Articles | Volume 20, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4057-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4057-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Methane emissions due to reservoir flushing: a significant emission pathway?
Ole Lessmann
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Limnological Institute, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
Jorge Encinas Fernández
Limnological Institute, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
Karla Martínez-Cruz
Limnological Institute, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
Frank Peeters
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Limnological Institute, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
Cited articles
Almeida, R. M., Hamilton, S. K., Rosi, E. J., Barros, N., Doria, C. R. C., Flecker, A. S., Fleischmann, A. S., Reisinger, A. J., and Roland, F.: Hydropeaking Operations of Two Run-of-River Mega-Dams Alter Downstream Hydrology of the Largest Amazon Tributary, Front. Environ. Sci., 8, 120, https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2020.00120, 2020.
Antoine, G., Camenen, B., Jodeau, M., Némery, J., and Esteves, M.: Downstream erosion and deposition dynamics of fine suspended sediments due to dam flushing, J. Hydrol., 585, 124763, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.124763, 2020.
Bastviken, D., Ejlertsson, J., and Tranvik, L.: Measurement of methane oxidation in lakes: A comparison of methods, Environ. Sci. Technol., 36, 3354–3361, https://doi.org/10.1021/es010311p, 2002.
Bastviken, D., Cole, J., Pace, M., and Tranvik, L.: Methane emissions from lakes: Dependence of lake characteristics, two regional assessments, and a global estimate, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 18, 1–12, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GB002238, 2004.
Bastviken, D., Tranvik, L. J., Downing, J. A., Crill, P. M., and Enrich-Prast, A.: Freshwater Methane Emissions Offset the Continental Carbon Sink, Science, 331, 50, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1196808, 2011.
Berner, R. A.: Early Diagenesis: a Theoretical Approach, Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, N. J., ISBN 9780691082608, 1980.
Boudreau, B. P.: Diagenetic Models and Their Implementation: Modelling Transport and Reactions in Aquatic Sediments, 1st edn., Springer, Heidelberg, 436 pp., ISBN 9783642643996, 1997.
Brandt, S. A. and Swenning, J.: Sedimentological and geomorphological effects of reservoir flushing: the cachí reservoir, Costa Rica, 1996, Geogr. Ann. A, 81, 391–407, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0435-3676.1999.00069.x, 1999.
Brimhall, G. H. and Dietrich, W. E.: Constitutive mass balance relations between chemical composition, volume, density, porosity, and strain in metasomatic hydrochemical systems: Results on weathering and pedogenesis, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 51, 567–587, https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(87)90070-6, 1987.
Chang, F., Lai, J., and Kao, L.: Optimization of operation rule curves and flushing schedule in a reservoir, Hydrol. Process., 17, 1623–1640, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.1204, 2003.
Chanton, J. P. and Whiting, G. J.: Trace gas exchange in freshwater and coastal marine environments: ebullition and transport by plants, Biog. trace gases Meas. Emiss. from soil water, Blackwell Publishing, 98–125, ISBN 9780632036417, 1995.
Couto, T. B. A. and Olden, J. D.: Global proliferation of small hydropower plants – science and policy, Front. Ecol. Environ., 16, 91–100, https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.1746, 2018.
DelSontro, T., McGinnis, D. F., Sobek, S., Ostrovsky, I., and Wehrli, B.: Extreme methane emissions from a Swiss hydropower reservoir: contribution from bubbling sediments, Environ. Sci. Technol., 44, 2419–2425, https://doi.org/10.1021/es9031369, 2010.
Deutzmann, J. S., Stief, P., Brandes, J., and Schink, B.: Anaerobic methane oxidation coupled to denitrification is the dominant methane sink in a deep lake, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 111, 18273–18278, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1411617111, 2014.
Donis, D., Flury, S., Stöckli, A., Spangenberg, J. E., Vachon, D., and McGinnis, D. F.: Full-scale evaluation of methane production under oxic conditions in a mesotrophic lake, Nat. Commun., 8, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-01648-4, 2017.
Duc, N. T., Crill, P., and Bastviken, D.: Implications of temperature and sediment characteristics on methane formation and oxidation in lake sediments, Biogeochemistry, 100, 185–196, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-010-9415-8, 2010.
Encinas Fernández, J., Peeters, F., and Hofmann, H.: Importance of the Autumn Overturn and Anoxic Conditions in the Hypolimnion for the Annual Methane Emissions from a Temperate Lake, Environ. Sci. Technol., 48, 7297–7304, https://doi.org/10.1021/es4056164, 2014.
Encinas Fernández, J., Hofmann, H., and Peeters, F.: Diurnal pumped-storage operation minimizes methane ebullition fluxes from hydropower reservoirs, Water Resour. Res., 56, e2020WR027221, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR027221, 2020.
Esmaeili, T., Sumi, T., Kantoush, S. A., Kubota, Y., and Haun, S.: Numerical study on flushing channel evolution, case study of Dashidaira reservoir, Kurobe river, J. Jpn. Soc. Civ. Eng. Ser. B1, 71, I_115–I_120, https://doi.org/10.2208/jscejhe.71.I_115, 2015.
Esmaeili, T., Sumi, T., Kantoush, S. A., Kubota, Y., Haun, S., and Rüther, N.: Three-dimensional numerical study of free-flow sediment flushing to increase the flushing efficiency: a case-study reservoir in Japan, Water, 9, 900, https://doi.org/10.3390/w9110900, 2017.
Frenzel, P., Thebrath, B., and Conrad, R.: Oxidation of methane in the oxic surface layer of a deep lake sediment (Lake Constance), FEMS Microbiol. Lett., 73, 149–158, https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-1097(90)90661-9, 1990.
Fruchard, F. and Camenen, B.: Reservoir sedimentation: different type of flushing-friendly flushing example of genissiat dam flushing, in: ICOLD International Symposium on Dams for a changing world, Kyoto, Japan, 5 June 2012, 6 pp., hal-00761305, 2012.
Grimardias, D., Guillard, J., and Cattanéo, F.: Drawdown flushing of a hydroelectric reservoir on the Rhône River: Impacts on the fish community and implications for the sediment management, J. Environ. Manage., 197, 239–249, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.03.096, 2017.
Harrison, J. A., Deemer, B. R., Birchfield, M. K., and O'Malley, M. T.: Reservoir Water-Level Drawdowns Accelerate and Amplify Methane Emission, Environ. Sci. Technol., 51, 1267–1277, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b03185, 2017.
Harrison, J. A., Prairie, Y. T., Mercier-Blais, S., and Soued, C.: Year-2020 Global Distribution and Pathways of Reservoir Methane and Carbon Dioxide Emissions According to the Greenhouse Gas From Reservoirs (G-res) Model, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 35, e2020GB006888, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GB006888, 2021.
Hoffert, M. I., Caldeira, K., Jain, A. K., Haites, E. F., Harvey, L. D. D., Potter, S. D., Schlesinger, M. E., Schneider, S. H., Watts, R. G., Wigley, T. M. L., and Wuebbles, D. J.: Energy implications of future stabilization of atmospheric CO2 content, Nature, 395, 881–884, https://doi.org/10.1038/27638, 1998.
Hofmann, H., Federwisch, L., and Peeters, F.: Wave-induced release of methane: Littoral zones as a source of methane in lakes, Limnol. Oceanogr., 55, 1990–2000, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2010.55.5.1990, 2010.
Huttunen, J. T., Väisänen, T. S., Hellsten, S. K., and Martikainen, P. J.: Methane fluxes at the sediment-water interface in some boreal lakes and reservoirs, Boreal Environ. Res., 11, 27–34, 2006.
International Commission On Large Dams (ICOLD): Sedimentation and sustainable use of reservoir and river systems, Draft ICOLD Bull. Sediment. Comm., Paris, 2009.
Kantoush, S., Sumi, T., Suzuki, T., and Murasaki, M.: Impacts of sediment flushing on channel evolution and morphological processes: Case study of the Kurobe River, Japan, in: River Flow 2010: Proceedings of 5th International Conference on Fluvial Hydraulics, ISBN 3939230006, Braunschweig, 1165–1176, 2010
Kantoush, S. A. and Sumi, T.: River morphology and sediment management strategies for sustainable reservoir in Japan and European Alps, Disaster Prevention Research Institute Annuals, Kyoto Univ., 53, 821–839, 2010.
Kemenes, A., Forsberg, B. R., and Melack, J. M.: Methane release below a tropical hydroelectric dam, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L12809, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL029479, 2007.
Kondolf, G. M., Gao, Y., Annandale, G. W., Morris, G. L., Jiang, E., Zhang, J., Cao, Y., Carling, P., Fu, K., Guo, Q., Hotchkiss, R., Peteuil, C., Sumi, T., Wang, H.-W., Wang, Z., Wei, Z., Wu, B., Wu, C., and Yang, C. T.: Sustainable sediment management in reservoirs and regulated rivers: Experiences from five continents, Earths Future, 2, 256–280, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013EF000184, 2014.
Kosten, S., van den Berg, S., Mendonça, R., Paranaíba, J. R., Roland, F., Sobek, S., Van Den Hoek, J., and Barros, N.: Extreme drought boosts CO2 and CH4 emissions from reservoir drawdown areas, Inland Waters, 8, 329–340, https://doi.org/10.1080/20442041.2018.1483126, 2018.
Kufel, L.: Nutrient sedimentation at the river inflow to a lake, SIL Proceedings, 1922–2010, 24, 1772–1774, https://doi.org/10.1080/03680770.1989.11899069, 1991.
Lauerwald, R., Allen, G. H., Deemer, B. R., Liu, S., Maavara, T., Raymond, P., Alcott, L., Bastviken, D., Hastie, A., Holgerson, M. A., Johnson, M. S., Lehner, B., Lin, P., Marzadri, A., Ran, L., Tian, H., Yang, X., Yao, Y., and Regnier, P.: Inland Water Greenhouse Gas Budgets for RECCAP2: 1. State-Of-The-Art of Global Scale Assessments, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 37, e2022GB007657, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GB007657, 2023.
Le Mer, J. and Roger, P.: Production, oxidation, emission and consumption of methane by soils: a review, Eur. J. Soil Biol., 37, 25–50, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1164-5563(01)01067-6, 2001.
Lehner, B., Liermann, C. R., Revenga, C., Vörösmarty, C., Fekete, B., Crouzet, P., Döll, P., Endejan, M., Frenken, K., Magome, J., Nilsson, C., Robertson, J. C., Rödel, R., Sindorf, N., and Wisser, D.: High-resolution mapping of the world's reservoirs and dams for sustainable river-flow management, Front. Ecol. Environ., 9, 494–502, https://doi.org/10.1890/100125, 2011.
Lofton, D. D., Whalen, S. C., and Hershey, A. E.: Effect of temperature on methane dynamics and evaluation of methane oxidation kinetics in shallow Arctic Alaskan lakes, Hydrobiologia, 721, 209–222, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-013-1663-x, 2014.
Maeck, A., Delsontro, T., McGinnis, D. F., Fischer, H., Flury, S., Schmidt, M., Fietzek, P., and Lorke, A.: Sediment trapping by dams creates methane emission hot spots, Environ. Sci. Technol., 47, 8130–8137, https://doi.org/10.1021/es4003907, 2013.
Maeck, A., Hofmann, H., and Lorke, A.: Pumping methane out of aquatic sediments – ebullition forcing mechanisms in an impounded river, Biogeosciences, 11, 2925–2938, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2925-2014, 2014.
Marotta, H., Pinho, L., Gudasz, C., Bastviken, D., Tranvik, L. J., and Enrich-Prast, A.: Greenhouse gas production in low-latitude lake sediments responds strongly to warming, Nat. Clim. Change, 4, 467–470, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2222, 2014.
Martinez-Cruz, K., Sepulveda-Jauregui, A., Casper, P., Anthony, K. W., Smemo, K. A., and Thalasso, F.: Ubiquitous and significant anaerobic oxidation of methane in freshwater lake sediments, Water Res., 144, 332–340, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2018.07.053, 2018.
Morris, G. L.: Classification of management alternatives to combat reservoir sedimentation, Water, 12, 861, https://doi.org/10.3390/w12030861, 2020.
Mouris, K., Beckers, F., and Haun, S.: Three-dimensional numerical modeling of hydraulics and morphodynamics of the Schwarzenbach reservoir, E3S Web Conf., 40, 03005, https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20184003005, 2018.
Murase, J. and Sugimoto, A.: Spatial distribution of methane in the Lake Biwa sediments and its carbon isotopic compositions, Geochem. J., 35, 257–263, https://doi.org/10.2343/geochemj.35.257, 2001.
Norði, K. à., Thamdrup, B., and Schubert, C. J.: Anaerobic oxidation of methane in an iron-rich Danish freshwater lake sediment, Limnol. Oceanogr., 58, 546–554, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2013.58.2.0546, 2013.
Peeters, F., Encinas Fernandez, J., and Hofmann, H.: Sediment fluxes rather than oxic methanogenesis explain diffusive CH4 emissions from lakes and reservoirs, Sci. Rep.-UK, 9, 1–10, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-36530-w, 2019.
Petkovšek, G., Roca, M., and Kitamura, Y.: Sediment flushing from reservoirs: a review, Dams Reserv., 30, 12–21, https://doi.org/10.1680/jdare.20.00005, 2020.
Ragg, R. B., Peeters, F., Ingwersen, J., Teiber-Siessegger, P., and Hofmann, H.: Interannual Variability of Methane Storage and Emission During Autumn Overturn in a Small Lake, J. Geophys. Res.-Biogeo., 126, e2021JG006388, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JG006388, 2021.
Saam, L., Mouris, K., Wieprecht, S., and Haun, S.: Threedimensional numerical modelling of reservoir flushing to obtain long-term sediment equilibrium, in: Proceedings of the 38th IAHR World Congress (Panama), Panama City, Panama, 1–6 September 2019, https://doi.org/10.3850/38WC092019-0742, 2019.
Schulz, S. and Conrad, R.: Effect of algal deposition on acetate and methane concentrations in the profundal sediment of a deep lake (Lake Constance), FEMS Microbiol. Ecol., 16, 251–259, https://doi.org/10.1016/0168-6496(94)00088-E, 1995.
Schulz, S., Matsuyama, H., and Conrad, R.: Temperature dependence of methane production from different precursors in a profundal sediment (Lake Constance), FEMS Microbiol. Ecol., 22, 207–213, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6941.1997.tb00372.x, 1997.
Segers, R.: Methane production and methane consumption: a review of processes underlying wetland methane fluxes, Biogeochemistry, 41, 23–51, https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005929032764, 1998.
Sepulveda-Jauregui, A., Hoyos-Santillan, J., Martinez-Cruz, K., Walter Anthony, K. M., Casper, P., Belmonte-Izquierdo, Y., and Thalasso, F.: Eutrophication exacerbates the impact of climate warming on lake methane emission, Sci. Total Environ., 636, 411–419, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.283, 2018.
Shelley, F., Abdullahi, F., Grey, J., and Trimmer, M.: Microbial methane cycling in the bed of a chalk river: oxidation has the potential to match methanogenesis enhanced by warming, Freshwater Biol., 60, 150–160, https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12480, 2015.
Sobek, S., DelSontro, T., Wongfun, N., and Wehrli, B.: Extreme organic carbon burial fuels intense methane bubbling in a temperate reservoir, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L01401, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL050144, 2012.
Sumi, T., Nakamura, S., and Hayashi, K.: The effect of sediment flushing and environmental mitigation measures in the Kurobe River, in: 23rd ICOLD Congress, Brasilia, Brazil, 25–29 May 2009, Q89-R6, 2009.
Sumi, T., Kantoush, S., Esmaeili, T., and Ock, G.: Reservoir sediment flushing and replenishment below dams: insights from Japanese case studies, in: Gravel-Bed Rivers: Processes and Disasters, edited by: Tsutsumi, D. and Laronne, J. B., Wiley Online Library, New York, 385–414, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118971437.ch14, 2017.
Wanninkhof, R.: Relationship between wind speed and gas exchange over the ocean, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 97, 7373–7382, https://doi.org/10.1029/92JC00188, 1992.
WCD (World Commission on Dams): Dams and development: A new framework for decision-making: The report of the world 20 commission on dams, Earthscan, London, ISBN 1853837989, 2000.
Weast, R. C. (Ed.): CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 69th edn., CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, Florida, F-37-F-40, ISBN 0-8493-0369-5, 1988.
Yang, L., Lu, F., Wang, X., Duan, X., Song, W., Sun, B., Chen, S., Zhang, Q., Hou, P., Zheng, F., Zhang, Y., Zhou, X., Zhou, Y., and Ouyang, Z.: Surface methane emissions from different land use types during various water levels in three major drawdown areas of the Three Gorges Reservoir, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 117, D10109, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD017362, 2012.
Zarfl, C., Lumsdon, A. E., Berlekamp, J., Tydecks, L., and Tockner, K.: A global boom in hydropower dam construction, Aquat. Sci., 77, 161–170, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-014-0377-0, 2015.
Editorial statement
Lessmann et al. describes how reservoir flushing could represent a novel way to manage methane emissions from freshwater reservoirs. Novel methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are urgently needed as the IPCC recently stated we will need to actively remove carbon from the atmosphere on top of reducing emissions in order to reach important climate goals. This study can help the development of diverse management strategies for mitigating global greenhouse gas emissions.
Lessmann et al. describes how reservoir flushing could represent a novel way to manage methane...
Short summary
Based on a large dataset of seasonally resolved methane (CH4) pore water concentrations in a reservoir's sediment, we assess the significance of CH4 emissions due to reservoir flushing. In the studied reservoir, CH4 emissions caused by one flushing operation can represent 7 %–14 % of the annual CH4 emissions and depend on the timing of the flushing operation. In reservoirs with high sediment loadings, regular flushing may substantially contribute to the overall CH4 emissions.
Based on a large dataset of seasonally resolved methane (CH4) pore water concentrations in a...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint