Enhancing Surface Methane Fluxes from an Oligotrophic Lake: Exploring the Microbubble Hypothesis

McGinnis, Daniel Frank; Kirillin, Georgiy; Tang, Kam W.; Flury, Sabine; Bodmer, Pascal; Engelhardt, Christof; Casper, Peter; Grossart, Hans-Peter

doi:10.1021/es503385d

Scientific article

English

Enhancing Surface Methane Fluxes from an Oligotrophic Lake: Exploring the Microbubble Hypothesis

Contributors

McGinnis, Daniel Frank

; Kirillin, Georgiy; Tang, Kam W.; Flury, Sabine; Bodmer, Pascal; Engelhardt, Christof; Casper, Peter; Grossart, Hans-Peter

Published in

Environmental science & technology, vol. 49, no. 2, p. 873-880

Publication date

2015

Abstract

Exchange of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4)across inland water surfaces is an important component of the terrestrial carbon (C) balance. We investigated the ﬂuxes of these two gases across the surface of oligotrophic Lake Stechlin using a ﬂoating chamber approach. The normalized gas transfer rate for CH4 (k600,CH4) was on average 2.5 times higher than that for CO2 (k600,CO2) and consequently higher than Fickian transport. Because of its low solubility relative to CO2, the enhanced CH4 ﬂux is possibly explained by the presence of microbubbles in the lake's surface layer. These microbubbles may originate from atmospheric bubble entrainment or gas supersaturation (i.e., O2) or both. Irrespective of the source, we determined that an average of 145 L m−2 d−1 of gas is required to exit the surface layer via microbubbles to produce the observed elevated k600,CH4. As k600 values are used to estimate CH4 pathways in aquatic systems, the presence of microbubbles could alter the resulting CH4 and perhaps C balances. These microbubbles will also aﬀect the surface ﬂuxes of other sparingly soluble gases in inland waters, including O2 and N2.

UNIGE affiliation entities

Citation (ISO format)

MCGINNIS, Daniel Frank et al. Enhancing Surface Methane Fluxes from an Oligotrophic Lake: Exploring the Microbubble Hypothesis. In: Environmental science & technology, 2015, vol. 49, n° 2, p. 873–880. doi: 10.1021/es503385d

Article (Published version)

Supplemental data

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PID : unige:45939
DOI : 10.1021/es503385d

Journal ISSN

0013-936X

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Creation

22/01/2015 08:28:00

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22/01/2015 08:28:00

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14/03/2023 22:45:48

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14/03/2023 22:45:47

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30/10/2024 22:31:42

Enhancing Surface Methane Fluxes from an Oligotrophic Lake: Exploring the Microbubble Hypothesis

Contributors

Published in

Publication date

Abstract

UNIGE affiliation entities

Citation (ISO format)

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Journal ISSN

Technical informations

Creation

First validation

Update

Status update

Last indexation