Abstract. River sediments falling dry at low water levels are sources of CO2 to the atmosphere. While the general relevance of CO2 emissions from dry sediments has been acknowledged and some regulatory mechanisms have been identified, knowledge on mechanisms and temporal dynamics is still sparse. Using a combination of high-frequency measurements and two field campaigns we thus aimed to identify processes responsible for CO2 emissions and to assess temporal dynamics of CO2 emissions from dry sediments at a large German river. CO2 emissions were largely driven by microbial respiration in the sediment. Observed CO2 fluxes could be explained by patterns and responses of sediment respiration rates measured in laboratory incubations. We exclude groundwater as a significant source of CO2 because the CO2 concentration in the groundwater was too low to explain CO2 fluxes. Furthermore, CO2 fluxes were not related to radon fluxes, which we used to trace groundwater-derived degassing of CO2. CO2 emissions were strongly regulated by temperature resulting in large diurnal fluctuations of CO2 emissions with emissions peaking during the day. The diurnal temperature–CO2 flux relation exhibited a hysteresis which highlights the effect of transport processes in the sediment and makes it difficult to identify temperature dependence from simple linear regressions. The temperature response of CO2 flux and sediment respiration rates in laboratory incubations was identical. Also deeper sediment layers apparently contributed to CO2 emissions because the CO2 flux was correlated with the thickness of the unsaturated zone, resulting in CO2 fluxes increasing with distance to the local groundwater level and with distance to the river. Rain events lowered CO2 emissions from dry river sediments probably by blocking CO2 transport from deeper sediment layers to the atmosphere. Terrestrial vegetation growing on exposed sediments greatly increased respiratory sediment CO2 emissions. We conclude that the regulation of CO2 emissions from dry river sediments is complex. Diurnal measurements are mandatory and even CO2 uptake in the dark by phototrophic micro-organisms has to be considered when assessing the impact of dry sediments on CO2 emissions from rivers.

A Late Pleistocene/Holocene paleoenvironmental record was obtained from the Rouer peatland (5°54′E, 49°45′N; 270 m a.s.l.), located in the Gutland area of southern Luxembourg. A total of six sediment samples were AMS radiocarbon-dated to obtain an age-depth model. XRF analyses and analyses of geochemical proxies of organic matter (TOC, TN, δ13C, δ15N) were conducted to identify major paleoenvironmental changes in the record. Pollen analysis reveals insights into the vegetation history throughout the last 14,000 cal. yr BP. The record offers unique insights into the evolution of local organic sediment/peat accumulation, as well as into the environmental history of the Gutland region and beyond. The accumulation of organic sediment and peat started at about 13,800 cal. yr BP before present. Until about 6000 cal. yr BP, periods of apparently stable climatic conditions had been interrupted repeatedly by pronounced episodes with increased input of minerogenic matter into the peat matrix (12,700–11,800 cal. yr BP; 11,500–11,300 cal. yr BP; 11,100–10,800 cal. yr BP; 9300 cal. yr BP; 8200 cal. yr BP), indicated by sudden increases of Ti/coh values. After 6000 cal. yr BP, environmental conditions stabilized. Between 4200 and 2800 cal. yr BP, during the Bronze Age, changes in the pollen spectrum indicate an increasing clearance of woodlands. Since the Roman period, an ongoing intensification of grassland farming and agriculture is evidenced. Lowest tree species abundances are witnessed during the Middle Ages. The Modern Era is characterized by enhanced sediment input due to soil erosion. In short, this record complements the Late Pleistocene/Holocene climatic history of the Gutland area and demonstrates that fen peat deposits can be valuable high-resolution paleoclimate archives.

Abstract. River sediments falling dry at low water level are sources of CO2 to the atmosphere. While the general relevance of CO2 emissions from dry sediments has been acknowledged and some regulatory mechanisms identified, knowledge on mechanisms and temporal dynamics is still sparse. Using a combination of high frequency measurements and detailed studies we thus aimed to identify processes responsible for CO2 emissions and to assess temporal dynamics of CO2 emissions from dry sediments at a large German river. CO2 emissions were largely driven by microbial respiration in the sediment. Observed CO2 fluxes could be explained by patterns and responses of sediment respiration rates measured in laboratory incubations. We exclude groundwater as a significant source of CO2 because potential evaporation rates were too low to explain CO2 fluxes by groundwater evaporation. Furthermore, CO2 fluxes were not related to radon fluxes, which we used to trace groundwater derived degassing of CO2. CO2 emissions were strongly regulated by temperature resulting in large diurnal fluctuations of CO2 emissions with emissions peaking during the day. The diurnal temperature – CO2 flux relation exhibited a hysteresis which highlights the effect of transport processes in the sediment and makes it difficult to identify temperature dependence from simple linear regressions. The temperature response of CO2 flux and sediment respiration rates in laboratory incubations was identical. Also deeper sediment layers apparently contributed to CO2 emissions because the CO2 flux was correlated with the thickness of the unsaturated zone, resulting in CO2 fluxes increasing with distance to the local groundwater level and with distance to the river. Rain events lowered CO2 emissions from dry river sediments probably by blocking CO2 transport from deeper sediment layers to the atmosphere. Terrestrial vegetation growing on exposed sediments largely increased respiratory sediment CO2 emissions. We show that the regulation of CO2 emissions from dry river sediments is complex. Diurnal measurements are mandatory and even CO2 uptake in the dark by phototrophic micro-organisms has to be considered when assessing the impact of dry sediments on CO2 emissions from rivers.