VARIABILITY OF BIOGENIC GASES EMISSIONS DUE TO TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS IN PEAT SOILS FROM THE EVERGLADES

Subtropical peatlands such as the subtropical Everglades are net sources of biogenic gases (i.e. CH₄ and CO₂) throughout the year. Average temperatures in the region are expected to increase by two degrees Celsius in the next fifty years, with some models indicating a greater increase. Previous studies, limited to northern peatlands, suggest that increases in temperature will promote methanogens to metabolize more efficiently, thus generating more methane within the peat column. There is a distinct lack of data quantifying these releases in subtropical systems and to our knowledge none have intended to monitor the internal gas dynamics through an array of geophysical methods. Through the coupled use of ground penetrating radar (GPR), gas chromatography, time-lapse photography and standard image processing, this experiment will monitor changes in the C dynamics (particularly in terms of biogenic gas production and emission) of peat soils in the Everglades with respect to temperature variations. The purpose of this experiment is to better understand the processes that lead to gas releases, which can then be incorporated into current and future carbon flux models and to further explain how climate change will affect subsequent releases.