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Drainage Ditches (“Hot Spots”) and Storms (“Hot Moments”) Define Aquatic Greenhouse Gas (CO2 , CH4 , N2O) Emissions From the Land‐to‐Ocean Aquatic Continuum
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Drainage Ditches (“Hot Spots”) and Storms (“Hot Moments”) Define Aquatic Greenhouse Gas (CO2 , CH4 , N2O) Emissions From the Land‐to‐Ocean Aquatic Continuum

Naomi S. Wells, Mustefa Yasin Reshid, Karl Hennig, Matthew Hipsey, Peisheng Huang and Bradley D. Eyre
Geophysical research letters, Vol.52(15), pp.1-13
16/08/2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113326
Appears in  Recent Faculty of Science and Engineering Publications
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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#6 Clean Water and Sanitation
#13 Climate Action
#14 Life Below Water

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Abstract

eutrophication artificial aquatic ecosystems Peel-Harvey estuarine system greenhouse gas emissions winter storms and-ocean aquatic continuum
Humans are altering coastal regions directly (land‐use, drainage) and indirectly (climate change). Alterations potentially create positive climate feedback loops by enhancing production and emission of aquatic greenhouse gases (GHGs) CO<sub>2</sub> , N<sub>2</sub> O, and CH<sub>4</sub> . We tested this hypothesis by measuring dissolved CO<sub>2</sub> , N<sub>2</sub> O, and CH<sub>4</sub> concentrations across the anthropogenic aquatic continuum (farm ponds, ditches, irrigation drains, streams, tidal rivers, and estuaries) and continuously during a winter storm. Combining measurements with hydrodynamic modeling enabled us to parameterize physical gas transfer uncertainties, revealing artificial waterways contributed disproportionately to emissions. Ditches and drains cover 5% of water surface area but produced >50% of emissions (2–11 Mmol d <sup>−1</sup> CO <sub>2</sub> ‐equivalents). But storms inverted this pattern by increasing estuary emissions 16‐fold (5.0 Mmol d <sup>−1</sup> CO <sub>2</sub> ‐equivalent), suggesting storm patterns could control both sources and magnitudes of aquatic GHG emissions. Findings show overlooked artificial drains and hard‐to‐measure storms will increasingly define the aquatic offsets of landscape carbon budgets.

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