A paper published this week in the journal Limnology and Oceanography Letters is the first to show that lake size and nutrients drive how much greenhouse gases are emitted globally from lakes into the atmosphere.
A paper published this week in the journal Limnology and Oceanography Letters is the first to show that lake size and nutrients drive how much greenhouse gases are emitted globally from lakes into the atmosphere.
"Our research pioneers a new way of determining the global atmospheric effect of lakes using satellite information on lake greenness and size distribution," said co-author John A. Downing, University of Minnesota Sea Grant director and professor of biology at the University of Minnesota Duluth. "This is important because the world's lakes and surface waters will emit more greenhouse gases as they become greener and more nutrient-rich."
Greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere drive global climate change. Although carbon dioxide is the most well-known greenhouse gas, methane and nitrous oxide, which are also emitted from lakes, could be far more devastating because they have much greater warming potential.
"Our work shows conclusively that methane, which is emitted from lakes in bubbles, is the dominant greenhouse gas coming from lakes and surface waters globally," said lead author Tonya DelSontro, now a researcher at the University of Geneva. "The greener or more eutrophic these water bodies become, the more methane is emitted, which exacerbates climate warming."
Read more at University of Minnesota
