A new study in Global Biogeochemical Cycles shows per-area greenhouse gas emissions from the world’s water reservoirs are around 29% higher than suggested by previous studies, but that practical measures could be taken to help reduce that impact.
A new study in Global Biogeochemical Cycles shows per-area greenhouse gas emissions from the world’s water reservoirs are around 29% higher than suggested by previous studies, but that practical measures could be taken to help reduce that impact.
Much of the increase in emissions comes from previously unaccounted for methane degassing, a process where methane passes through a dam and bubbles up downstream, according to the analysis by Washington State University and University of Quebec at Montreal scientists.
Overall, the researchers found the world’s water reservoirs are annually producing methane, carbon dioxide, and other greenhouses gases in an amount roughly equivalent to 1.07 gigatons of carbon dioxide.
While that amount is small in comparison to the more than 36 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions produced by fossil fuels and other industrial sources each year, it’s still more greenhouse gas than the entire country of Germany, the globe’s sixth largest emitter, produces annually. It is also roughly equal in weight to 10,000 fully-loaded U.S. aircraft carriers.
Read more at Washington State University
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