Progress in the studies on the greenhouse gas emissions from reservoirs

Yang, Le; Lü, Fei; Zhou, Xiaoping; Wang, Xiaoke; Duan, Xiaonan; Sun, Baozhen

doi:10.1016/j.chnaes.2013.05.011

Cited by 59 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…There are four types of GHG emissions from water reservoirs, which are degassing emissions at turbines and spillways, diffuse emissions, ebullitive emissions and downstream emissions. Ebullitive emissions represent the dominant source of methane emissions from the surface of tropical reservoirs [112]. The first global assessment on GHG emissions from reservoirs emphasised the possible significance of reservoir surfaces as a GHG source, and proposed that factors such as age, water temperature and organic input could regulate fluxes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Repercussion of Large Scale Hydro Dam Deployment: The Case of Congo Grand Inga Hydro Project

et al. 2018

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Abstract:The idea of damming the Congo River has persisted for decades. The Grand Inga project, of up to 42 GW power generation capacity, can only be justified as part of a regional energy master plan for Africa, to bridge the energy gap on the continent. Proponents of very large dams have often exaggerated potential multiple benefits of a mega dam, marginalise environmental concerns and neglect the true risk of such projects, in particular for the fragile economies of developing countries. Studies have reported the financial risks, cost overruns and schedule spills associated with very large dams. In addition, most of the dams in the region are poorly managed. Therefore, the type and scale of Grand Inga is not the solution for millions of not yet electrified people in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this research, scenarios are defined based on announced costs and expected costs. Cost escalations in the range from 5% to 100% for the Inga project in 2030 and 2040 are considered, as average cost overruns are typically at about 70% or higher for similar mega-dams. It was found that when the cost overrun for the Grand Inga project exceeds 35% and −5% for 2030 and 2040 assumptions, respectively, the project becomes economically non-beneficial. In all scenarios, Sub-Saharan Africa can mainly be powered by solar photovoltaics to cover the electricity demand and complemented by wind energy, supported by batteries. Hydropower and biomass-based electricity can serve as complementary resources. The grid frequency stability of the power system is analysed and discussed in the paper. Benefits of the Inga hydropower project have to be increasingly questioned, in particular due to the fast cost decline of solar photovoltaics and batteries.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regarding GHG emissions, recent investigations reveal that large dams emit GHGs, particularly in the tropic regions [63,64,[107][108][109][110][111][112][113]. Reservoirs in tropic regions can produce up to 20 times the amount of GHGs in comparison to reservoirs in boreal regions, because of the high rate of biodegradation [111].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repercussion of Large Scale Hydro Dam Deployment: The Case of Congo Grand Inga Hydro Project

et al. 2018

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“…About 16.7 million reservoirs have been constructed, with a combined storage capacity of ~8,070 km 3 and resultant increase in freshwater surface area by more than 305,000 km 2 , and an associated retention and degradation of carbon (C) (Maavara, Lauerwald, Regnier, & Cappellen, ). The increased C retention and processing results in the reservoirs producing elevated levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs), including carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O; Barros et al, ; Deemer et al, ; Maeck et al, ; St. Louis, ; Yang et al, ). CH 4 and N 2 O are powerful GHGs with global warming potential (GWPs), being 32 and 310 times worse than CO 2 over a 100‐year time horizon (IPCC, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diffusive emissions of methane and nitrous oxide from a cascade of tropical hydropower reservoirs in Kenya

et al. 2019

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The present study investigated diffusive emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere from three relatively small (3–120 km2) reservoirs (Masinga, Kamburu and Gitaru) on the Tana River (Kenya). Sampling was conducted biweekly in 2011, 2012 and 2013, at sampling sites upstream and downstream of these reservoirs while five sampling campaigns were carried out in 2011, 2012 and 2013 for different sites within each of the reservoirs. The dissolved CH4 (range: 19–2101 nmol/L) and N2O (range: 6.2–11.5 nmol/L) concentrations in the surface waters were generally very low in the three reservoirs, compared with other reservoirs globally. The lower diffusive emissions of CH4 (20–216 µmol/m2 day−1) and N2O (1.0–1.6 µmol/m2 day−1) from these reservoirs, compared with other tropical reservoirs, are probably related to their age (30–40 years), and lower vegetation biomass (savannah) originally present and submerged during their commissioning. The reservoirs with longer water residence times were characterized by higher diffusive CH4 fluxes (216 ± 666 µmol/m2 day−1) and slightly lower N2O fluxes (1.0 ± 1.5 µmol/m2 day−1). The relative contribution of turbine fluxes of CH4 and N2O, compared to diffusive fluxes, was also highly variable among the three dams, being lower in Masinga Reservoir and higher in Gitaru Reservoir.

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“…Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from reservoirs have attracted much attention, not only because of the substantial contribution they already make to global GHG budgets but also because large reservoirs are still being created in many parts of the world, especially Southeast Asia, South America and Africa [1,2]. When reservoirs are designed for power generation they are often assumed to be 'clean' when the alternative to hydropower involves combustion of fossil fuels or the use of nuclear power stations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Littoral Zone of a Chinese Reservoir

Yang

Grace

Geng

et al. 2017

Water

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Abstract:The continuous increase in the number of reservoirs globally has raised important questions about the environmental impact of their greenhouse gases emissions. In particular, the littoral zone may be a hotspot for production of greenhouse gases. We investigated the spatiotemporal variation of CO 2 flux at the littoral zone of a Chinese reservoir along a wet-to-dry transect from permanently flooded land, seasonally flooded land to non-flooded dry land, using the static dark chamber technique. The mean total CO 2 emission was 346 mg m −2 h −1 and the rate varied significantly by water levels, months and time of day. The spatiotemporal variation of flux was highly correlated with biomass, temperature and water level. Flooding could play a positive role in carbon balance if water recession occurs at the time when carbon gains associated with plant growth overcomes the carbon loss of ecosystem. The overall carbon balance was analysed using cumulative greenhouse gases fluxes and biomass, bringing the data of the present study alongside previously published, simultaneously measured CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes. For the growing season, 12.8 g C m −2 was absorbed by the littoral zone. Taking CH 4 and N 2 O into the calculation showed that permanently flooded sites were a source of greenhouse gases, rather than a sink. Our study emphasises how water level fluctuation influenced CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O in different ways, which greatly affected the spatiotemporal variation and emission rate of greenhouse gases from the littoral zone.

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Progress in the studies on the greenhouse gas emissions from reservoirs

Cited by 59 publications

References 63 publications

Repercussion of Large Scale Hydro Dam Deployment: The Case of Congo Grand Inga Hydro Project

Repercussion of Large Scale Hydro Dam Deployment: The Case of Congo Grand Inga Hydro Project

Diffusive emissions of methane and nitrous oxide from a cascade of tropical hydropower reservoirs in Kenya

Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Littoral Zone of a Chinese Reservoir

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