Reservoir Surfaces as Sources of Greenhouse Gases to the Atmosphere: A Global Estimate

Louis, Vincent L. St.; Kelly, Carol A.; Duchemin, Éric; Rudd, John W. M.; Rosenberg, David M.

doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0766:rsasog]2.0.co;2

Cited by 603 publications

(327 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The CH 4 emission fluxes from the water surface averaged (0.3305 ± 0.0940) mg CH 4 /(m 2 ·hr) from the beginning of June to the middle of October, which was very close to the annual average CH 4 emission fluxes of some temperate reservoirs in Canada (St. Louis et al, 2000) and the United States (Soumis et al, 2004), but about twice larger than the result of Zheng et al (2011a) in Ertan Reservoir. It should be noticed that water temperature is an important factor influencing CH 4 emissions from reservoirs (Soumis et al, 2004).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

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Preliminary report on methane emissions from the Three Gorges Reservoir in the summer drainage period

Yang

Wang

et al. 2011

Journal of Environmental Sciences

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Recently reported summertime methane (CH 4 ) emissions (6.7 ± 13.3 mg CH 4 /(m 2 ·hr)) from newly created marshes in the drawdown area of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), China have triggered broad concern in academic circles and among the public. The CH 4 emissions from TGR water surfaces and drawdown areas were monitored from 3rd June to 16th October 2010 with floating and static chambers and gas chromatography. The average CH 4 emission flux from permanently flooded areas in Zigui, Wushan and Yunyang Counties was (0.33 ± 0.09) mg CH 4 /(m 2 ·hr). In half of these hottest months of the year, the wilderness, cropland and deforested drawdown sites were aerobic and located above water level, and the CH 4 emissions were very small, ranging from a sink at 0.12 mg CH 4 /(m 2 ·hr) to a source at 0.08 mg CH 4 /(m 2 ·hr) except for one mud-covered site after flood. Mean CH 4 emission in flooded drawdown sites was 0.34 mg CH 4 /(m 2 ·hr). The emissions from the rice paddy sites in the drawdown area were averaged at (4.86 ± 2.31) mg CH 4 /(m 2 ·hr). Excepting the rice-paddy sites, these results show much lower emission levels than previously reported. Our results indicated considerable spatial and temporal variation in CH 4 emissions from the TGR. Human activities and occasional events, such as flood, may also affect emission levels. Long-term CH 4 measurements and modeling in a large region are necessary to accurately estimate greenhouse gas emissions from the TGR.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

“…Over the past decade, researchers have suggested that CH 4 emissions from reservoirs contribute considerably to anthropogenic CH 4 (Giles, 2006;Zheng et al, 2011a). It is reported that, global CH 4 emissions from reservoirs are 70 Tg/yr, representing 18% of other anthropogenic emissions (St Louis et al, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary report on methane emissions from the Three Gorges Reservoir in the summer drainage period

Yang

Wang

et al. 2011

Journal of Environmental Sciences

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“…A wide variation in the intensity of the emissions was noted, indicating the influence of many other different factors: flooded organic carbon, allochthonous carbon, primary productivity, and dissolved oxygen (St Louis et al, 2000;Barros et al, 2011;Wang et al, 2011;Kemenes et al, 2011). However, the relationships between CO 2 flux and these factors were not found in our study because every reservoir had its specific characteristics.…”

Section: Environmental Variables Influencing Co 2 Fluxmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…Hydropower has been regarded as green energy for a long time , but this viewpoint was tarnished in the last two decades (Demarty and Bastien, 2011), because a large amount of CO 2 would be generated when rivers were dammed to create the reservoirs for hydroelectricity (St Louis et al, 2000;Fearnside, 2011). It was estimated that 48 Tg C-CO 2 was emitted from hydroelectric reservoirs every year, which accounted for 9% of the total natural lake emissions (Barros et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and seasonal variability of CO2 flux at the air-water interface of the Three Gorges Reservoir

Yang¹,

Lu²,

Wang³

et al. 2013

Journal of Environmental Sciences

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Diffusive carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from the water surface of the Three Gorges Reservoir, currently the largest hydroelectric reservoir in the world, were measured using floating static chambers over the course of a yearlong survey. The results showed that the average annual CO 2 flux was (163.3 ± 117.4) mg CO 2 /(m 2 ·hr) at the reservoir surface, which was larger than the CO 2 flux in most boreal and temperate reservoirs but lower than that in tropical reservoirs. Significant spatial variations in CO 2 flux were observed at four measured sites, with the largest flux measured at Wushan (221.9 mg CO 2 /(m 2 ·hr)) and the smallest flux measured at Zigui (88.6 mg CO 2 /(m 2 ·hr)); these differences were probably related to the average water velocities at different sites. Seasonal variations in CO 2 flux were also observed at four sites, starting to increase in January, continuously rising until peaking in the summer (JuneAugust) and gradually decreasing thereafter. Seasonal variations in CO 2 flux could reflect seasonal dynamics in pH, water velocity, and temperature. Since the spatial and temporal variations in CO 2 flux were significant and dependent on multiple physical, chemical, and hydrological factors, it is suggested that long-term measurements should be made on a large spatial scale to assess the climatic influence of hydropower in China, as well as the rest of the world.

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“…Among the 500-580 TgCH 4 year -1 emitted from the Earth surface to the atmosphere during the last three decades, nearly one half originated from wetlands, in majority from natural wetlands (145-230 TgCH 4 year -1 ), but also from artificial wetlands like rice paddies (30-110 TgCH 4 year -1 ), and hydroelectric reservoirs (70 TgCH 4 year -1 ) (Cicerone and Oremland 1988;St Louis et al 2000;Wuebbles and Hayhoe 2002;Mikaloff Fletcher et al 2004;Denman et al 2007;Khalil et al 2007). Recently, lakes have also been identified as a potentially significant additional source of CH 4 (8-48 TgCH 4 year -1 , Bastviken et al 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variability of methane in the rivers and lagoons of Ivory Coast (West Africa)

et al. 2010

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We report a data-set of dissolved methane (CH 4 ) in three rivers (Comoé, Bia and Tanoé) and five lagoons (Grand-Lahou, Ebrié, Potou, Aby and Tendo) of Ivory Coast (West Africa), during the four main climatic seasons (high dry season, high rainy season, low dry season and low rainy season). The surface waters of the three rivers were over-saturated in CH 4 with respect to atmospheric equilibrium (2221-38719%), and the seasonal variability of CH 4 seemed to be largely controlled by dilution during the flooding period. The strong correlation of CH 4 concentrations with the partial pressure of CO 2 (pCO 2 ) and dissolved silicate (DSi) confirm the dominance of a continental sources (from soils) for both CO 2 and CH 4 in these rivers. Diffusive air-water CH 4 fluxes ranged between 25 and 1187 lmol m -2 day -1 , and annual integrated values were 288 ± 107, 155 ± 38, and 241 ± 91 lmol m -2 day -1 in the Comoé, Bia and Tanoé rivers, respectively. In the five lagoons, surface waters were also over-saturated in CH 4 (ranging from 1496 to 51843%). Diffusive air-water CH 4 fluxes ranged between 20 and 2403 lmol m -2 day -1 , and annual integrated values were 78 ± 34, 338 ± 217, 227 ± 79, 330 ± 153 and 326 ± 181 lmol m -2 day -1 in the Grand-Lahou, Ebrié, Potou, Aby and Tendo lagoons, respectively. The largest CH 4 oversaturations were observed in the Tendo and Aby lagoons that are permanently stratified systems (unlike the other three lagoons), leading to anoxic bottom waters favorable for a large CH 4 production. In addition, these two stratified lagoons showed low pCO 2 values due to high primary production, which suggests an efficient transfer of organic matter across the pycnocline. As a result, the stratified Tendo and Aby lagoons were respectively, a low source of CO 2 to the atmosphere and a sink of atmospheric CO 2 while the other three well-mixed lagoons were strong sources of CO 2 to the atmosphere but less oversaturated in CH 4 .

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Reservoir Surfaces as Sources of Greenhouse Gases to the Atmosphere: A Global Estimate

Cited by 603 publications

References 23 publications

Preliminary report on methane emissions from the Three Gorges Reservoir in the summer drainage period

Preliminary report on methane emissions from the Three Gorges Reservoir in the summer drainage period

Spatial and seasonal variability of CO2 flux at the air-water interface of the Three Gorges Reservoir

Seasonal variability of methane in the rivers and lagoons of Ivory Coast (West Africa)

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