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Teka Kom. Ochr. Kszt. Środ. Przyr. – OL PAN, 2009, 6, 368–373
EMISSION OF METHANE FROM SEDIMENTS
OF SELECTED POLISH DAM RESERVOIRS
Adriana Trojanowska, Marta Kurasiewicz, Łukasz Pleśniak,
Mariusz Orion Jędrysek
Laboratory of Isotope Geology and Geoecology, Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Wroclaw,
Cybulskiego str. 30, 50-205 Wroclaw, adriana.trojanowska@ing.uni.wroc.pl
Summary. Dam reservoirs contribute significantly to global gross methane emission which has
been estimated at 104 ±7.2 Tg CH
4
per year. However, this value might be far from real since the
contribution of small dam reservoirs has not been taken into consideration. This study was aimed
at estimating the amount of methane emitted from selected lowland dam reservoirs in Poland in
relation to hydrochemical conditions: depth, organic matter content, red-ox, pH. The research was
conducted on 4 dam reservoirs located in a SW to NE cross-section of Poland: Turawa,
Sulejowski, Włocławski, Siemianówka. The reservoirs show a wide range of average amount of
collected gas and CH
4
content. Calculated methane ebullition amounted to 4 mg m
-2
d
-1
in
Sulejowski, 401 mg m
-2
d
-1
in Siemianówka, 42 mg m
-2
d
-1
Turawa and 413 mg m
-2
d
-1
in Wło-
cławski reservoirs. The most spatially diversified results were reported for Włocławski and the
most stable for Siemianówka and Sulejowski. The remarkably high values of methane emission
noted for Siemianówka and Włocławski reservoirs exhibit the range typical to tropical reservoirs,
which suggest potential for CH
4
exploitation for energy production purposes.
Key words: methane, sediments, dam reservoirs
INTRODUCTION
Methane is considered to be one of the most active greenhouse gases, whose
concentration increase in the atmosphere is currently about twenty times faster than
that of other greenhouse gases of global importance [IPCC 2001]. It was estimated
that approximately 45% of methane in the atmosphere comes from areas periodi-
cally or permanently flooded with water, such as rice fields, marshes, lakes.
Dam reservoirs are also considered to be significant sources of methane
emissions, responsible for about 18% of global greenhouse effect of anthropo-
genic origin. Globally, methane emissions from dam reservoirs are estimated at
EMISSION OF METHANE FROM SEDIMENTS...
369
104 ±7.2 Tg CH
4
per year. It was estimated that the average methane emission
form dam reservoirs of the temperate zone is 55.1 ±84.7 mg m
-2
day
-1
, and from
the tropical zone – about 136 ±245 mg m
-2
day
-1
[Sournis et al. 2005, Lima et al.
2008]. However, these numbers, as calculated on the basis of the case of large dam
reservoirs (mainly Brasilian, Indian, Canadian), may be inaccurate since they ex-
clude a great number of small water bodies [ICOLD 2003, Sournis et al. 2005].
Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate the amount of CH
4
emitted
from sediments of selected Polish dam reservoirs and to indicate its potential
relationship with depth, organic matter content and other environmental factors.
METHODS
The research was conducted on 4 dam reservoirs: Turawa, Sulejowski,
Wloclawski and Siemianowka, characterised by a wide range of hydrological and
Table 1. Selected morphometric and hydrochemical parameters charactering the conditions in studied
dam reservoirs [Ambrożewski 1996, Gurwin et al. 2005, Górniak and Jekatierynczuk-Rudczyk 2006,
Suchowolec 2006, Gierszewski et al. 2006]
Parameters
Turawa
Reservoir
Sulejowski
Reservoir
Włocławski
Reservoir
Siemianówka
Reservoir
River Mala Panew Pilica Vistula Narew
Length of reservoir, km 7 17 58 11
Mean depth, m 4 3,5 5,5 2,5
Volume, km
3
106 75 408 62
Mean water retention time, days 110 42 5 540**
Mean organic matter
content in sediments, %*
6,5 ±9,9 6,5 ±4,7 11,5 ±7,7 10,7 ±3,4
Mean carbonates content
in sediments, %*
< 1 12 ±8,5 22 ±8,6 < 1
Mean content of CH
4
in pore gas, %*
9 ±14 4 ±7 27 ±23 49 ±15
Mean ebulition of methane,
mg m
-2
day
-1
*
42 ±98 4 ±10 413 ±587 401 ±618
Additional information on
environmental problems
heavy metals,
eutrophication
eutrophiction hydrocarbons Humic
substances
*data collected for this research, ** estimated from water exchange time
and hydrochemical conditions (Tab. 1). Gas and sediment samples were col-
lected from the reservoirs in several points randomly distributed over the bed of
each reservoir. Pore gas was collected using traps set at the bottom of the reser-
voirs for several hours. Bottom sediments were collected at the same stations
using an Ekman-Birge sampler. The quantity of collected gas and temperature
(digital thermometer, ±0.1°C), pH (WTW SenTix SP, ±0.01), redox (ORP Sen-
Tix WTW, platinum, ±0.01 mV) of sediments were measured during sampling.
Adriana Trojanowska et al.
370
Analyses of the concentration of CH4 in pore gas samples were made using an
ELWRO 504 gas chromatograph. Analyses of water content and organic matter
content were made using the gravimetric method [Håkanson and Jansson 1983]. The
content of carbonates in the sediments was analysed using a calcite bomb.
RESULTS
The studied reservoirs showed wide variations in the amount of pore gas
emitted from the sediments. The lowest amount of gas was collected from the
Sulejowski Reservoir (38 ml m
-2
d
-1
in average), where at several stations no gas
has been detected at all. The highest gas amounts were collected in the Wło-
cławski Reservoir: 3114 ml m
-2
d
-1
, on average. In other studied reservoirs mean
gas emission was calculated at 990 ml m
-2
d
-1
in Siemianowka and 1445 ml m
-2
d
-1
in Turawa. The largest spatial variation in the amount of gas emitted from the
sediment and in methane percentage content was recorded in the Włocławski
Reservoir, while the smallest in the Sulejowski (Fig. 1, Tab. 1). Percentage con-
Fig. 1. Methane percentage content in pore gas (A) and methane ebullition from sediments (B)
of dam reservoirs: Turawa (I), Sulejowski (II), Włocławski (III), Siemianówka (IV)
EMISSION OF METHANE FROM SEDIMENTS...
371
tent of methane in pore gas was the lowest in the Sulejów Reservoir, where it
reached only 4.5% on average and did not exceed 20% at either station. The
highest content of methane was recorded in gas samples collected from the
Siemianówka Reservoir (49% on average). In other reservoirs lower values were
noted – 27% in Włocławski Reservoir and 9% in Turawa.
Taking into account the average percentage content of methane, calculated
values of methane ebullition amounted to 4 mg m
-2
d
-1
in the Sulejowski reser-
voir, 401 mg m
-2
d
-1
in Siemianówka, 42 mg m
-2
d
-1
in Turawa and 413 mg m
-2
d
-1
in Włocławski (Tab. 1, Fig. 1).
DISCUSSION
Jones et al. [1982] indicated factors that regulate the rate of CH
4
emission
from sediments under natural conditions: the availability of substrates, tempera-
ture, redox potential, pH, water column. The highest ebullition rate was recorded
in the Włocławski and Siemianówka Reservoirs, which are rich in organic mat-
ter, however only in the Włocławski Reservoir this relationship was confirmed
with a weak correlation coefficient (r = 0.42, p = 0.11). Although, some trends
of increased ebullition were noted in areas of organic matter accumulation. Ex-
tremely low methane ebullition in the Sulejowski Reservoir may be due to toxic
effects of cyanobacterial blooms or abundant sulphates and nitrates which, ac-
cording to Conrad et al. [1999], may inhibit methanogenesis and increase deni-
trification simultaneously [Trojanowska and Kurasiewicz 2009]. However, at the
same time, methane emission showed a significant relationship with pH (r = 0.70,
p = 0.016).
Heavy metals, abundant in sediments of the Turawa Reservoir [Gurwin et
al. 2005], are probably responsible for inhibition of methanogenesis, according
to Mishra et al. [1999]. The ebullition of CH
4
from the reservoirs Sulejowski and
Turawa displays lower values characteristic for temperate water bodies (Tab. 1).
The surprisingly high values of methane emitted from sediments of the Wlo-
clawski and Siemianowka reservoirs are comparable with results recorded in
large tropical reservoirs [Sournis et al. 2005, Santos et al. 2006]. The results
presented in this paper are derived solely from the summer sampling, the most
intense period of processing of organic matter in sediments, which could cause
overestimation of CH
4
emission.
All studied reservoirs are shallow and rather rich in organic matter (Tab. 1).
An increase of percentage contribution of CH
4
with depth was noted for the
Turawa and Siemianówka reservoirs (r = 0.42, p = 0.11, and r = 0.74, p = 0.004,
respectively). It was previously confirmed by Joyce and Jewell [2003], who
proved that the highest potential of methane ebullition is exhibited by shallow
waters, and the highest rate of the process in noted up to 5 m depth, while at
greater depths is significantly decreased. Furthermore, Lima [2005], on the basis
Adriana Trojanowska et al.
372
of the isotopic composition of carbon in methane, confirmed that with increasing
depth in large dam reservoirs the rate of CH
4
consumption significantly in-
creases, which in consequence reduces its emissions. Weaving and currents im-
pact on sediments greatly accelerates and intensifies ebullition of methane from
sediments in dam reservoirs [Keller and Stallard 1994, Joyce and Jewell 2003],
hence probably the increased liberation of methane from sediments in the rheo-
limnetic Włocławski Reservoir and in other reservoirs at stations located close to
the main stream course (Fig. 1).
CONCLUSION
High values of methane emission recorded in the Włocławski and
Siemianówka reservoirs suggest that the contribution of lowland shallow waters
may be relatively significant in the total greenhouse gas budget. The technology
of methane recovery from sediments and water of dam reservoirs allows using
pore gas for energy production purposes, global reserves of pore gas being esti-
mated at 100 ±6.9 Tg CH
4
per year [Kilkuchi and Maral 2007, Lima et al. 2008].
In this case temperate lowland shallow dam reservoirs should be also taken into
consideration.
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Acknowledgements. The studies were supported by the Polish Ministry of Higher Education and Science,
grant No R1205602. We would like to acknowledge Janusz Krajniak and Radoslaw Drynda for their support in
field works.
EMISJA METANU Z OSADÓW WYBRANYCH ZBIORNIKÓW ZAPOROWYCH
W POLSCE
Streszczenie. Udział zbiorników zaporowych w globalnej emisji metanu ocenia się jako znaczący,
oszacowano go na 104 ±7,2 CH
4
Tg rocznie. Jednak szacunki te mogą odbiegać od rzeczywistości,
ponieważ nie uwzględniają emisji z małych zbiorników zaporowych. Celem badań było oszaco-
wanie wielkości emisji metanu z wybranych nizinnych zbiorników zaporowych w Polsce w odnie-
sieniu do warunków hydrochemicznych i morfometrycznych: głębokości, zawartości materii orga-
nicznej, redox, pH. Badania przeprowadzono w 4 zbiornikach zlokalizowanych w transekcie z
południowego zachodu na północny wschód Polski: Turawie, Sulejowskim, Włocławskim, Siemianów-
ce. Ilość gazu wydzielanego z osadów i % zawartość w nim CH
4
były znacznie zróżnicowane w bada-
nych zbiornikach. Wyliczona ebulicja metanu osiągnęła wartości: 4 mg m
-2
· d
-1
w Sulejow-
skim, 401 mg m
-2
·
d
-1
w Siemianówce, 42 mg m
-2
·
d
-1
w Turawie i 413 mg m
-2
·
d
-1
we Włocław-
skim. Najbardziej zróżnicowane przestrzennie wyniki zanotowano w zbiorniku Włocławskim,
natomiast najbardziej wyrównane w Siemianówce. Wyjątkowo wysokie wartości emisji metanu ze
zbiorników Siemianówka i Włocławskiego przekraczały wartości uważane za typowe dla zbiorników
tropikalnych, co wskazuje na możliwość pozyskiwania metanu z tego źródła do celów energetycznych.
Słowa kluczowe: metan, osady, zbiorniki zaporowe
