A review of CO<sub>2</sub> and associated carbon dynamics in headwater streams: A global perspective

Marx, Anne; Dušek, Jaromír; Jankovec, Jakub; Šanda, Martin; Vogel, Tomáš; Geldern, Robert van; Hartmann, Jens; Barth, Johannes A. C.

doi:10.1002/2016rg000547

Cited by 233 publications

(218 citation statements)

References 255 publications

(405 reference statements)

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“…A growing body of research on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from inland waters has recently generated various global 35 syntheses of CO 2 and CH 4 data (Cole et al, 2007;Bastviken et al, 2011;Raymond et al, 2013;Lauerwald et al, 2015;Stanley et al, 2016;Marx et al, 2017) and conceptual frameworks incorporating anthropogenic perturbations as a critical driver of riverine biogeochemical processes in human-impacted river systems (Kaushal et al, 2012;Regnier et al, 2013;Park et al, 2018). However, these efforts have been hampered by data scarcity and inequality and inadequate consideration of multiple GHGs co-regulated by a wide range of concurrent environmental changes including anthropogenic perturbations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal discontinuities in riverine greenhouse gas dynamics generated by dams and urban wastewater

Jin¹,

Yoon²,

Begum³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Abstract.Riverine emissions of CO 2 and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) represent crucial, but poorly constrained components of the global GHG budgets. Three major GHGs -CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O -have rarely been measured simultaneously in river systems modified by human activities, adding uncertainties to the estimates of global riverine GHG emissions. Measurements of C isotopes in dissolved organic carbon (DOC), CO 2 , and CH 4 were combined with basin-wide surveys of three GHGs in the Han 15 River, South Korea to investigate the effects of dams and urban water pollution as primary controls on GHG dynamics in the highly human-impacted river basin with a population >25 million. Monthly monitoring and two-season comparison were conducted at 6 and 15 sites, respectively, to measure surface water concentrations of three GHGs, along with DOC and its optical properties. The basin-wide surveys were complemented with a boat cruise along the lower reach and synoptic samplings along a polluted tributary delivering effluents from a large wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) to the lower reach. The basin-20 wide surveys of three GHGs revealed distinct increases in the concentrations of three gases along the lower reach receiving urban tributaries enriched in GHGs and DOC. Compared to the spatial patterns of GHGs observed in the upper and lower reaches, the levels of pCO 2 were consistently lower across the impounded middle reach, whereas concentrations of CH 4 and N 2 O were relatively high in some impoundment-affected sites. Similar levels and temporal variations in three GHGs at the WWTP effluents and the receiving tributary indicated a disproportionate contribution of the WWTP to the tributary exports of 25 DOC and GHGs. Measurements of δ 13 C in surface water CO 2 and CH 4 sampled during the cruise along the lower reach, combined with δ 13 C and Δ 14 C in dissolved organic matter (DOM) sampled across the basin, implied that longitudinal decreases in Δ 14 C in DOM mighte be associated with wastewater-derived, old DOM in urban tributaries, which, together with enhanced photosynthesis and CH 4 oxidation in the eutrophic lower reach, appear to constrain downstream changes in δ 13 C in CO 2 and CH 4 . The overall results suggest that dams and urban wastewater may create longitudinal discontinuities in riverine metabolic 30 processes leading to large spatial variations in three GHGs. Further research is required to evaluate the relative contributions Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal discontinuities in riverine greenhouse gas dynamics generated by dams and urban wastewater

Jin¹,

Yoon²,

Begum³

et al. 2018

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The main reasons are uncertainties in groundwater input as well as poorly defined surface areas and gas trans-fer velocities (Marx et al, 2017a;Schelker et al, 2016). In addition, pCO 2 and subsequent CO 2 outgassing fluxes typically decline rapidly from stream source areas to river sections further downstream (van Geldern et al, 2015;Stets et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the process of transport, large amounts of carbon -mostly in the form of CO 2 -outgas from the water surface to the atmosphere (Cole et al, 2007;Aufdenkampe et al, 2011;Regnier et al, 2013;Wehrli, 2013). Globally, this form of CO 2 contributions to the atmosphere was estimated between 0.6 and 2.6 petagrams (Pg) of carbon per year Lauerwald et al, 2015;Sawakuchi et al, 2017;Marx et al, 2017a). The lower value of this range by Lauerwald et al (2015) excluded streams of Strahler stream numbers below 3.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is because of sparse coverage of actual direct measurements of the partial pressure of CO 2 (pCO 2 ) in headwater streams. Note that the upper value of the range still lacks a representative contribution from headwater streams (Marx et al, 2017a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most often fluxes are calculated from pCO 2 and gas transfer velocities (Teodoru et al, 2009;Raymond et al, 2012;Lauerwald et al, 2015;van Geldern et al, 2015). However, because of large variabilities of gas transfer velocities on different spatial and temporal scales, this type of determination remains controversial, especially for small-scale applications (Marx et al, 2017a;Regnier et al, 2013;Schelker et al, 2016). For applications in small streams and during changing flow conditions, direct methods such as floating chamber approaches also exhibit major drawbacks such as altered outgassing behaviour because of artificially created currents inside anchored chambers (Lorke et al, 2015;Bastviken et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Groundwater data improve modelling of headwater stream CO<sub>2</sub> outgassing with a stable DIC isotope approach

et al. 2018

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Abstract. A large portion of terrestrially derived carbon outgasses as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from streams and rivers to the atmosphere. Particularly, the amount of CO 2 outgassing from small headwater streams is highly uncertain. Conservative estimates suggest that they contribute 36 % (i.e. 0.93 petagrams (Pg) C yr −1 ) of total CO 2 outgassing from all fluvial ecosystems on the globe. In this study, stream pCO 2 , dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and δ 13 C DIC data were used to determine CO 2 outgassing from an acidic headwater stream in the Uhlířská catchment (Czech Republic). This stream drains a catchment with silicate bedrock. The applied stable isotope model is based on the principle that the 13 C / 12 C ratio of its sources and the intensity of CO 2 outgassing control the isotope ratio of DIC in stream water. It avoids the use of the gas transfer velocity parameter (k), which is highly variable and mostly difficult to constrain. Model results indicate that CO 2 outgassing contributed more than 80 % to the annual stream inorganic carbon loss in the Uhlířská catchment. This translated to a CO 2 outgassing rate from the stream of 34.9 kg C m −2 yr −1 when normalised to the stream surface area. Large temporal variations with maximum values shortly before spring snowmelt and in summer emphasise the need for investigations at higher temporal resolution. We improved the model uncertainty by incorporating groundwater data to better constrain the isotope compositions of initial DIC. Due to the large global abundance of acidic, humic-rich headwaters, we underline the importance of this integral approach for global applications.

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Patterns in stream greenhouse gas dynamics from mountains to plains in northcentral Wyoming

et al. 2017

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Quantification of small stream contributions to global carbon cycling is key to understanding how freshwater systems transmit and transform carbon between terrestrial and atmospheric pools. To date, greenhouse gas emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from freshwaters, particularly in mountainous regions, remain poorly characterized due to a lack of direct field observations. Using a unique longitudinal approach, we conducted field surveys across two ecoregions (Middle Rockies and Great Plains) in the Clear Creek watershed, a subwatershed of Wyoming's Powder River Basin. We took direct measurements of stream gases using headspace sampling at 30 sites (8 June to 23 October). We observed the lowest and most variable concentrations in headwaters, which flow through a federally designated alpine wilderness area. By contrast, the Great Plains exhibited 1.45 and 4 times higher pCO2 and pCH4 concentrations and the relative contributions of methane increased downstream. Fluxes during snowmelt were 45% and 58% higher for CO2 and CH4 than during base flow but overall were lower than estimates for other systems. Variability for pCO2 was highest during late summer and in the uppermost sections of the headwaters. The high heterogeneity and common undersaturation observed through space and time, especially in the mountains, suggest that downscaled regional estimates may fail to capture variability in fluxes observed at these smaller scales. Based on these results, we strongly recommend higher resolution time series studies and increased scrutiny of systems at near equilibrium, inclusive of winter storage and ice‐off events, to improve our understanding of the effects of seasonal dynamics on these processes.

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A review of CO₂ and associated carbon dynamics in headwater streams: A global perspective

Cited by 233 publications

References 255 publications

Longitudinal discontinuities in riverine greenhouse gas dynamics generated by dams and urban wastewater

Longitudinal discontinuities in riverine greenhouse gas dynamics generated by dams and urban wastewater

Groundwater data improve modelling of headwater stream CO<sub>2</sub> outgassing with a stable DIC isotope approach

Patterns in stream greenhouse gas dynamics from mountains to plains in northcentral Wyoming

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A review of CO2 and associated carbon dynamics in headwater streams: A global perspective

Cited by 233 publications

References 255 publications

Longitudinal discontinuities in riverine greenhouse gas dynamics generated by dams and urban wastewater

Longitudinal discontinuities in riverine greenhouse gas dynamics generated by dams and urban wastewater

Groundwater data improve modelling of headwater stream CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; outgassing with a stable DIC isotope approach

Patterns in stream greenhouse gas dynamics from mountains to plains in northcentral Wyoming

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A review of CO₂ and associated carbon dynamics in headwater streams: A global perspective

Groundwater data improve modelling of headwater stream CO<sub>2</sub> outgassing with a stable DIC isotope approach