From storage to release: how depth, temperature and texture shape methane emission in a tropical lake

From storage to release: how depth, temperature and texture shape methane emission in a tropical lake | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article From storage to release: how depth, temperature and texture shape methane emission in a tropical lake Nelson Azevedo Santos Teixeira de Mello, Elisa Aguiar Porto Viana, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8833525/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract We tested how depth-linked hydrostatic pressure, sediment temperature, and sediment texture partition methane (CH₄) between dissolved storage in sediment porewater and ebullitive release in a tropical monomictic lake. Along a shoreline-to-center transect spanning 1.5–7 m depth, we measured 24-h ebullition with replicated inverted funnels over three consecutive days and quantified porewater methane from short cores while recording depth, sediment temperature, grain size, wind, and barometric pressure. Ebullition was greatest at shallow, warmer, sand-richer sites, whereas porewater methane accumulated at deeper, cooler sites, yielding an inverse spatial pattern of the two phases. Simple regressions identified sand content as the strongest single predictor of bubbling, while porewater methane increased with depth and declined with sediment temperature. Under weak winds and near-constant barometric pressure, ebullition showed no detectable day-to-day variation, indicating that the spatial template dominated short-term variability during stratification. These results establish depth, temperature, and texture as first-order controls on methane partitioning and suggest that catchment-driven infilling and sediment coarsening can shift emissions toward the ebullitive pathway, increasing the fraction of methane that bypasses oxidation. Monitoring designs that couple bathymetric change, sediment texture, and meteorological drivers will better constrain tropical lake methane budgets. methane ebullition porewater sediment texture depth gradient tropical lake Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8833525","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":588509444,"identity":"70398dbf-914e-46a9-b17a-e4540499dc70","order_by":0,"name":"Nelson Azevedo Santos Teixeira de Mello","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nelson","middleName":"Azevedo Santos Teixeira","lastName":"de Mello","suffix":""},{"id":588509445,"identity":"944fee0b-de10-44a4-8dd3-f6805c54ffd2","order_by":1,"name":"Elisa Aguiar Porto Viana","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidade Federal de minas Gerais","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Elisa","middleName":"Aguiar Porto","lastName":"Viana","suffix":""},{"id":588509446,"identity":"5ce72b85-8dfb-4596-b1a6-cbe55d659c0f","order_by":2,"name":"José Fernandes Bezerra Neto","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYE8wEDQwWQZmZuwKEYRYsBSCmQOAOikYzBA6BaGNvQbMYGmNvbHz4uqPgjxyCRzLrx67zaaP52oJYfFdtwO6znjLHxjDMGxkAtbLdltx3PnXGYsQEoehu3lhk5bNK8bQaJDRL5x25LbjuW2wDUwszYhk9L+vPfvP9AWoC2SM45ljufsJYEM2beBoiWmx8banI3ENQC9Is0zzFjYzaex2y3GY4dyN0I1HIQn18MgSH2madGTo6fHWjLj5q63HnnDx988KMCj5YGKIMNiJl5GA6DOQdwqgcCeRRX/mCow6d4FIyCUTAKRigAAHVwWUev2AhHAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8649-5109","institution":"Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"José","middleName":"Fernandes Bezerra","lastName":"Neto","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-09 18:32:50","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8833525/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8833525/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102298067,"identity":"f02f56af-d476-4288-aeaa-b6bf504a6edd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-10 10:30:19","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":531815,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"MSMelloetalAquaticGeochemistry.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8833525/v1_covered_40e95f17-0521-4528-b77a-054bae13c217.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom storage to release: how depth, temperature and texture shape methane emission in a tropical lake\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"methane, ebullition, porewater, sediment texture, depth gradient, tropical lake","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8833525/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8833525/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eWe tested how depth-linked hydrostatic pressure, sediment temperature, and sediment texture partition methane (CH₄) between dissolved storage in sediment porewater and ebullitive release in a tropical monomictic lake. 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