Greenhouse warming by CH 4 in the atmosphere of early Earth
Abstract
Earth appears to have been warm during its early history despite the faintness of the young Sun. Greenhouse warming by gaseous CO 2 and H 2 O by itself is in conflict with constraints on atmospheric CO 2 levels derived from paleosols for early Earth. Here we explore whether greenhouse warming by methane could have been important. We find that a CH 4 mixing ratio of 10 −4 (100 ppmv) or more in Earth's early atmosphere would provide agreement with the paleosol data from 2.8 Ga. Such a CH 4 concentration could have been readily maintained by methanogenic bacteria, which are thought to have been an important component of the biota at that time. Elimination of the methane component of the greenhouse by oxidation of the atmosphere at about 2.3–2.4 Ga could have triggered the Earth's first widespread glaciation.
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One resolution to the faint young Sun paradox is that the early atmosphere was probably very different from the modern atmosphere and may have contained higher levels of greenhouse gases.
“One resolution is that the early atmosphere was probably very different from the atmosphere of modern Earth and may have contained higher levels of greenhouse gases (Pavlov et al., 2000; Haqq-Misra et al., 2008).”
From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Pavlov et al., 2000
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“One resolution is that the early atmosphere was probably very different from the atmosphere of modern Earth and may have contained higher levels of greenhouse gases (Pavlov et al., 2000; Haqq-Misra et al., 2008).”
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- Authors
- Pavlov, A. A., Kasting, J. F., Brown, L. L., Rages, K. A., & Freedman, R.
- Affiliations
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Ames Research Center (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
- Publisher
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Published
- 2000-05
- Volume
- 105
- Issue
- E5
- Pages
- 11981-11990
- ISSN
- 0148-0227 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2084709851
- Cited by
- 537
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 31 · 2012: 28
- FWCI
- 22.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Earth Systems and Cosmic Evolution
- Keywords
- early Earth atmosphere, global warming, methane, paleosols, atmospheric CO2, methanogenic bacteria, atmospheric oxidation, Neoproterozoic
- MeSH terms
- Atmosphere, Carbon Dioxide, Climate, Hydrogen, Methane, Models, Chemical, Photochemistry, Temperature, Water, Greenhouse Effect, Earth, Planet, Evolution, Planetary, Euryarchaeota
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