119 D11. The Role of Chemistry, Climate, and Geology in Controlling Subsurface Structure and Flow (Posters)

Monday, 11 October 2021
2:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Exhibit Hall A

THE QUANTIFICATION OF BIOGAS EMISSIONS FROM A GROUNDWATER-DEPENDENT ECOSYSTEM THROUGH NOVEL FIELD AND LABORATORY METHODS

Paper number: 119-6
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:30 PM – 6:30 PM

Authors

Abstract

Anthropogenic and natural greenhouse gases have increased our planets energy budget by trapping insolation and diminishing our atmosphere’s ability to reflect incoming light. The combination of these perpetuating mechanisms that deteriorate the habitability of our planet call for an understanding of their fundamental operation scientifically. Currently, there is a lack of quantification to the hydrogeologic sensitivities (groundwater level, soil textures, waters chemical condition, precipitation quantities, soil and air temperature) that contribute to the fluctuating emissions from wetlands. Focusing on nitrous oxide production rates within a groundwater-dependent ecosystem in Gunsan South Korea, novel methods have been applied to instruments such as soil kinetic cells and closed static gas chambers within a palustrine wetland to measure the emission rates of N2O and N2 gases from the field site. A total of 246 gas, 73 water, 42 soil, and 52 kinetic-cell samples were collected. During sample collection, field parameters of pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, redox potential, soil and air temperature, as well as groundwater levels were measured daily during a pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon periods over a 4-week field survey conducted in summer, 2021. Preliminary results showed N2O gas production rates vary with hydrologic and chemical conditions of the wetland and are positively correlated with precipitation. Novel field, laboratory, and modeling techniques developed by this study are applicable to other greenhouse gases and may pose a practical method for assessing soil contamination such as vapor intrusion by volatile organic carbon substances in the subsurface.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 53, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2021AM-369007

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