Methane emissions from the Kolyma reservoir: observation data and results of numerical simulations

Based on the results of in-situ measurements of methane concentrations in water and specific fluxes from the water surface, methane emission from the Kolyma reservoir in the warm period of the year was estimated for the first time. The catchment area of the reservoir is completely located in the permafrost zone. The specific flux was measured by the floating chamber method, and the methane content in samples was determined by the headspace method [Goldenfum et al., 2010]. The LAKE 3.2 model [Lomov, Stepanenko et al., 2024] was chosen as a main tool for numerical simulation of specific methane fluxes from the Kolyma reservoir. The paper integrates the materials of seasonal observations in September 2021, April and August 2022, and August 2023. The spatial and seasonal variability of both methane content and methane emission was revealed. The low amount of organic matter in sediments (no more than 10% for the predominant part of the reservoir), low methane content in the water mass (on average no more than 4 μlCH4/L in summer and 12 μlCH4/L in winter), and low organic carbon content in the water (4–5 mgC/L) favor the formation of a low specific flux (SF) of methane from the surface (1–3 mgCH4/m2/day). Based on observations, the methane emission from the entire reservoir surface was 0,4–0,5 tonnes of CH4/day in the summer period 2022–2023 and 1,56 tonnes of CH4/day in 2021.
Using the model it was possible to obtain an adequate simulation of daily methane emission from the Kolyma reservoir, which corresponds to the data obtained in the course of field measurements of methane SF from the reservoir. The model calculations provide a representative estimate of methane emission from the studied reservoir, which takes into account the variability of methane flow during the year. The latter doesn’t seem possible because of the limited number of field surveys for the Kolyma reservoir, which is difficult to access for research. The average annual methane emission from the Kolyma reservoir for the period from 2021 to 2023 is 958 tonnes per year. The interannual variability of methane emission is quite significant, and could be explained by the dynamics of the temperature regime, which determines the rate of methane generation in bottom sediments, as well as by the difference in its spring release, which occurs as a bubble component of the flow during the ice cover breakup in spring.

1. Canelhas M.R., Denfeld B.A., Weyhenmeyer G.A. et al. Methane oxidation at the water-ice interface of an ice-covered lake, Limnol. Oceanogr., 2006, vol. 61, p. S78–S90.

2. Deemer B.R., Harrison J.A., Li S. et al. Greenhouse gas emissions from reservoir water surfaces: A new global synthesis, BioScience, 2016, vol. 66, no. 11, p. 949–964, DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biw117.

3. Dzyuban A.N. Ekologicheskie aspekty issledovanij soderzhaniya metana v prirodnyh vodah [Ecological aspects of studying the methane concentrations in natural water], Voda: himiya i ekologiya, 2012б, no. 11, p. 10–15. (In Russian)

4. Dzyuban A.N. Metan v poverhnostnyh vodah kak pokazatel ih kachestva [Methane in surface water as an indicator of its quality], Voda: himiya i ekologiya, 2012а, no. 7, p. 7–12. (In Russian)

5. Fedorov M.P., Elistratov V.V., Maslikov V.I. et al. Reservoir Greenhouse Gas Emissions at Russian HPP, Power Technology and Engineering, 2015, vol. 49, no. 1, p. 33–39.

6. Fedorov Yu.A., Tambieva N.S., Gar’kusha D.N. et al. Metan v vodnykh ekosistemakh [Methane in aquatic ecosystems], Rostov-on-Don; Moscow: Rostizdat Publ., 2005. 329 p. (In Russian)

7. Gar’kusha D.N., Fedorov Yu.A. Faktory formirovaniya kontsentratsii metana v vodnykh ekosistemakh [Factors of Formation of Methane Concentrations in Aquatic Ecosystems], Rostov-on-Don, Southern Fed. Univ. Publ., 2021, 366 p. (In Russian)

8. Giles J. Methane quashes green credentials of hydropower, Nature, 2006, vol. 444, p. 524–525.

9. Goldenfum J., Abe D.S., Abril G. et al. GHG measurement guidelines for freshwater reservoirs, UK: The International Hydropower Association, 2010, 154 p.

10. Grechushnikova M., Shkolny D. Otsenka emissii metana vodohranilischami Rossii[Estimation of methane emission from reservoirs of Russia], Vodnoe hozyaystvo Rossii: problem, technologii, upravlenie, 2019, vol. 2, p. 58–71. (In Russian)

11. Greene S., Walter Anthony K. M., Archer D. et al. Modeling the impediment of methane ebullition bubbles by seasonal lake ice, Biogeosciences, 2014, vol. 11, p. 6791–6811.

12. Guerin F., Abril G. Significance of pelagic aerobic methane oxidation in the methane and carbon budget of a tropical reservoir, J. of Geophysical Research, 2007, vol. 112, p. 3006–3020.

13. Harrison J., Deemer B., Birchfield M. et al. Reservoir Water-Level Drawdowns Accelerate and Amplify Methane Emission, Washington: Environmental Science and Technology, 2016, vol. 1, p. 1–11.

14. Ion I.V., Ene A. Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Reservoirs, A Review. Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, 11621, DOI: 10.3390/su132111621.

15. IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation, O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona et al. (еds.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 2011.

16. IPCC: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis.

17. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, A. Piran et al. (еds.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 2021, 2391 p.

18. Johnson M., Matthews E., Bastviken D. et al. Spatiotemporal methane emission from global reservoirs, J. of Geophys. Research: Biogeosciences, 2021, vol. 126, e2021JG006305.

19. Lisina A.A., Sazonov A.A., Frolova N.L. et al. Chuvstvitelnost vodnogo stoka reki Kolymy k sovremennym klinaticheskim ismeneniyam [Sensitivity of the Kolyma river runoff to modern climate change], Lomonosov Geography Journal, 2024, vol. 79, no. 3, p. 108–122. (In Russian)

20. Lomov V., Stepanenko V., Grechushnikova M. et al. Mechanistic modeling of the variability of methane emissions from an artificial reservoir, Water, 2024, vol. 16(1), no. 76.

21. Lomov V.A., Frolova N.L., Efimov V.A. et al. Izmenchivost coderzhaniya i potokov metana v Rybinskom vodohranilische po rezultatan naturnyh nablyudenij v raznye sezony goda [Variability of Methane Content and Fluxes in the Rybinsk Reservoir Based on Field Observations in Different Seasons of the Year], Izv. Atmos. Ocean. Phys., 2024, vol. 60, no. 4, p. 545–564, https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433824700415. (In Russian)

22. Miller B., Arntzen E., Goldman A. et al. Methane Ebullition in Temperate Hydropower Reservoirs and Implications for US Policy on Greenhouse Gas Emissions, USA, Environmental Management, 2017, vol. 60, p. 1–15.

23. Obshchaya kharakteristika basseina r. Kolyma, kn. 1, Otchet po teme “razrabotka proekta SKIOVO, vklyuchaya NDV, basseina r. Kolyma” [General characteristics of the Kolyma River basin. Book 1. Report on the topic “Development of the SKIOVO project, including NDV, of the Kolyma River basin”], E.I. Vetrova (еd.), Moscow, 2011, 209 p. (In Russian)

24. Repina I.A., Grechushnikova M.G., Frolova N.L. et al. Soderzhanie i potoki metana v Volzhskikh vodokhranilishchakh [Methane Concentration and Fluxes in Volga River Reservoirs], Izv. RAN, Seriya geograficheskaya, 2023, vol. 87, no. 6, p. 899–913, DOI: 10.31857/S2587556623060080. (In Russian)

25. Repina I.A., Terskii P.N., Gorin S.L. et al. Field Measurements of Methane Emission at Largest Reservoirs in Russia in 2021. The Start of Large-Scale Studies, Water Resour., 2022, vol. 49, p. 1003–1008, DOI: 10.1134/S0097807822060148.

26. Rodríguez-García V.G., Palma-Gallardo L.O., Silva-Olmedo F. et al. A simple and low-cost open dynamic chamber for the versatile determination of methane emissions from aquatic surfaces, Limnol. Oceanogr., Methods, 2023, vol. 21, p. 828–836, DOI: 10.1002/lom3.10584.

27. Sorokin Yu.I. Metan i vodorod v vode volzhskikh vodokhranilishch [Methane and hydrogen in the water of the Volga reservoirs], Tr. Inst. Biol. Vodokhr., 1960, vol. 3, no. 6, p. 50–58. (In Russian)

28. Zhao Yiyang, Suning Liu, Haiyun Shi. Impacts of dams and reservoirs on local climate change: a global perspective, Environmental Research Letters, 2021, vol. 16, no. 10, p. 1–13.

29. GOST 23740-2016. Soils. Methods for Determining Organic Matter Content. Moscow: Standartinform, 2019, 13 p., URL: https://protect.gost.ru/v.aspx?control=8&baseC=-1&page=0&month=-1&year=-1&search=&RegNum=1&DocOnPageCount=15&id=198201 (access date 01.03.2024).

30. LAKE – An extended one-dimensional model of themrodynamic, hydrodynamic, and biogeochemical processes, URL: https://mathmod.org/lake/ (access date 20.06.2024)

31. Kolymskoe vodokhranilishche [Kolyma Reservoir], URL: https://kolymaenergo.rushydro.ru/hpp/kolymskaya-ges/ (access date 01.03.2024).

32. Ob utverzhdenii Pravil ispol’zovaniya vodnykh resursov Kolymskogo vodokhranilishcha ot 28.11.2023 Nо 287 [On approval of the Rules for the use of water resources of the Kolyma Reservoir dated 11/28/2023 Nо 287], Registered in the Ministry of Justice of Russia on 02/22/2024 Nо. 77332, URL: https://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_470701/ (access date 20.06.2024).