Episodic fluxes of methane from subarctic fens
Measurements of methane flux from northern peatlands to the atmosphere are complicated by high spatial and temporal variability. We quantified the variability of methane flux from two subarctic fens near Schefferville, northern Quebec, using a static chamber technique. Within the seasonal pattern of...
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Canadian Science Publishing
1992
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crcansciencepubl:10.4141/cjss92-037 2024-09-30T14:44:27+00:00 Episodic fluxes of methane from subarctic fens Windsor, J. Moore, T. R. Roulet, N. T. 1992 http://dx.doi.org/10.4141/cjss92-037 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.4141/cjss92-037 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Soil Science volume 72, issue 4, page 441-452 ISSN 0008-4271 1918-1841 journal-article 1992 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.4141/cjss92-037 2024-09-05T04:11:13Z Measurements of methane flux from northern peatlands to the atmosphere are complicated by high spatial and temporal variability. We quantified the variability of methane flux from two subarctic fens near Schefferville, northern Quebec, using a static chamber technique. Within the seasonal pattern of increasing fluxes associated with the warming of the peat profile, episodic fluxes of methane were observed. One set of episodic events occurred during the spring thaw of the upper layers of the peat, which released methane stored in ice over the winter. The second set, generally of short duration (< 2 d), occurred in mid-summer and appeared to be related primarily to the lowering of the water table. In four of six subjectively-identified, episodic fluxes during the 1990 summer the flux during the episodic event was equal to or greater than the upper 95% confidence level of the three fluxes before and after the event (t-statistic probabilities ranged from < 0.001 to 0.038). Mechanisms to account for these episodic fluxes of methane include increased methane diffusivity, removal of overburden pressure and reduced rates of methane consumption in the surface layers of the peat. Omission of these episodic fluxes could lower estimates of seasonal methane emissions by 7–22%. Key words: Peatlands, fens, methane Article in Journal/Newspaper Subarctic Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Soil Science 72 4 441 452 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
Measurements of methane flux from northern peatlands to the atmosphere are complicated by high spatial and temporal variability. We quantified the variability of methane flux from two subarctic fens near Schefferville, northern Quebec, using a static chamber technique. Within the seasonal pattern of increasing fluxes associated with the warming of the peat profile, episodic fluxes of methane were observed. One set of episodic events occurred during the spring thaw of the upper layers of the peat, which released methane stored in ice over the winter. The second set, generally of short duration (< 2 d), occurred in mid-summer and appeared to be related primarily to the lowering of the water table. In four of six subjectively-identified, episodic fluxes during the 1990 summer the flux during the episodic event was equal to or greater than the upper 95% confidence level of the three fluxes before and after the event (t-statistic probabilities ranged from < 0.001 to 0.038). Mechanisms to account for these episodic fluxes of methane include increased methane diffusivity, removal of overburden pressure and reduced rates of methane consumption in the surface layers of the peat. Omission of these episodic fluxes could lower estimates of seasonal methane emissions by 7–22%. Key words: Peatlands, fens, methane |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Windsor, J. Moore, T. R. Roulet, N. T. |
spellingShingle |
Windsor, J. Moore, T. R. Roulet, N. T. Episodic fluxes of methane from subarctic fens |
author_facet |
Windsor, J. Moore, T. R. Roulet, N. T. |
author_sort |
Windsor, J. |
title |
Episodic fluxes of methane from subarctic fens |
title_short |
Episodic fluxes of methane from subarctic fens |
title_full |
Episodic fluxes of methane from subarctic fens |
title_fullStr |
Episodic fluxes of methane from subarctic fens |
title_full_unstemmed |
Episodic fluxes of methane from subarctic fens |
title_sort |
episodic fluxes of methane from subarctic fens |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1992 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.4141/cjss92-037 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.4141/cjss92-037 |
genre |
Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Subarctic |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Soil Science volume 72, issue 4, page 441-452 ISSN 0008-4271 1918-1841 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.4141/cjss92-037 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Soil Science |
container_volume |
72 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
441 |
op_container_end_page |
452 |
_version_ |
1811645721283133440 |