EESS talk "Methane formation, pathways and emissions in Lake Soppen: A case study in paleolimnology, ecology and eutrophication"
Event details
| Date | 22.11.2016 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:15 |
| Speaker | Dr Daniel McGinnis, Assistant Professor, Aquatic Physics Group, University of Geneva, CH |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Abstract: Methane from freshwaters contributes ~20% to the total global atmospheric methane emissions (excluding wetlands), with about half attributed to bubble release (ebullition). Methane is an important greenhouse gas, whose global warming potential is 28 times greater than carbon dioxide. With positive correlations to temperature and eutrophication, ebullition rates from lakes are expected to be exacerbated with a warming climate and increased nutrient loading. Little work, however, has been performed on the effect on methane formation and transport on lake ecology and carbon turnover, and the eutrophication-methane feedback mechanisms. We report a study of methane formation, transport and emissions on Lake Soppen – a small, glacially-formed lake located in Canton Lucerne (Switzerland). Extensively studied in the last decades, Lake Soppen has experienced increasing eutrophication in the past centuries. Using current monitoring results, combined with published paleolimnological indicators and system analysis, we report present methane production rates, pathways and emissions, as well as an estimation of the beginning of methane ebullition in the lake’s history. Linked with a historical increase in sedimentation rates, the beginning of methane bubble emission and associated eutrophication is likely responsible for a dramatic shift in the lake benthic fauna populations, with consequences to the trophic carbon transport. We hypothesize that the time when sediment methane bubble release begins represents a significant tipping point in lake trophic status, and in Lake Soppen is likely linked to significant land use changes in the small (1.6 km2), largely agricultural watershed. Finally, in this case study, we quantify the methane transport mechanisms and fate in Lake Soppen, with an emphasis on refining the carbon balance, turnover, and estimating basin-wide CO2 and methane emissions.
Short biography: Daniel McGinnis completed his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech in 2003. There, he focused on lake and reservoir management, with an emphasis on artificial (hypolimnetic) aeration as a lake management technique. Afterwards, he spent nearly 5 years in the Aquatic Physics group at Eawag (Kastanianbaum) as a postdoc studying turbulence, oxygen and methane transport in lakes and the ocean, followed by positions at GEOMAR (Kiel, DE), University of Southern Denmark (Odensee, DK) and IGB (Berlin, DE) studying physics, oxygen and carbon turnover in lakes, coastal oceans and the artic. In September, 2014, Daniel was awarded an assistant professor position and started the Aquatic Physics group at University of Geneva, Institute F.-A. Forel.
Short biography: Daniel McGinnis completed his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech in 2003. There, he focused on lake and reservoir management, with an emphasis on artificial (hypolimnetic) aeration as a lake management technique. Afterwards, he spent nearly 5 years in the Aquatic Physics group at Eawag (Kastanianbaum) as a postdoc studying turbulence, oxygen and methane transport in lakes and the ocean, followed by positions at GEOMAR (Kiel, DE), University of Southern Denmark (Odensee, DK) and IGB (Berlin, DE) studying physics, oxygen and carbon turnover in lakes, coastal oceans and the artic. In September, 2014, Daniel was awarded an assistant professor position and started the Aquatic Physics group at University of Geneva, Institute F.-A. Forel.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
- This event is internal
Organizer
- EESS - IIE
Contact
- Prof. Tom Battin, SBER