Methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) are major, long-lived greenhouse gases (GHGs), which foster global warming and significantly impact atmospheric chemistry dynamics. The aquatic realm is a vast component of the Earth system, and the balance between sources and sinks of these gases largely determines their contribution to the global radiative balance. Hence, understanding the mechanisms of production, consumption, and emissions of aquatic-derived GHG is crucial for improving predictions of their future changes with ongoing climate change.
While the occurrence and oversaturation of GHG across the water column and sediments in marine, estuarine, and lacustrine systems are well documented, the understanding of GHG dynamics in the aquatic realm remains a major scientific challenge, shaped by geological, oceanographic/limnological, biological, and anthropogenic factors. This session invites contributions addressing recent advances in understanding the biogeochemical cycling, microbial pathways, and fluxes of CH4, N2O and CO2 in aquatic environments. We welcome studies based on laboratory and mesocosm experiments, field observations, remote sensing and modelling approaches. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
• GHG cycling and emissions in estuarine and other transitional water bodies across all latitudes.
• The role of nutrient and pollutant transport across the land-ocean continuum, submarine groundwater discharge, and benthic-pelagic coupling in GHG cycling.
• CH4, N2O and CO2 formation, transport, and consumption, including specific microbial processes involved.
• Microbe-mineral and microbe-animal interactions (including symbioses) and how these affect CH4, N2O and CO2 turnover.