A recent study brings light on the effect of natural methane production on global climate change evaluations. The research from Swansea University has offered new information into how the greenhouse gas methane is being made in the surface waters of lakes. Such a thing should start to worry us on the global methane cycle.
After studies on carbon dioxide, methane is the second most significant carbon-based greenhouse gas, and its continual growth in the atmosphere is a worldwide threat. Extensive research, including evaluations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has indicated that methane is made naturally in oxygen-wasted environments such as wetlands and swamps. The result, however, of this new research, published in Nature Communications, has currently questioned the last evaluations.
The research team from the University’s College of Science examined Lake Stechlin in north-eastern Germany. They discovered that an essential quantity of methane was being made there in the well-oxygenated surface layer.
Climate Change and Lake Methane Emissions
It was also identified that as the methane gas is made at the surface in direct contact with air, the rate of emissions that circulate directly into the atmosphere is also essential. The team also prognosticated that emissions from these surface waters are possible to grow with lake dimension, and could account for over half of surface methane for lakes bigger than one square kilometer.
Kam Tang, professor of Swansea University’s Department of Biosciences, detailed more about the research. He stated: “Our research shows that well-oxygenated lake waters are an important, but long overlooked, source of methane emissions to the atmosphere.
These novel findings open new avenues for methane research and support a more accurate global assessment of this powerful greenhouse gas.” The methane emissions in lakes are based on an advanced system of biochemical and physical processes. Some of them, however, are still poorly understood.
Doris’s passion for writing started to take shape in college where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. Even though she ended up working in IT for more than 7 years, she’s now back to what he always enjoyed doing. With a true passion for technology, Doris mostly covers tech-related topics.