Zhongjie Yu

Nitrous oxide emissions in the Shanghai river network: implications for the effects of urban sewage and IPCC methodology

Global nitrogen (N) enrichment has resulted in increased nitrous oxide (N(2)O) emission that greatly contributes to climate change and stratospheric ozone destruction, but little is known about the N(2)O emissions from urban river networks receiving anthropogenic N inputs. We examined N(2)O saturation and emission in the Shanghai city river network, covering 6300 km(2), over 27 months. The overall mean saturation and emission from 87 locations was 770% and 1.91 mg N(2)O-N m(-2) d(-1), respectively. Nitrous oxide (N(2)O) saturation did not exhibit a clear seasonality, but the temporal pattern was co-regulated by both water temperature and N loadings. Rivers draining through urban and suburban areas receiving more sewage N inputs had higher N(2)O saturation and emission than those in rural areas. Regression analysis indicated that water ammonium (NH(4)(+)) and dissolved oxygen (DO) level had great control on N(2)O production and were better predictors of N(2)O emission in urban watershed. About 0.29 Gg N(2)O-N yr(-1) N(2)O was emitted from the Shanghai river network annually, which was about 131% of IPCCs prediction using default emission values. Given the rapid progress of global urbanization, more study efforts, particularly on nitrification and its N(2)O yielding, are needed to better quantify the role of urban rivers in global riverine N(2)O emission.

Dynamics of methane ebullition from a peat monolith revealed from a dynamic flux chamber system

Methane (CH4) ebullition in northern peatlands is poorly quantified in part due to its high spatiotemporal variability. In this study, a dynamic flux chamber (DFC) system was used to continuously measure CH4 fluxes from a monolith of near-surface Sphagnum peat at the laboratory scale to understand the complex behavior of CH4 ebullition. Coincident transmission ground penetrating radar measurements of gas content were also acquired at three depths within the monolith. A graphical method was developed to separate diffusion, steady ebullition, and episodic ebullition fluxes from the total CH4 flux recorded and to identify the timing and CH4 content of individual ebullition events. The results show that the application of the DFC had minimal disturbance on air-peat CH4 exchange and estimated ebullition fluxes were not sensitive to the uncertainties associated with the graphical model. Steady and episodic ebullition fluxes were estimated to be averagely 36 ± 24% and 38 ± 24% of the total fluxes over the study period, respectively. The coupling between episodic CH4 ebullition and gas content within the three layers supports the existence of a threshold gas content regulating CH4 ebullition. However, the threshold at which active ebullition commenced varied between peat layers with a larger threshold (0.14 m3 m−3) observed in the deeper layers, suggesting that the peat physical structure controls gas bubble dynamics in peat. Temperature variation (23°C to 27°C) was likely only responsible for small episodic ebullition events from the upper peat layer, while large ebullition events from the deeper layers were most likely triggered by drops in atmospheric pressure.

Carbon dioxide and methane dynamics in a human‐dominated lowland coastal river network (Shanghai, China)

Evasion of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in streams and rivers play a critical role in global carbon (C) cycle, offsetting the C uptake by terrestrial ecosystems. However, little is known about CO2 and CH4 dynamics in lowland coastal rivers profoundly modified by anthropogenic perturbations. Here, we report results from a long-term, large-scale study of CO2 and CH4 partial pressures (pCO2 and pCH4) and evasion rates in the Shanghai river network. The spatiotemporal variability of pCO2 and pCH4 were examined along a land-use gradient and the annual CO2 and CH4 evasion were estimated to assess its role in regional C budget. During the study period (August 2009 – October 2011), the overall mean pCO2 and median pCH4 from 87 surveyed rivers were 5846±2773 μatm and 241 μatm, respectively. Internal metabolic CO2 production and DIC input via upstream runoff were the major sources sustaining the widespread CO2 supersaturation, coupling pCO2 to biogeochemical and hydrological controls, respectively. While CH4 was oversaturated throughout the river network, CH4 hotpots were concentrated in the small urban rivers and highly discharge-dependent. The Shanghai river network played a disproportionately important role in regional C budget, offsetting up to 40% of the regional terrestrial net ecosystem production (NEP) and 10% of net C uptake in the river-dominated East China Sea fueled by anthropogenic nutrient input. Given the rapid urbanization in global coastal areas, more research is needed to quantify the role of lowland coastal rivers as a major landscape C source in global C budget.

Free phase gas processes in a northern peatland inferred from autonomous field‐scale resistivity imaging

The mechanisms that control free phase gas (FPG) dynamics within peatlands, and therefore estimates of past, present, and future gas fluxes to the atmosphere remain unclear. Electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) is capable of autonomously collecting three-dimensional data on the centimeter to tens of meter scale and thus provides a unique opportunity to observe FPG dynamics in situ. We collected 127 3-D ERI data sets as well as water level, soil temperature, atmospheric pressure, and limited methane flux data at a site in a northern peatland over the period July–August 2013 to improve the understanding of mechanisms controlling gas releases at a hitherto uncaptured field scale. Our results show the ability of ERI to image the spatial distribution of gas accumulation and infer dynamics of gas migration through the peat column at high (i.e., hourly) temporal resolution. Furthermore, the method provides insights into the role of certain mechanisms previously associated with the triggering of FPG releases such as drops in atmospheric pressure. During these events, buoyancy-driven gas release primarily occurs in shallow peat as proposed by the “shallow peat model.” Releases from the deeper peat are impeded by confining layers, and we observed a large loss of FPG in deep peat that may likely represent a rupture event, where accumulated FPG escaped the confining layer as suggested by the “deep peat model.” Negative linear correlations between water table elevation and resistivity result from hydrostatic pressure regulating bubble volume, although these variations did not appear to trigger FPG transfer or release.

Atmospheric deposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Shanghai: the spatio-temporal variation and source identification

This study investigated the dry and wet deposition fluxes of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Shanghai, China. The flux sources were traced based on composition and spatio-temporal variation. The results show that wet deposition concentrations of PAHs ranged from 0.07 to 0.67 mg·L–1 and were correlated with temperature (P<0.05). Dry deposition of PAHs concentrations ranged from 3.60–92.15 mg·L–1 and were higher in winter and spring than in summer and autumn. The annual PAH average fluxes were 0.631 mg·m–2·d–1 and 4.06 mg·m–2·d–1 for wet and dry deposition, respectively. The highest wet deposition of PAH fluxes was observed in summer, while dry deposition fluxes were higher in winter and spring. Atmospheric PAHs were deposited as dry deposition in spring and winter, yet wet deposition was the dominant pathway during summer. Total atmospheric PAH fluxes were higher in the northern areas than in the southern areas of Shanghai, and were also observed to be higher in winter and spring. Annual deposition of atmospheric PAHs was about 10.8 t in across all of Shanghai. Wet deposition of PAHs was primarily composed of two, three, or four rings, while dry deposition of PAHs was composed of four, five, or six rings. The atmospheric PAHs, composed of four, five, or six rings, primarily existed in the form of particulates. Coal combustion and vehicle emissions were the dominant sources of PAH in the observed area of downtown Shanghai. In suburban areas, industrial pollution, from sources such as coke oven, incinerator, and oil fired power plant, was as significant as vehicle emissions in contributing to the deposition of PAHs.