Measurement-based studies on greenhouse gases in nature and in the industrial sector in Canada ...

• Main Author: Vogt, Judith
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 2024
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Global warming; Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.48336/sqn2-mt04; https://research.library.mun.ca/16296/

Persistent emissions of anthropogenic greenhouse gases are causing the Earth to warm at an increasingly fast pace. Nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄) are two well-mixed greenhouse gases with high global warming potential. This thesis investigates both the impacts provoked by human-induced climatic disturbances on natural ecosystems, and anthropogenic emissions from the industrial and agricultural sectors, the root cause of global warming. Results show that peatland disturbance in eastern Canada did not alter emissions of N₂O despite distinct features of the studied sites located in Newfoundland, Canada. Even though a combination of land-use change did not increase N₂O emissions, the degradation of peatlands may intensify the emission of other greenhouse gases, especially of carbon compounds. The Arctic Ocean constitutes a negligible source of CH₄ to the atmosphere but warming temperatures may increase emissions. During a measurement cruise off the coast of north-eastern Canada, low sea-air CH₄ fluxes and ...