Methane emissions from lakes and ponds

photo by Mitch Korolev

Team

Small water bodies like ponds can have significant climate impacts.

From the Arctic to the Amazon, large numbers of lakes and ponds are emitting methane and carbon dioxide. However, there is limited scientific understanding of the scale of these emissions, and the processes driving them—and how both of these things are changing in a rapidly warming climate.

We are using innovative monitoring and modeling techniques to evaluate the impact of ecosystem disturbances on carbon emissions from ponds, leveraging data collected from two field campaigns already conducted by Woodwell Climate.

Research area
three researchers stand behind a small inflatable boat in the water. on top of the boat are small scientific instruments on flat platforms

Deploying floating methane chambers in Alaska. Photo by Zoë Dietrich.

Our Work

We use a combined approach of real-world observations and physics-based models to better understand what affects water temperature, chemical, and biogeochemical changes in lakes and ponds.

  • We have developed in-house, low-cost autonomous floating sensors that detect greenhouse gas fluxes from lakes at a high temporal resolution—providing many data points over a given period of time. These sensors have been deployed in ponds at field sites in the Arctic and Tropics.
  • The LAKE model simulates thermodynamic, hydrodynamic, and biogeochemical processes within water bodies and their sediments. We use measured data to validate modeled greenhouse gas fluxes to project changes in lake emissions into the future.

These data will allow us to monitor changes in flux signals, and investigate the underlying processes driving those changes. Ultimately, the improved model will allow us to predict short-term variations in carbon emissions from lakes and ponds.

two researchers work on a scientific instrument in an orange plastic case, sitting on the ground on a white flat platform
a researcher wearing waders stands waist-deep in water next to a small floating platform with a scientific instrument on top

These low-cost autonomous floating sensors detect greenhouse gas fluxes from lakes. Photos by Zoë Dietrich.

Impact

How greenhouse gas emissions from lakes and ponds respond to climate warming remains uncertain. We are improving scientific understanding of greenhouse gas fluxes from lakes and ponds across diverse climatic and geographic settings.

By applying the LAKE model to both tropical and Arctic ecosystems, our goal is to gain a deeper regional understanding of the processes regulating methane and carbon dioxide emissions from water bodies, the impact of these emissions on global carbon budgets, and how these emissions may change under a changing climate.

a diagram showing the movement of carbon and methane through a small Arctic lake in summer and winter

The above diagram illustrates carbon dynamics in a small Arctic lake during summer and winter seasons. During the summer, carbon enters the lake through groundwater flow. Methane then leaves the lake in three ways: it’s emitted by plants growing on top of the water, bubbled up from the sediment at the bottom, or diffused from the water’s surface. However, in the winter, a cap of ice on the lake’s surface prevents methane from escaping. As soon as the ice melts in the spring, this built-up store of methane is released to the atmosphere. Diagram by Elchin Jafarov.