Methane emission through ebullition from an estuarine mudflat: 1. A conceptual model to explain tidal forcing based on effective stress changes

Abstract

Ebullition is an important pathway for transport of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere in wetlands. Water level changes have been suggested to trigger ebullition, especially in tidally flooded areas, although the controlling mechanisms remain uncertain. Bubble transport in submerged sediment represents a multiphase, dynamic interaction between gaseous and solid phases under the modulation of a liquid phase. An unvegetated sediment monolith was retrieved from an estuarine mudflat area at a tidal marsh site and maintained in a saturated state. Laboratory measurements on the mud monolith confirmed that not only ebbing tides, but also flooding tides could trigger ebullition releases of gas bubbles. We develop a Changing Stress for Simulating Ebullition (CSSE) model to describe mechanisms controlling bubble expansion in response to water level changes to unify these observations. Decreases in water level are assumed to lower the effective stress surrounding isolated trapped gas bubbles, driving upward transport via bubble expansion and deformation, with associated fracturing of overlying sediments. Increases in relative permittivity suggest that additional water invades macropores, with associated pore expansion, during the initial stage of increases in water level. We propose that subsequent matrix expansion under lowered effective stress on rising tides also leads to fracture propagation and bubble release. Our findings demonstrate the importance of effective stress changes in triggering ebullition from mudflat areas in tidal wetlands, modulated by the mechanical properties of shallow soft sediments.