River network‐scale drying impacts the spatiotemporal dynamics of greenhouse gas fluxes

Silverthorn, Teresa; López‐Rojo, Naiara; Sarremejane, Romain; Foulquier, Arnaud; Chanudet, Vincent; Azougui, Abdelkader; del Campo, Rubén; Singer, Gabriel; Datry, Thibault

doi:10.1002/lno.12531

Cited by 5 publications

References 71 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

The importance of source data in river network connectivity modeling: A review

Brinkerhoff

2024

Limnology & Oceanography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

River network connectivity (RC) describes the hydrologic exchange of water, nutrients, sediments, and pollutants between the river channel and other “sites” via heterogenous flowpaths along the river corridor. As water moves downstream it carries these constituents, creating a stream‐to‐ocean continuum of connectivity that regulates global water, carbon, and nutrient cycling. River network connectivity models have developed over many decades, culminating in recent years with network‐scale RC models that explicitly simulate the transport and exchange of water and elements from headwaters to coasts, sometimes requiring models to contain tens of millions of river reaches. These advances provide transformative insights into the aggregate effects of RC on water and material transport across scales from local to global. Yet, recent reviews have pointed to several challenges that need to be overcome to continue advancing network‐scale RC modeling. In service of these goals, I summarize recent network‐scale RC maps and models to identify similarities and differences across the large‐scale RC modeling landscape. Although our computational and upscaling abilities have significantly improved and have revealed new insights, current models are still limited by the quantity, quality, resolution, and lack of standardization of the available in situ databases and source data maps necessary for the modeling. This suggests that we can extend recent advances if we keep improving these source datasets, while continuously revisiting our physics and theory to explain those new data. In doing so, we will continue to expand the role of network‐scale RC models in informing water quality modeling and management into the future.

show abstract

The importance of source data in river network connectivity modeling: A review

Brinkerhoff

2024

Limnology & Oceanography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Toward Modeling Continental‐Scale Inland Water Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Saccardi,

Brinkerhoff,

Gleason

et al. 2024

AGU Advances

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Inland waters emit significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere; however, the global magnitude and source distribution of inland water CO2 emissions remain uncertain. These fluxes have previously been “statistically upscaled” by independently estimating dissolved CO2 concentrations and gas exchange velocities to calculate fluxes. This scaling, while robust and defensible, has known limitations in representing carbon source limitations and spatial variability. Here, we develop and calibrate a CO2 transport model for the continental United States, simulating carbon transport and transformation in >22 million hydraulically connected rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. We estimate 25% lower CO2 fluxes compared to upscaling estimates forced by the same observational calibration data. While precise CO2 source distribution estimates are limited by the resolution of model parameterizations, our model suggests that stream corridor CO2 production dominates over groundwater inputs at the continental scale. Our results further suggest that the lack of observational networks for groundwater CO2 and scalable metabolic models of aquatic CO2 production remain the most salient barriers to further coupling of our model with other Earth system components.

show abstract

Synthesis reveals heterogeneous changes in the metabolism and emission of greenhouse gases of drying rivers

Sepp,

González-Trujillo,

Marcé

et al. 2024

Environ. Res. Lett.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

More than half of the world’s rivers experience occasional, seasonal, or permanent drying, and this may increase because of climate change. Drying, i.e. severe reduction in water flow even leading to streambed desiccation, can have a profound impact on the available aquatic habitat, biodiversity, and functions of rivers. Yet, to date, it is unclear whether similar drying events in comparable climate zones result in similar changes in ecosystem processes, such as river metabolism or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Here, we synthesise the detected effects of drying on gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER), as well as on the emissions of GHGs (CO2, CH4, and N2O) in rivers and streams. We examined the current available scientific literature detailing the impact of drying on these variables when measured either in the field or in the laboratory. We extracted data from 30 studies analysing GPP and ER responses, and data on GHG emissions from another 35 studies. Then, we conducted a meta-analysis to determine whether the magnitude and direction of the effects varied across the systems and climate zones studied, or according to the type (natural or human-induced) and severity of drying. In general, drying enhanced GPP (under low flows) and CH4 emissions, and decreased CO2 and N2O emissions. The hydrological phases throughout streambed drying (low water flow, isolated pools, or desiccation) had differential effects on metabolism and GHG emissions. The effects of drying were generally more severe when it induced desiccation, rather than just periods of low flow. Desiccation strongly reduced GPP, likely because of the die-off of algae, while its negative effect on ER was smaller. Greater decrease in GPP than in ER under desiccation would lead to increase in CO2 emissions; our results showed accordingly that desiccation increased CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the magnitude and direction of the effects varied depending on the study type. Experimental studies conducted in micro- and mesocosms demonstrated greater effects than field studies, thus the extrapolation of results from these to real conditions should be done with caution. Overall, the effects’ direction was inconsistent across climate zones, except for the Mediterranean climate zone, where drying was showing a negative effect on both metabolism and GHG emissions. Our synthesis may contribute to identifying the worldwide trends and patterns of drying on riverine functions associated to global change impacts on river and stream ecosystems.

show abstract

River network‐scale drying impacts the spatiotemporal dynamics of greenhouse gas fluxes

Cited by 5 publications

References 71 publications

The importance of source data in river network connectivity modeling: A review

The importance of source data in river network connectivity modeling: A review

Toward Modeling Continental‐Scale Inland Water Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Synthesis reveals heterogeneous changes in the metabolism and emission of greenhouse gases of drying rivers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About