Modeling methane emissions from the Alaskan Yukon River basin, 1986-2005, by coupling a large-scale hydrological model and a process-based methane model

Much progress has been made in methane modeling for the Arctic. However, there is still large uncertainty in emissions estimates due to the spatial variability in water table depth resulting from complex topographic gradients, and due to variations in methane production and oxidation due to complex freezing and thawing processes. Here we extended an extant methane emission module within a biogeochemistry model, the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (TEM), to include a large-scale hydrology model, the variable infiltration capacity (VIC) model. The VIC model provides the required inputs, including freezing and thawing fronts, soil temperature and moisture, to the methane module. The effect of topography on the redistribution of soil moisture and water table depth was explicitly modeled using the TOPMODEL approach. The coupled modeling framework was applied to the Yukon River basin at a spatial resolution of 1 km from 1986 to 2005. The simulations show that the average annual net emissions of CH4 from the region are 4.01 Tg CH4 yr(-1). El Nino phenomena usually lead to positive emission anomalies, while decreases in net CH4 emissions may be associated with strong La Nina events. Precipitation was found to be more closely related to CH4 dynamics than to soil temperature and active layer depth during the study period. This study suggests that the effects of soil freezing and thawing processes and the effects of microtopography on hydrology should be considered in the quantification of CH4 emissions.