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Effects of turbulence on carbon emission in shallow lakes.

Authors :
Zhu L
Qin B
Zhou J
Van Dam B
Shi W
Source :
Journal of environmental sciences (China) [J Environ Sci (China)] 2018 Jul; Vol. 69, pp. 166-172. Date of Electronic Publication: 2017 Oct 19.
Publication Year :
2018

Abstract

Turbulent mixing is enhanced in shallow lakes. As a result, exchanges across the air-water and sediment-water interfaces are increased, causing these systems to be large sources of greenhouse gases. This study investigated the effects of turbulence on carbon dioxide (CO <subscript>2</subscript> ) and methane (CH <subscript>4</subscript> ) emissions in shallow lakes using simulated mesocosm experiments. Results demonstrated that turbulence increased CO <subscript>2</subscript> emissions, while simultaneously decreasing CH <subscript>4</subscript> emissions by altering microbial processes. Under turbulent conditions, a greater fraction of organic carbon was recycled as CO <subscript>2</subscript> instead of CH <subscript>4</subscript> , potentially reducing the net global warming effect because of the lower global warming potential of CO <subscript>2</subscript> relative to CH <subscript>4</subscript> . The CH <subscript>4</subscript> /CO <subscript>2</subscript> flux ratio was approximately 0.006 under turbulent conditions, but reached 0.078 in the control. The real-time quantitative PCR analysis indicated that methanogen abundance decreased and methanotroph abundance increased under turbulent conditions, inhibiting CH <subscript>4</subscript> production and favoring the oxidation of CH <subscript>4</subscript> to CO <subscript>2</subscript> . These findings suggest that turbulence may play an important role in the global carbon cycle by limiting CH <subscript>4</subscript> emissions, thereby reducing the net global warming effect of shallow lakes.<br /> (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1001-0742
Volume :
69
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Journal of environmental sciences (China)
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
29941252
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2017.10.005