Methane emissions from tundra environments in the Yukon-Kuskokwin Delta, Alaska

• Main Authors: Bartlett, Karen B., Crill, Patrick M., Sass, Ronald L., Harriss, Robert C., Dise, Nancy B.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1992
• Subjects: 46; Yukon; Tundra; Alaska
• Online Access: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19930032544

This paper reports CH4 flux to the atmosphere from a variety of tundra environments near Bethel, Alaska during the summer months of 1988. Emissions from wet meadow tundra averaged 144 +/- 31 mg/sq m/d and ranged from 15.6 to 426 mg/sq m/d varying with soil moisture and temperature. Flux from the drier upland tundra was about two orders of magnitude lower and averaged 2.3 +/- 1.1 mg/sq m/d. Tundra lakes emit CH4 from the open water surface as well as from fringing aquatic vegetation; the presence of vegetation significantly enhanced flux over open water rates. Calculated diffusive fluxes from open water varied with lake size, the large lakes emitting 3.8 mg/sq m/d and small lakes emitting an average of 77 mg/sq m/d. An updated estimate of global emissions from tundra indicates an annual fluxes of approximately 11 +/- 3 Tg CH4.