School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-2026
Abstract
Anthropogenic stresses in dryland regions can alter hydrology, salinization, and biogeochemical processes. How these pressures influence methane (CH4) cycling and emissions from aquatic ecosystems remains poorly understood. Over the course of 1 year, we measured diffusive and ebullitive CH4 emissions from resacas—shallow, hydrologically managed distributary channels prevalent throughout the Lower Rio Grande Valley along the US–Mexico border. Despite warm, nutrient-rich waters, CH4 emissions from resacas were low, and more comparable to rates observed in estuarine systems. CH4 fluxes were positively related to temperature but negatively related to salinity and rainfall. Elevated salinity, driven by evaporation and source water from the salinized Rio Grande, may suppress methanogenesis. These findings highlight the complex interplay of salinity, hydrology, and management in shaping aquatic CH4 emissions from dryland regions. As dryland water bodies face growing salinization and warming temperatures, resacas offer valuable insight into CH4 dynamics in increasingly altered freshwater ecosystems.
Recommended Citation
Stassi, Siena, Jude A. Benavides, Chu‐Lin Cheng, Marcelo Gomes da Silva, Nicholas E. Ray, Nathan Barros, and Rafael M. Almeida. "Low methane emissions from nutrient‐rich former river channels in a hydrologically managed dryland delta." Limnology and Oceanography Letters 11, no. 3 (2026): e70131. https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.70131
Publication Title
Limnology and Oceanography Letters
DOI
10.1002/lol2.70131
Comments
© 2026 The Author(s). Limnology and Oceanography Letters published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.