Anthropogenic-estuarine interactions cause disproportionate greenhouse gas production: A review of the evidence base

Citation

Brown AM, Bass AM & Pickard AE (2022) Anthropogenic-estuarine interactions cause disproportionate greenhouse gas production: A review of the evidence base. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 174, Art. No.: 113240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113240

Abstract
Biologically productive regions such as estuaries and coastal areas, even though they only cover a small percentage of the world's oceans, contribute significantly to methane and nitrous oxide emissions. This paper synthesises greenhouse gas data measured in UK estuary studies, highlighting that urban wastewater loading is significantly correlated with both methane (P < 0.001) and nitrous oxide (P < 0.005) concentrations. It demonstrates that specific estuary typologies render them more sensitive to anthropogenic influences on greenhouse gas production, particularly estuaries that experience low oxygen levels due to reduced mixing and stratification or high sediment oxygen demand. Significantly, we find that estuaries with high urban wastewater loading may be hidden sources of greenhouse gases globally. Synthesising available information, a conceptual model for greenhouse gas concentrations in estuaries with different morphologies and mixing regimes is presented. Applications of this model should help identification of estuaries susceptible to anthropogenic impacts and potential hotspots for greenhouse gas emissions.

Keywords
Greenhouse gas; Nitrous oxide; Methane; Estuary; Salt-wedge; Fully-mixed; Nutrients; Urban wastewater; Ammonium; Nitrate; Nitrite; Phosphate; Tidal range; River flow

Journal
Marine Pollution Bulletin: Volume 174

People

Ms Alison Brown

Research Fellow in Digital Water, Biological and Environmental Sciences