Methane and nitrous oxide sources and emissions in a subtropical freshwater reservoir, south east Queensland, Australia
Abstract. Reservoirs have been identified as an important source of non-CO2 greenhouse gases, especially methane (CH4). This study investigates CH4 and nitrous oxide (N2O) sources and emissions in a subtropical freshwater reservoir Gold Creek Dam, Australia using a combination of water–atmosphere and sediment–water flux measurements, water column sampling and pore water analysis. The reservoir was clearly a net source as surface waters were supersaturated with CH4 and N2O. CH4 flux rates were one to two orders of magnitude higher than N2O rates when expressed as CO2 equivalents. Atmospheric CH4 fluxes were dominated by ebullition (<60%) relative to diffusive fluxes and ranged from 165 to 6526 mg CO2 eq m−2 d−1. Dissolved CH4 concentrations in sediment pore waters were approximately 5 000 000% supersaturated. However, dissolved N2O concentrations were 140 to 220% supersaturated and generally confined to the water column greatly reducing the likelihood of ebullition. The flux measurements from this study support past findings that demonstrate the potential important contribution of emissions from subtropical reservoirs to overall GHG budgets. Results suggest future efforts to monitor and model emissions that concentrate on quantifying the ebullition pathway for CH4 as this was dominant relative to diffusive fluxes as well as total N2O emissions.