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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 4, NUMBER 11, NOVEMBER 1991

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

Item #d91nov21

"Atmospheric Methane: A Global Three-Dimensional Model Study," X.X. Tie (Scripps Inst. Oceanog., Univ. Calif., La Jolla CA 92093), F.N. Alyea et al., J. Geophys. Res., 96(D9), 17,339-17,348, Sep. 20, 1991.

The model, which includes transports, chemical reactions and global methane sources, simulates the observed latitudinal gradient, and suggests that rice paddies in Southeast Asia and wetlands in the high latitudes of North America are significant sources. It also simulates the observed positive vertical gradient in the Southern Hemisphere troposphere, which apparently results from interhemispheric transport.

Item #d91nov22

"The Production of Atmospheric NOx and N₂O from a Fertilized Agricultural Soil," M.F. Shepherd (Ctr. Res. Earth Sci., York Univ., 4700 Keele St., N. York, Ont. M3J 1P3, Can.), S. Barzetti, D.R. Hastie, Atmos. Environ., 25A(9), 1961-1969, 1991.

Enclosure studies on fertilized agricultural soil in southern Ontario found N₂O emissions ranging from 0 to 446 micrograms m-2 h-1. The flux increased linearly with fertilizer application, with 5% of the fertilizer N converted to N₂O. Emission rates were studied as functions of soil parameters, but a model could not be developed.

Item #d91nov23

"An Automated Technique for the Measurement of Dissolved N₂O in Natural Waters," J.H. Butler (Clim. Lab., NOAA, 325 Broadway, Boulder CO 80303), J.W. Elkins, Marine Chem., 39, 47-61, Sep. 1991. The technique allows sampling intervals as short as six minutes, and has been used extensively in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Black Sea.

Item #d91nov24

"Nitrogen Stable Isotope Ratio of Groundwater N₂O," S. Ueda (Dept. Environ. Sci., Tokyo Univ. Agric. Technol., 3-5-8 Saiwaicho, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo 183, Japan) N. Ogura, E. Wada, Geophys. Res. Lett., 18(8), 1449-1452, Aug. 1991. Two years of observations suggest that groundwater N₂O is an insignificant source of atmospheric N₂O.

Item #d91nov25

Two articles from: J. Geophys. Res., 96(D7), July 20, 1991.

"Relationships between CH₄ Emission, Biomass and CO₂ Exchange in a Subtropical Grassland," G.J. Whiting (NASA-Langley, MS-483, Hampton VA 23665), J.P. Chanton et al., 13,067-13,071. Methane flux was linearly correlated with plant biomass at two Florida Everglades locations, and fit a single regression line against net CO₂ exchange even though one site was recently burned. The data are the first to show a direct relationship between spatial variability in plant biomass, net ecosystem production, and methane emission in a natural wetland.

"Three-Dimensional Model Synthesis of the Global Methane Cycle," I. Fung (NASA-Goddard, 2880 Broadway, New York NY 10025), J. John et al., 13,033-13,065. Sources and sinks of methane were determined in detail as input for a transport-chemical model which successfully reproduces the meridional gradient and seasonal variations of methane. The resulting budget comprises annual destruction rates of 450 Tg by OH oxidation and 10 Tg by soil absorption, and emissions of 80 Tg from fossil sources, 80 Tg from domestic animals, and 35 Tg from wetlands and tundra poleward of 50° N; emissions from landfills, tropical swamps, rice fields, biomass burning and termites totaled 295 Tg.

Item #d91nov26

"Methane in Flooded Soil Water and the Emission through Rice Plants to the Atmosphere," S. Mariko (Nat. Inst. Environ. Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan), Y. Harazono et al., Environ. Exper. Bot., 31(3), 343-350, July 1991.

Pot culture experiments explored the dependence of methane emission on factors such as temperature, flooding and treatment with rice straw vs. straw compost. The seasonal peak in methane flux from paddy fields resulted from a combination of flooded soil and rice plant growth.

Item #d91nov27

"Effects of Nitrogen Additions on Annual Nitrous Oxide Fluxes from Temperate Forest Soils in the Northeastern United States," R.D. Bowden (Dept. Environ. Sci., Allegheny College, Meadville PA 16335), J.M. Melillo, P.A. Steudler, J. Geophys. Res., 96(D5), 9321-9328, May 20, 1991.

NO2 fluxes between aerobic soils and the atmosphere were measured each month for two years in control and N-fertilized (NH4NO3) plots in a red pine plantation and a mixed hardwood forest in Massachusetts to mimic long-term chronic N deposition. Fertilization resulted in only small increases in N₂O effluxes even in the second year. Other results suggest that NH4 availability for nitrification is limited by competition with plant uptake and microbial immobilization and that this competition is not alleviated by two years of N addition.

Item #d91nov28

"A Comparison of Dynamic and Static Chambers for Methane Emission Measurements from Subarctic Fens," T.R. Moore (Dept. Geog., McGill Univ., 805 Sherbrooke St. W, Montréal, Qué. H3A 2K6, Can.), N.T. Roulet, Atmos.-Ocean., 29(1), 102-109, Mar. 1991. Measurements at three sites show that results from the two types of chambers are highly correlated, and inexpensive, portable static chambers can be used for methane emission measurements at a wide range of wetland sites.

Item #d91nov29

"Fertilizer Effects on Dinitrogen, Nitrous Oxide and Methane Emissions from Lowland Rice," C.W. Lindau (Lab. Wetland Soils, Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge LA 70803), R.D. DeLaune et al., Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. J., 54, 1789-1794, Nov.-Dec. 1990.

Emissions were measured up to 21 days after addition of three types of fertilizer to a Louisiana flooded rice field: urea, (NH4)2SO4, and KNO3. They were affected by rice plants and by type of N-fertilizer applied. N₂O emissions were low after fertilizer applications; peak CH₄ emissions from urea-treated plots were 75 g ha-1 d-1.