Various water bodies like ponds and lake tributes much to the carbon cycle. Their contributions are mostly measured in terms of their carbon gas exchange capabilities. The emission of such gases through the water-air layer has not been quantified yet properly. However, a new study led by a Yale-based group of researchers can be considered as a potential landmark, particularly with the gas exchange rate derived from small ponds.
According to Phys org, the size of the water bodies can be crucial in terms of the exchange rate of gases. Despite the environment driven variables like air, rainfall, storm etc, the size of ponds and lakes can affect movement rate of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane etc from water to atmosphere. However, in bigger water sights like a wide lake, the speed and velocity of air can also intimate much about the gas exchange rate. But this measurement may go in vague when the air flow less. Meredith Holgerson, a former PhD student at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the lead author of the study said: "We found that we can't easily predict gas exchange rates in small ponds, and that variability in gas exchange increases with lake size."
Science Newsline pointed that the researcher's team focused their study on four tiny ponds of in the Yale-Myers Forest in northeastern Connecticut. There they measured the gas exchange rate between the water bodies and the atmosphere. Later, they compared these rate with the gas exchange rates of 67 differents ponds and lakes throughout the world. The findings extracted that both the gas exchange rate and gas movement velocity increased with the size of water bodies.
Thus, despite the effects of all the environment related variables, small ponds are not that much worthy to have a greater rate of gas exchange. These indications prove to be potential for new breakthroughs in this segment.
