Journal article
Global carbon dioxide efflux from rivers enhanced by high nocturnal emissions
Nature Geoscience, Vol.14(5), pp.289-294
31/05/2021
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Source: InCites
Abstract
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to the atmosphere from running waters are estimated to be four times greater than the total carbon (C) flux to the oceans. However, these fluxes remain poorly constrained because of substantial spatial and temporal variability in dissolved CO2 concentrations. Using a global compilation of high-frequency CO2 measurements, we demonstrate that nocturnal CO2 emissions are on average 27% (0.9 gC m(-2) d(-1)) greater than those estimated from diurnal concentrations alone. Constraints on light availability due to canopy shading or water colour are the principal controls on observed diel (24 hour) variation, suggesting this nocturnal increase arises from daytime fixation of CO2 by photosynthesis. Because current global estimates of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere from running waters (0.65-1.8 PgC yr(-1)) rely primarily on discrete measurements of dissolved CO2 obtained during the day, they substantially underestimate the magnitude of this flux. Accounting for night-time CO2 emissions may elevate global estimates from running waters to the atmosphere by 0.20-0.55 PgC yr(-1). Failing to account for emission differences between day and night will lead to an underestimate of global CO2 emissions from rivers by up to 0.55 PgC yr(-1), according to analyses of high-frequency CO2 measurements.
Details
- Title
- Global carbon dioxide efflux from rivers enhanced by high nocturnal emissions
- Creators
- Lluis Gomez-Gener - Ecole Polytech Fed Lausanne, Switzerland; Umea Univ, SwedenGerard Rocher-Ros - Umea Univ, SwedenTom Battin - Ecole Polytech Fed Lausanne, SwitzerlandM Cohen - Univ Florida, FL 32611 USAHigo J Dalmagro - Univ Cuiaba, BrazilKerry J Dinsmore - Ctr Ecol & Hydrol, ScotlandTravis W Drake - Swiss Fed Inst Technol, SwitzerlandClément Duvert - Charles Darwin Univ, AustraliaAlex Enrich-Prast - Fluminense Fed Univ, BrazilAsa Horgby - Ecole Polytech Fed Lausanne, SwitzerlandM S Johnson - Univ British Columbia, Canada; Univ British Columbia, CanadaLily Kirk - Univ Florida, FL USAFausto Machado-Silva - Fluminense Fed Univ, BrazilNicholas S Marzolf - North Carolina State Univ, NC 27695 USAMollie J McDowell - Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaWilliam H McDowell - Univ British Columbia, Canada; Univ British Columbia, Canada; Univ New Hampshire, NH 03824 USAHeli Miettinen - Swedish Univ Agr Sci, SwedenAnne K Ojala - Univ Helsinki, FinlandHannes Peter - Ecole Polytech Fed Lausanne, SwitzerlandJukka Pumpanen - Univ Eastern Finland, FinlandLishan Ran - Univ Hong Kong, Peoples R ChinaDiego A Riveros-Iregui - Univ N Carolina, NC 27515 USAIsaac R Santos (Author) - Univ Gothenburg, SwedenJohan Six - Swiss Fed Inst Technol, SwitzerlandEmily H Stanley - Univ Wisconsin, WI 53706 USAMarcus B Wallin - Swedish Univ Agr Sci, SwedenShane A White (Author) - Southern Cross UniversityRyan A Sponseller - Umea Univ, Sweden
- Publication Details
- Nature Geoscience, Vol.14(5), pp.289-294
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- Identifiers
- 991012964600302368
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; National Marine Science Centre
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article