Effects of chamber characteristics on CO2 and CH4 flux at the water-air interface measured by the chamber method

Abstract

The chamber method is widely used to measure CO2 and CH4 flux in inland water. However, the designs of chamber used in various studies are different and lack unified standards, which would affect the observation results. To clarify the impacts of chamber characteristics, including light transmittance, air pressure difference inside and outside the chamber, and gas mixing degree in the chamber, on CO2 and CH4 flux measurements at the water-air interface, we compared the effects of transparent/opaque chamber, the chamber with/without air pressure equalizing device and fan on CO2 and CH4 flux measurements in the aquaculture pond, based on the multi-channel closed dynamic chamber system. The results showed that, during the daytime in summer, compared with the transparent chamber which could measure the actual CO2 flux, when CO2 was emitted from the pond, the opaque chamber overestimated the CO2 flux by 90%; when CO2 was absorbed by the pond, the opaque chamber underestimated the CO2 flux by 50%. The CH4 diffusion flux measured by the opaque chamber was 40% lower than that measured by the transparent chamber. There was no significant difference between CO2 and CH4 flux measured by the chamber with and without air pressure equalizing device. CO2 flux observed by the chamber without fan had poor representativeness, being 20% higher than that observed by the chamber with fan. Moreover, CH4 flux emitted through different pathways could not be distinguished using the chamber without fan. Therefore, when the chamber method was used to observe the CO2 and CH4 flux at the water-air interface, the chamber shall be transparent and be installed with fan.