Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2000. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 118 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Peatlands cover 3% of the earth's surface, with approximately 110 to 130 million hectares in Canada and are important in terms of the long-term sequestration of atmospheric carbon. In contrast to their removal of CO2 from the atmosphere, peatlands represent 15 to 30% of the total methane emissions to the atmosphere with Canadian wetlands emitting approximately 0.1 to 1 x 1010 g yr^-1. Drainage and harvesting of peatlands generally reduces CH4 emissions to the atmosphere and increases CO2 emissions by up to 400%. However, recent studies have suggested that drained peatlands may represent a larger source of atmospheric CH4 than undisturbed peatlands. In the first part of this study, potential CH4 production and oxidation was determined from natural, harvested and recently restored peat. Total depth integrated CH4 production decreased with time post harvest where CH4 production at 2-yr > 7-yr > 20-yr cutover peat. This decrease in CH4 production was a result of a decreased source of labile carbon, a decrease in the methanogenic population, and an increase in the concentration of alternative electron acceptors. Restoration has altered CH4 production processes so that total depth integrated CH4 production was 2-yr > 7-yr >RESTORED> 20-yr cutover peat. Depth dependent trends in potential CH4 oxidation and production from each peat were dependent on the water table position while substrate quality was the main difference production values between the Lac St. Jean and Bois-des-Bel peat. Comparison of CH4 fluxes over the four field seasons showed restored site bare peat and mosses did not play a significant role in CH4 emissions from the peatland. However, the overall CH4 function of the peatland was directly related to the increase in CH4 emissions from vascular vegetation, remnant ditches and newly constructed ponds which were directly attributed to an increase in labile carbon for methanogenesis provided by vegetation. CH4 fluxes from ditches and ponds suggest that these features are the largest sources of CH4 from the peatland. However, when weighting the fluxes to the areal extent of each feature, ditches become secondary to vascular vegetation in total CH4 emissions while the ponds had a minimal impact on the amount of CH4 emitted from the peatland. Furthermore, ebullition from ditches and ponds was insignificant in comparison to the diffusive fluxes. When comparing CH4 emissions from this site to natural peatland systems (~10 g CH4 m^-2 a^-1), it is evident that the site is still a much smaller source of CH4 and that the carbon and CH4 process are still changing as the pool of labile carbon increases (develops). Vegetation succession is still occurring and more time and monitoring is needed in order to determine if this site will return to similar CH4 functions as natural peatlands. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Methane, the natural by product of the coalification process, is held within coal beds under pressure. It is recognized that most of the methane present in coal occurs in the adsorbed state. The amount of methane present depends mainly on the pressure, temperature, adsorptive capacity and moisture content of the coal. Permeability, porosity, degree of fracturing of the coal and adjacent rocks and distance from the outcrop may also affect the methane content of a coal bed. The methane content of coal seams can be estimated by the direct, indirect and the estimation methods. The first two methods require drinking of holes and taking samples, whereas, the third method estimates the methane content from a predetermined relationship involving the physical and chemical characteristics of coal. In this study, since no samples are to be taken and evaluation is to be based on existing data, to be estimation method has been chosen to determine the methane content in the basin. The coal resources have been estimated from the data and applied to the methane content determined, to arrive at the methane resources. The results indicate that there may be 2 to 4 billion tons of coal in the basin and about 700 billion cubic feet of methane may be held within it. / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1963 R57 / Master of Science

LD2668 .T4 1962 R63

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Treating elevated nutrients, suspended solids, oxygen demanding materials, heavy metals and chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agricultural wastewaters is necessary to protect surface and ground waters. Constructed wetlands (CWs) are an increasingly important technology to remediate wastewaters and reduce negative impacts on water quality in agricultural settings. Treatment of high strength effluents typical of agricultural operations results in the production of methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse trace gas. The objective of this study was to evaluate CH4 emissions from two subsurface flow (SSF) CWs (223 m2 each) treating dairy wastewater. The CWs were implemented at the University of Vermont Paul Miller Dairy Farm in 2003 as an alternative nutrient management approach for treating mixed dairy farm effluent (barnyard runoff and milk parlor waste) in a cold, northern climate. In 2006, static collars were installed throughout the inlet, mid and outlet zones of two CWs (aerated (CW1) and a non-aerated (CW2)) connected in-series, and gas samples were collected via non-steady state chambers (19.75 L) over a nine-month period (Feb-Oct 2007). Methane flux densities were variable throughout the nine-month study period, ranging from 0.026 to 339 and 0.008 to 165 mg m-2 h-1 in CW1 and CW2, respectively. The average daily CH4 flux of CW1 and CW2 were 1475 and 552 mg m-2 d-1, respectively. Average CH4 flux of CW1 was nearly threefold greater than that of CW2 (p = .0387) across all three seasons. The in-series design may have confounded differences in CH4 flux between CWs by limiting differences in dissolved oxygen and by accentuating differences in carbon loading. Methane flux densities revealed strong spatial and seasonal variation within CWs. Emissions generally decreased from inlet to outlet in both CWs. Average CW1 CH4 flux of the inlet zone was nearly threefold greater than mid zone and over tenfold greater than flux at the outlet, while fluxes for CW2 zones were not statistically different. Methane flux of CW1 was nearly fifteen fold greater than CW2 during the fall, representing the only season during which flux was statistically different (p = .0082) between CWs. Fluxes differed significantly between seasons for both CW1 (p = .0034) and CW2 (p = .0002). CH4 emissions were greatest during the spring season in both CWs, attributed to a consistently high water table observed during this season. Vegetation was excluded from chambers during GHG monitoring, and considering that the presence of vascular plants is an important factor influencing CH4 flux, the potential CH4 emissions reported in our study could be greatly underestimated. However, our reported average CH4 fluxes are comparable to published data from SSF dairy treatment CWs. We estimate average and maximum daily emissions from the entire CW system (892 m2) at approximately 1.11 and 6.33 kg CH4 d-1, respectively, yielding an annual average and maximum flux of 8.51 and 48.5 MtCO2-e y-1, respectively.