Greenhouse Gas Emissions from U.S. Hydropower Reservoirs: FY2011 Annual Progress Report

Stewart, Arthur J.; Mosher, Jennifer J.; Mulholland, Patrick J.; Fortner, Allison M.; Phillips, Jana R.; Bevelhimer, Mark S.

doi:10.2172/1050345

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

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“…Many hydropower reservoirs also have been reported to be CH 4 emitters [8,10,15,29,36,38]. We report CH 4 emission rates ranging from 5 mg¨m 2¨d ay´1 at Fontana to 77 mg¨m´2¨day´1 at Allatoona and Douglas (Table 3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…In an earlier investigation of Douglas Lake (Tennessee), we reported that emissions of both CO 2 and CH 4 were seasonal, and compared to reservoirs in other parts of the world, moderate (for CO 2 ) to low (for CH 4 ) in GHG emissions [29,30]. Based on these results and on unpublished data from quarterly sampling of three additional reservoirs in the southeast U.S., we chose a synoptic survey sampling strategy to characterize emissions from a variety of hydropower reservoirs within a geographically similar area during the period of peak emissions, August-September.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Coves were chosen for sampling over the main channel for logistic reasons (less boat traffic, shallower water depth, and slower currents) and because earlier sampling revealed that coves typically have greater ebullition rates than the main channel [29,30]. Inverted funnels of 1 m diameter opening (0.79 m 2 opening area) at approximately 1.5 m below the water surface collected gases overnight (15 to 28 h in 73 cases; but in 13 cases, funnels were deployed for up to 48 h due to storms that interfered with scheduled retrieval).…”

Section: Ebullition Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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CO2 is Dominant Greenhouse Gas Emitted from Six Hydropower Reservoirs in Southeastern United States during Peak Summer Emissions

Bevelhimer

Stewart

Fortner

et al. 2016

Water

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During August-September 2012, we sampled six hydropower reservoirs in southeastern United States for CO 2 and CH 4 emissions via three pathways: diffusive emissions from water surface; ebullition in the water column; and losses from dam tailwaters during power generation. Estimates of average areal emission rates of CO 2 attributable to the six reservoirs (i.e., reservoir plus tailwater emissions) ranged from 994 to 2760 mg¨m´2¨day´1, which is low to moderate compared to CO 2 emissions rates reported for tropical hydropower reservoirs and boreal ponds and lakes, and similar to rates reported for other temperate reservoirs. Similar average rates for CH 4 were also relatively low, ranging from 6 to 187 mg¨m´2¨day´1. On a whole-reservoir basis, estimates of total emissions of CO 2 ranged 10-fold, from 42,740 kg per day for Fontana to 501,151 kg per day for Guntersville, and total emissions of CH 4 ranged over 30-fold, from 251 kg per day for Fontana to 9153 kg per day for Allatoona. Emissions through the tailwater pathway varied among reservoirs, comprising from 19% to 65% of total CO 2 emissions and 0% to 84% of CH 4 emissions, depending on the reservoir. Emission rates were significantly correlated with several reservoir morphological and water quality characteristics, including metrics related to vertical stratification (e.g., minimum water column temperature and maximum dissolved oxygen) and reservoir productivity (e.g., water transparency and chlorophyll a concentration).

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