Spatially Resolved Measurements of CO₂ and CH₄ Concentration and Gas-Exchange Velocity Highly Influence Carbon-Emission Estimates of Reservoirs

Abstract

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide The magnitude of diffusive carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) emission from man-made reservoirs is uncertain because the spatial variability generally is not well-represented. Here, we examine the spatial variability and its drivers for partial pressure, gas-exchange velocity ( k ), and diffusive flux of CO 2 and CH 4 in three tropical reservoirs using spatially resolved measurements of both gas concentrations and k . We observed high spatial variability in CO 2 and CH 4 concentrations and flux within all three reservoirs, with river inflow areas generally displaying elevated CH 4 concentrations. Conversely, areas close to the dam are generally characterized by low concentrations and are therefore not likely to be representative for the whole system. A large share (44–83%) of the within-reservoir variability of gas concentration was explained by dissolved oxygen, pH, chlorophyll, water depth, and within-reservoir location. High spatial variability in k was observed, and k CH 4 was persistently higher (on average, 2.5 times more) than k CO 2 . Not accounting for the within-reservoir variability in concentrations and k may lead to up to 80% underestimation of whole-system diffusive emission of CO 2 and CH 4 . Our findings provide valuable information on how to develop field-sampling strategies to reliably capture the spatial heterogeneity of diffusive carbon fluxes from reservoirs.