oxide emissions offset about 73% of the land carbon dioxide sink in the North America with large spatial variation across the United States (57%), Canada (83%) and Mexico (329%). The research further show that highest positive global warming potential was located in wetland areas (due to high methane emissions) and tropical forest of eastern Mexico.
The summary of this pioneering work can be downloaded from North American Carbon program website. To download the research paper please use this page.