Gas fluxes

Estuaries exchange greenhouse gases with the atmosphere and can either potentially warm or cool the climate. Most studies focus on CO2, but other gases such as CH4 and N2O can also be important. In several tropical deltas, mixing between river water and sea water can lower CO2 levels, leading these systems to act as CO2 sinks even without biological uptake. Here, we measured air‐water CH4 and N2O fluxes in a tropical estuarine delta in Brazil and combined these data with CO2 flux measurements collected at the same time and locations.

This TROPECOS fieldwork in the mangroves of Ouvéa involved a team of six scientists, including a researcher, two PhD students, a post-doc, a researcher technician and an intern from University of New Caledonia.

The week-long mission was made possible through the agreement of the landowners from the Téouta tribe and the hospitality of the women’s association in the Téouta tribe (FAI DOHU association).