Scientists at Tyumen State University have found out that the discharge of untreated domestic wastewater into swamps dramatically increases the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
According to the researchers, the intensity of methane flows in places where wastewater comes in contact with the swamps exceeded background values by almost 30 times.
Specialists together with colleagues from the Russian Academy of Sciences conducted a study of the Ob swamp, the length of which extends up to 100 km. The experts measured methane fluxes and took water samples to analyze the total chemical composition, the content of biophilic (absorbed) elements and dissolved inorganic carbon.
As scientists have established, methane emission into the atmosphere is associated with aerobic oxidation and the activity of special bacteria (methanogens) in reservoirs, which are activated when organic matter enters the reservoir. Accordingly, the more organic matter is supplied, the more nutrition the bacteria receive and the higher the gas emission is, ria.ru reports.
Alex Shishlo, Editor in Chief of the European Bureau Rough&Polished
