In a publication in the journal Nature, SES doctoral student Kara Lamantia and professors Lonnie Thompson and Emilie Beaudon used ice cores from Peru’s Nevado Huascarán to produce the first global record of historical tropical methane. The study found that methane concentrations recorded in the tropical ice broadly agree with global fluctuations found in polar ice cores but are slightly higher, supporting the longstanding hypothesis that tropical sources played a significant role in global methane emissions before industrialization.

Access the full paper on Nature and read more on Ohio State News.