Geology topics

P.H. Glaser

Publications and source records attributed to P.H. Glaser.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2013

Seasonal changes in peatland surface elevation recorded at GPS stations in the Red Lake Peatlands, northern Minnesota, USA

Northern peatlands appear to hold large volumes of free‐phase gas (e.g., CH 4 and CO 2 ), which has been detected by surface deformations, pore pressure profiles, and electromagnetic surveys. Determining the gas content and its impact in peat is challenging because gas storage depends on both the elastic properties of the peat matrix and the buoyant forces exerted by pore fluids. We therefore used a viscoelastic deformation model to estimate these variables by adjusting model runs to reproduce observed changes in peat surface elevation within a 1300 km 2 peatland. A local GPS network documented significant changes in surface elevations throughout the year with the greatest vertical displacements associated with rapid changes in peat water content and unloadings due to melting of the winter snowpack. These changes were coherent with changes in water table elevation and also abnormal pore pressure changes measured by nests of instrumented piezometers. The deformation model reproduced these changes when the gas content was adjusted to 10% of peat volume, and Young's modulus was varied between 5 and 100 kPa as the peat profile shifted from tension to compression. In contrast, the model predicted little peat deformation when the gas content was 3% or lower. These model simulations are consistent with previous estimates of gas volume in northern peatlands and suggest an upper limit of gas storage controlled by the elastic moduli of the peat fabric.

Minnesota↗

USGS2006

Heat transport in the Red Lake Bog, Glacial Lake Agassiz Peatlands

We report the results of an investigation on the processes controlling heat transport in peat under a large bog in the Glacial Lake Agassiz Peatlands. For 2 years, starting in July 1998, we recorded temperature at 12 depth intervals from 0 to 400 cm within a vertical peat profile at the crest of the bog at sub‐daily intervals. We also recorded air temperature 1 m above the peat surface. We calculate a peat thermal conductivity of 0·5 W m −1 °C −1 and model vertical heat transport through the peat using the SUTRA model. The model was calibrated to the first year of data, and then evaluated against the second year of collected heat data. The model results suggest that advective pore‐water flow is not necessary to transport heat within the peat profile and most of the heat is transferred by thermal conduction alone in these waterlogged soils. In the spring season, a zero‐curtain effect controls the transport of heat through shallow depths of the peat. Changes in local climate and the resulting changes in thermal transport still may cause non‐linear feedbacks in methane emissions related to the generation of methane deeper within the peat profile as regional temperatures increase.

Minnesota↗

USGS2006

The hydrology of northern peatlands as affected by biogenic gas: Current developments and research needs

Recent research indicates that accumulation and release of biogenic gas from northern peatlands may substantially affect future climate. Sudden release of free-phase gas bubbles into the atmosphere may preclude the conversion of methane to carbon dioxide in the uppermost oxic layer of the peat, resulting in greater contribution of methane to the atmosphere than is currently estimated. The hydrology of these peatlands also affects and is affected by this process, especially when gas is released suddenly and episodically. Indirect hydrological evidence indicates that ebullitive gas releases are relatively frequent in some peatlands and time-averaged rates may be significantly greater than diffusive releases. Estimates of free-phase gas contained in peat have ranged from 0 to nearly 20% of the peat volume. Abrupt changes in the volume of gas may alter hydraulic gradients and movement of water and solutes in peat, which in turn could alter composition and fluxes of the gas. Peat surfaces also move vertically and horizontally in response to accumulation and release of free-phase gas. Future research should address the distribution, temporal variability, and relative significance of ebullition in peatlands and the consequent hydrological responses to these gas-emission events. Copyright ?? 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Hydrological Processes↗

USGS2006

Flow path oscillations in transient ground-water simulations of large peatland systems

Transient numerical simulations of the Glacial Lake Agassiz Peatland near the Red Lakes in Northern Minnesota were constructed to evaluate observed reversals in vertical ground-water flow. Seasonal weather changes were introduced to a ground-water flow model by varying evapotranspiration and recharge over time. Vertical hydraulic reversals, driven by changes in recharge and evapotranspiration were produced in the simulated peat layer. These simulations indicate that the high specific storage associated with the peat is an important control on hydraulic reversals. Seasonally driven vertical flow is on the order of centimeters in the deep peat, suggesting that seasonal vertical advective fluxes are not significant and that ground-water flow into the deep peat likely occurs on decadal or longer time scales. Particles tracked within the ground-water flow model oscillate over time, suggesting that seasonal flow reversals will enhance vertical mixing in the peat column. The amplitude of flow path oscillations increased with increasing peat storativity, with amplitudes of about 5 cm occurring when peat specific storativity was set to about 0.05 m-1. ?? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Journal of Hydrology↗

USGS2004

Surface deformations as indicators of deep ebullition fluxes in a large northern peatland

Peatlands deform elastically during precipitation cycles by small ( ±3 cm ) oscillations in surface elevation. In contrast, we used a Global Positioning System network to measure larger oscillations that exceeded 20 cm over periods of 4-12 hours during two seasonal droughts at a bog and fen site in northern Minnesota. The second summer drought also triggered 19 depressuring cycles in an overpressured stratum under the bog site. The synchronicity between the largest surface deformations and the depressuring cycles indicates that both phenomena are produced by the episodic release of large volumes of gas from deep semi-elastic compartments confined by dense wood layers. We calculate that the three largest surface deformations were associated with the release of 136 g CH4 m-2, which exceeds by an order of magnitude the annual average chamber fluxes measured at this site. Ebullition of gas from the deep peat may therefore be a large and previously unrecognized source of radiocarbon depleted methane emissions from northern peatlands.

Minnesota↗

USGS2001

Estimating methane production rates in bogs and landfills by deuterium enrichment of pore water

Raised bogs and municipal waste landfills harbor large populations of methanogens within their domed deposits of anoxic organic matter. Although the methane emissions from these sites have been estimated by various methods, limited data exist on the activity of the methanogens at depth. We therefore analyzed the stable isotopic signature of the pore waters in two raised bogs from northern Minnesota to identify depth intervals in the peat profile where methanogenic metabolism occurs. Methanogenesis enriched the deuterium (2H) content of the deep peat pore waters by as much as +11% (Vienna Standard Mean Sea Water), which compares to a much greater enrichment factor of +70% in leachate from New York City's Fresh Kills landfill. The bog pore waters were isotopically dated by tritium (3H) to be about 35 years old at 1.5 m depth, whereas the landfill leachate was estimated as ~ 17 years old from Darcy flow calculations. According to an isotopic mass balance the observed deuterium enrichment indicates that about 1.2 g of CH4m-3 d-1 were produced within the deeper peat, compared to about 2.8 g CH4 m-3 d-1 in the landfill. The values for methane production in the bog peat are substantially higher than the flux rates measured at the surface of the bogs or at the landfill, indicating that deeper methane production may be much higher than was previously assumed.

Global Biogeochemical Cycles↗