KYBALGAS
KYBALGAS (Greenhouse Gas Dynamics in Lakes Kygoma, Bisina and Albert) is a FRS-FNRS funded project (PDR, 2020-2023).
The emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from inland waters (streams, rivers, lakes and reservoirs) to the atmosphere are currently high on the research agenda in the geosciences community, because they are assumed to be significant for global budgets. Yet, there is a large data gap for tropical lakes and in particular African ones. Indeed most of the information on GHG emissions and cycling in lakes is derived from studies in temperate and boreal lakes.
However, information from such systems are not readily applied to tropical lakes that are radically different in particular being much more productive and experiencing warm conditions year-round. The overarching objective of the KYBALGAS proposal is to better characterize fluxes of GHGs between surface waters and the atmosphere in African lakes. Specifically, we aim to carry out five cruises in three lakes in Uganda, Lakes Albert, Kyoga, and Bisina-Opeta to measure dissolved CO2, CH4, N2O concentrations from which the exchange fluxes with the atmosphere can be estimated.
A particular emphasis will be given to CH4 cycling with measurements of several key processes of CH4 production and removal. Our working hypothesis is that the fluxes of CO2, CH4, N2O between lakes and the atmosphere are imposed by physical attributes such as size and depth that in turn have a strong impact on biogeochemical cycling of the GHGs. To test this hypothesis we need to gather a large data-set of GHGs in lakes covering a gradient of size and depth that should be mirrored by a gradient of trophic state and degree of presence and influence of wetlands.
The present proposal will allow to sample simultaneously three lakes in Uganda (Albert, Kyoga, and Bisina-Opeta) that will complement existing data-sets gathered in recent years by the promotor in Lakes Victoria, Tanganyika, Kivu, Edward and George. This should allow to make a comprehensive study of African lakes, and provide a robust estimate of GHG fluxes from these systems.
