Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) concentrations and evasion rates were measured in surface waters draining Mer Bleue peatland (Ontario, Canada) between spring and autumn 2005. All sites exhibit a consistent pattern of supersaturation throughout the year, which is broadly related to hydrological and temperature changes between spring snowmelt and autumn freezing. Both measurements and estimates of CO 2 and CH 4 evasion from open water to the atmosphere suggest that parts of the catchment (including beaver dams) are significant degassing hot spots. We present data showing how vertical gaseous carbon fluxes compare with lateral carbon fluxes and make an initial estimate of the importance to the overall carbon budget of CO 2 and CH 4 evasion to the atmosphere from water surfaces at Mer Bleue.
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Billett et al. (2007) studied this question.