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   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Measuring greenhouse gas from ponds improves climate predictions    
      
     Date:   
         June 7, 2023   
     Source:   
         Cornell University   
     Summary:   
         Shallow lakes and ponds emit significant amounts of greenhouse   
         gases into the atmosphere, but emissions from these systems vary   
         considerably and are not well understood.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Shallow lakes and ponds emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases   
   into the atmosphere, but emissions from these systems vary considerably   
   and are not well understood.   
      
   Now, a new Cornell University-led study measures methane and carbon   
   dioxide emissions from 30 small lakes and ponds (one acre or less) in   
   temperate areas of Europe and North America, revealing that the smallest   
   and shallowest bodies of water exhibit the greatest variability over time.   
      
   The paper marks an important step toward calibrating climate models so   
   they better predict emissions from inland waterbodies, and it points to   
   the need to study small waterbodies more closely.   
      
   "This study helps understand both the drivers of greenhouse gas   
   concentrations, and importantly, what makes some ponds more variable   
   in their concentrations," said Meredith Holgerson, assistant professor   
   of ecology and evolutionary biology and senior author of the study,   
   published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography.   
      
   "The paper points to patterns across a broad geographic range, such   
   that we can actually get in and predict which waterbodies are going to   
   vary and will be most variable, and it confirms that we need to go out   
   and sample frequently," said Nicholas Ray, a postdoctoral researcher in   
   Holgerson's lab and the paper's first author.   
      
   Holgerson and colleagues have previously estimated that shallow lakes   
   and ponds may contribute 5% of the global methane emissions to the   
   atmosphere. But without accurate measurements across many water bodies,   
   they said, the true number could be as little as half or as much as   
   twice that percentage.   
      
   While some small lakes and ponds emit greenhouse gasses in consistent,   
   predictable amounts, others are highly variable. Understanding these   
   dynamics is important as carbon dioxide and methane act as greenhouse   
   gases in the atmosphere, with methane being 25 times more potent at   
   trapping heat than carbon dioxide.   
      
   Each body of water analyzed was sampled over the 2018 and 2019 summers   
   at three times in three locations, including the deepest point and then   
   two locations on opposite ends (but not too close to the shore).   
      
   "One key result we found was that the smaller the system is, in regard   
   to surface area, the higher emissions are likely to be," Ray said.   
      
   For carbon dioxide, samples were consistent in all parts of the   
   waterbody, which revealed that researchers likely only needed to   
   collect a sample from one location to get an accurate prediction of   
   the whole body of water. Methane, on the other hand, required samples   
   from multiple locations to get an accurate measure. Also, for methane,   
   shallower systems were more variable, suggesting stratification of the   
   water column in deeper water may prevent gases from rising to the surface.   
      
   For carbon dioxide, the amount of plant life in the water played a large   
   role in variability over time. For methane, variability was more driven   
   by the water depth and likely associated with stratification in the   
   water column.   
      
   Among other uses, the study sets the groundwork for informing a New York   
   state climate mitigation strategy to build more ponds to help farmers   
   better handle droughts.   
      
   "We're working to identify how ponds can be built, or if there are simple   
   management strategies people can employ, to minimize emissions," Ray said.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Ecology_Research # Nature # Drought # Mice   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Global_Warming # Water # Climate # Environmental_Issues   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Greenhouse_gas o Earth's_atmosphere   
             o Climate_change_mitigation o   
             Greenhouse_effect o Climate_engineering   
             o United_Nations_Framework_Convention_on_Climate_Change o   
             Methane o Wild_rice   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by Cornell_University. Original written   
   by Krishna Ramanujan, courtesy of the Cornell Chronicle. Note: Content   
   may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Nicholas E. Ray, Meredith A. Holgerson, Mikkel Rene Andersen,   
      Jānis   
         Bikse, Lauren E. Bortolotti, Martyn Futter, Ilga Kokorīte,   
         Alan Law, Cory McDonald, Jorrit P. Mesman, Mike Peacock, David   
         C. Richardson, Julien Arsenault, Sheel Bansal, Kaelin Cawley,   
         McKenzie Kuhn, Amir Reza Shahabinia, Facundo Smufer. Spatial   
         and temporal variability in summertime dissolved carbon dioxide   
         and methane in temperate ponds and shallow lakes. Limnology and   
         Oceanography, 2023; DOI: 10.1002/lno.12362   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230607004112.htm   
      
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