Diel variation in CO2 flux is substantial in many lakes

Additional publication details

• Journal Title Limnology and Oceanography Letters
• Publication Date 0000
• Volume 10
• DOI 10.1002/lol2.70066
• Abstract Abstract Lakes play a significant role in the global carbon cycle, acting as sources and sinks of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). In situ measurements of CO 2 flux (FCO 2 ) from lakes have generally been collected during daylight, despite indications of significant diel variability. This introduces bias when scaling up to whole‐lake annual aquatic carbon budgets. We conducted an international sampling program to ascertain the extent of diel variation in FCO 2 across lakes. We sampled 21 lakes over 41 campaigns and measured FCO 2 at 4‐h intervals over a full diel cycle. Rates of FCO 2 ranged from −3.16 to 4.39 mmol m −2  h −1 . Integrated over a day, FCO 2 ranged from −381.68 to 878.49 mg C m −2 d −1 (mean = 76.54) across campaigns. We identified three characteristic diel patterns in FCO 2 related to trophic status and show that for half of the campaigns, daily flux estimates were biased by > 50% if based on a single (daytime) measurement.
• Categories

  • Research

    • Atmospheric Composition

  • Content Types

    • JOURNAL ARTICLE