Modeling the spatial and temporal variability in surface water CO2 and CH4 concentrations in a newly created complex of boreal hydroelectric reservoirs.

Hydroelectric reservoirs emit carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) to the atmosphere, yet there is still much uncertainty concerning the magnitude and drivers of these greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This uncertainty is particularly large over the initial years after flooding and in complex, cascade reservoir systems where studies are rare. We assessed the spatial and temporal patterns of CO2 and CH4 concentrations in the newly created La Romaine complex, which is composed of three consecutive reservoirs (RO1, RO2, RO3) along the La Romaine River. Dissolved CO2 and CH4 concentrations were intensively measured over three seasons for four years. Results show elevated CH4 and especially CO2 concentrations in surface waters of all three reservoirs upon flooding, with strong seasonality and high spatial heterogeneity within reservoirs. There was a strong seasonal decoupling of surface water CO2 and CH4 concentrations. Contrary to expectations, surface water CO2 and CH4 concentrations were relatively stable over the initial years of flooding, with exception of the decrease in CO2 concentrations in the shallower RO1 reservoir. Further, individual reservoir characteristics, notably reservoir morphometry and pre-flood land cover, together with climatic factors were the main drivers of CO2 and CH4 concentrations, and the reservoir position in the cascade played a minor role. Models differed for CO2 and CH4, and also between reservoirs highlighting the need to capture these specificities in reservoir functioning. We establish a modeling framework to effectively fill the spatial and temporal gaps that inevitably exist in the sampling coverage of large and heterogeneous reservoirs, which combined with appropriately modeled gas transfer velocities, will serve as a platform to derive robust estimates of diffusive fluxes. This modeling framework can be transposed to other reservoirs, and will contribute to more accurate and representative estimates of diffusive carbon emissions from hydroelectric reservoirs.

Environmental Risk of Metal Contamination in Sediments of Tropical Reservoirs.

Reservoir sediment can work as both sink and source for contaminants. Once released into the water column, contaminants can be toxic to biota and humans. We investigate potential ecological risk to benthic organisms by metals contamination in six reservoirs in Southeast Brazil. Results of the bioavailable fraction of copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe) in sediment samples are presented. Considering Cu, Cd, and Zn concentrations, about 6% of the samples exceeded the threshold effect levels of sediment quality guidelines. The comparison to sediment quality guidelines is conservative because we used a moderate metal extraction. Control of contaminant sources in these reservoirs is key because they are sources of water and food. The mixture toxicity assessment showed an increased incidence of toxicity to aquatic organisms showing that mixture toxicity should be taken into account in sediment assessment criteria.

High Primary Production Contrasts with Intense Carbon Emission in a Eutrophic Tropical Reservoir.

Recent studies from temperate lakes indicate that eutrophic systems tend to emit less carbon dioxide (CO2) and bury more organic carbon (OC) than oligotrophic ones, rendering them CO2 sinks in some cases. However, the scarcity of data from tropical systems is critical for a complete understanding of the interplay between eutrophication and aquatic carbon (C) fluxes in warm waters. We test the hypothesis that a warm eutrophic system is a source of both CO2 and CH4 to the atmosphere, and that atmospheric emissions are larger than the burial of OC in sediments. This hypothesis was based on the following assumptions: (i) OC mineralization rates are high in warm water systems, so that water column CO2 production overrides the high C uptake by primary producers, and (ii) increasing trophic status creates favorable conditions for CH4 production. We measured water-air and sediment-water CO2 fluxes, CH4 diffusion, ebullition and oxidation, net ecosystem production (NEP) and sediment OC burial during the dry season in a eutrophic reservoir in the semiarid northeastern Brazil. The reservoir was stratified during daytime and mixed during nighttime. In spite of the high rates of primary production (4858 ± 934 mg C m(-2) d(-1)), net heterotrophy was prevalent due to high ecosystem respiration (5209 ± 992 mg C m(-2) d(-1)). Consequently, the reservoir was a source of atmospheric CO2 (518 ± 182 mg C m(-2) d(-1)). In addition, the reservoir was a source of ebullitive (17 ± 10 mg C m(-2) d(-1)) and diffusive CH4 (11 ± 6 mg C m(-2) d(-1)). OC sedimentation was high (1162 mg C m(-2) d(-1)), but our results suggest that the majority of it is mineralized to CO2 (722 ± 182 mg C m(-2) d(-1)) rather than buried as OC (440 mg C m(-2) d(-1)). Although temporally resolved data would render our findings more conclusive, our results suggest that despite being a primary production and OC burial hotspot, the tropical eutrophic system studied here was a stronger CO2 and CH4 source than a C sink, mainly because of high rates of OC mineralization in the water column and sediments.