Modelling of the wetland methane budget to estimate its transport to groundwater

Abstract

We are considering the methane budget for a taiga raised bog Mukhrino in order to estimate how much methane can potentially be transported from wetlands with the flow of groundwater. The production and oxidation of methane in the wetland, methane emission from the surface, accumulation in the gas phase in peat and migration with groundwater are distinguished as components of the wetland methane budget. The methane production is calculated using results of laboratory incubation experiments with peat, the oxidation is estimated using data on the vertical δ13C profile in the bog and the emission is measured using chamber method. The calculated difference between production on the one hand and emissions as well as oxidation on the other was 25.4 mg of methane per square meter of a wetland per hour or about 70% of the methane produced. This value is considered as a total methane flux that enters both gas phase of the wetland and groundwater.