TOMSK, April, 12. /TASS/. The contribution of swamp lakes in Siberia and the Russian Arctic Zone to greenhouse gas emissions is an object of the studies conducted by experts of the Tomsk State University. They want to assess how those territories influence the global climate, the university's press service told TASS.
"The lake cover of some marshes is so large that the water surface area is comparable or significantly exceeds that of peats. Swamp lakes in Russia have been studied only to a small extent. Our task is to compare the intensity of carbon emissions off small and large swamp lakes. We have reasons to believe that small lakes are more productive than large ones since they warm up faster and more strongly and biogeochemical reactions in them are much quicker," the press service quoted the project leader, director of the university's Megaprofil Center Sergey Vorobyov as saying.
Swamp lakes in Russia are almost unexplored, he continued. One of the main reasons is that most of them are in hard-to-reach or inaccessible locations. The university scientists will get to them by airboats. They plan to explore within three years several hundred large and small lakes in the swamps of Western Siberia, the Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Regions. A large block of works is planned on the Vasyugan swamp.
The scientists will install cameras that will automatically measure carbon dioxide and methane emissions over a certain period of time and will transmit the data to a server in Tomsk. The experts will also analyze concentration of dissolved carbon in water, and will identify carbon-producing sources. The research will be supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation.
"Results of the studies will be used for an objective assessment to see how swamp lakes in Siberia and the Arctic contribute to to greenhouse gas emissions. Those territories with the largest swamps, lakes and rivers have an impact on the formation of the planet's climate. By understanding the true amounts of greenhouse gas emissions we will be able to predict more accurately further transformations in the climate and the environment to find ways for humanity to get adapted to those changes," the press service said.