Reconciliation between atmospheric concentrations and earth surface fluxes of methane

While field and laboratory studies show that there are more methane emission sources than previously identified and their emissions are strengthening, the satellite and remote sensing observations and in situ flask measurements show perplexed atmospheric trends. It is imperative to reconcile the seemingly paradoxical disparities between observed concentrations and increasing surface fluxes in order to adequately incorporate the potentially large methane climate feedback mechanism into Earth System Models. Here we will review the current estimates of the global methane budget and its sources and sinks. We will also present how to reconcile: (1) the global surface fluxes and their associated uncertainties developed via observations with both top-down and bottom-up estimates and (2) the observed atmospheric concentrations and their uncertainties with top-down and bottom-up estimates of surface fluxes.