A conduit dilation model of methane venting from lake sediments
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Juanes_A Conduit.pdf
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Author(s)
Ruppel, Carolyn
Scandella, Benjamin
Varadharajan, Charuleka
Hemond, Harold F.
Juanes, Ruben
Date Issued
March 2011
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Citation
Scandella, Benjamin P. et al. “A conduit dilation model of methane venting from lake sediments.” Geophysical Research Letters 38 (2011): n. pag. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. © 2011 American Geophysical Union
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, but its effects on Earth's climate remain poorly constrained, in part due to uncertainties in global methane fluxes to the atmosphere. An important source of atmospheric methane is the methane generated in organic-rich sediments underlying surface water bodies, including lakes, wetlands, and the ocean. The fraction of the methane that reaches the atmosphere depends critically on the mode and spatiotemporal characteristics of free-gas venting from the underlying sediments. Here we propose that methane transport in lake sediments is controlled by dynamic conduits, which dilate and release gas as the falling hydrostatic pressure reduces the effective stress below the tensile strength of the sediments. We test our model against a four-month record of hydrostatic load and methane flux in Upper Mystic Lake, Mass., USA, and show that it captures the complex episodicity of methane ebullition. Our quantitative conceptualization opens the door to integrated modeling of methane transport to constrain global methane release from lakes and other shallow-water, organic-rich sediment systems, and to assess its climate feedbacks.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011gl046768
