Nature & Environment
Small Ponds May Create More Greenhouse Gases Than Previously Thought
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Feb 03, 2016 09:41 AM EST
Small ponds produce a lot of greenhouse gases. Scientists have found that tiny ponds play a disproportionately large role in global greenhouse emissions from inland waters.
Ponds less than a quarter of an acre in size make up only 8.6 percent of the surface area of the world's lakes and ponds. However, they account for a staggering 15.1 percent of carbon dioxide emissions and 40.6 percent of diffusive methane (CH4) emissions.
"Our study is the first to include these small ponds in global estimates of CO2 and CH4 emissions, largely because they are difficult to map and were thought to play a small role in carbon cycling," said Meredith Hholgerson, the lead author of the new study, in a news release.
In this latest study, the researchers combined recent estimates on the global number of lakes and ponds with a compilation of direct measurements of CO2 and CH4 concentrations from 427 lakes and ponds. The scientists found that concentrations were greatest in smaller ponds and decreased as the ponds and lakes grew larger.
So why do they produce so many gases? The reason has to do with the physical makeup of very small ponds and the way they cycle carbon. Small bonds have a high perimeter-to-surface-area ratio. This means they accumulate a higher load of terrestrial carbon, such as leaf litter, sediment particles and other material. Small ponds also tend to be shallow, which means their terrestrial carbon loads are highly concentrated compared to larger lakes. In addition, gases produced at the bottom of these ponds can reach the surface more often.
The findings reveal that small ponds are important players in the carbon cycle. This is especially important to note when it comes to calculating the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
The findings are published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
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First Posted: Feb 03, 2016 09:41 AM EST
Small ponds produce a lot of greenhouse gases. Scientists have found that tiny ponds play a disproportionately large role in global greenhouse emissions from inland waters.
Ponds less than a quarter of an acre in size make up only 8.6 percent of the surface area of the world's lakes and ponds. However, they account for a staggering 15.1 percent of carbon dioxide emissions and 40.6 percent of diffusive methane (CH4) emissions.
"Our study is the first to include these small ponds in global estimates of CO2 and CH4 emissions, largely because they are difficult to map and were thought to play a small role in carbon cycling," said Meredith Hholgerson, the lead author of the new study, in a news release.
In this latest study, the researchers combined recent estimates on the global number of lakes and ponds with a compilation of direct measurements of CO2 and CH4 concentrations from 427 lakes and ponds. The scientists found that concentrations were greatest in smaller ponds and decreased as the ponds and lakes grew larger.
So why do they produce so many gases? The reason has to do with the physical makeup of very small ponds and the way they cycle carbon. Small bonds have a high perimeter-to-surface-area ratio. This means they accumulate a higher load of terrestrial carbon, such as leaf litter, sediment particles and other material. Small ponds also tend to be shallow, which means their terrestrial carbon loads are highly concentrated compared to larger lakes. In addition, gases produced at the bottom of these ponds can reach the surface more often.
The findings reveal that small ponds are important players in the carbon cycle. This is especially important to note when it comes to calculating the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
The findings are published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Related Articles
Man-Made Climate Change caused Floods in South of England, Study Reveals
How Stable is the Antarctic Ice Sheet? Geophysicists Take Closer Look
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone