An analysis of rivers and streams finds the waterways — collectively — are a bigger source of the greenhouse gas, methane, than previously estimated, according to a study led by a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor.
Methane often forms when bacteria break down organic matter in areas of low oxygen. A team led by UW-Madison Limnology Professor Emily Stanley looked at methane measurements in streams and rivers worldwide, using data from about 115 publications. Stanley said the amount of the heat-trapping gas is about 10 times more than scientists had judged. She said the problem might get worse with a warming planet.
“Then, you get more respiration, plant decomposition — more processes like that,” she said. “That results in more carbon dioxide and methane being released into the atmosphere and around and around we go.”
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Stanley said methane emissions tend to be higher from watersheds with a lot of agriculture, urban development or dams.
The methane study is published in the journal Ecological Monographs.
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