STREAM CO2 DEGASSING: REVIEW OF METHODS AND LABORATORY EVALUATION OF FLOATING CHAMBERS

Abstract

Measuring the amount of CO2 exiting headwater streams through degassing could play an important role in environmental chemistry. The objective of this project was to develop a method to measure CO2 flux from headwater streams such as those at the Konza Prairie Long-Term Ecological Research Site and Biological Station (Konza), and to determine the effects of stream morphology and turbulence that can affect CO2 degassing. The project comprised an in-depth critical review of literature on the topic of measuring degassing in small streams, as well as a series of experiments that developed and tested methods of quantifying the flux of CO2 from a simulated stream. The experiments evaluated the effectiveness of multiple floating chamber designs to measure CO2 degassing in flowing water at a range of water velocities and dissolved CO2 concentrations. Both the literature review and experiments suggested that the floating chamber is viable method for use in headwater streams.