Increased nocturnal CO2 concentration during breeze circulation events in a tropical reservoir

Abstract

The Balbina reservoir (59°28ʹ50ʺ W, 1°53ʹ25ʺ S), located near the city of Manaus, AM in central Amazonia, is the second largest hydroelectric reservoir in the Amazon basin. Carbon dioxide concentration measurements were performed at high frequency (10 Hz) at this reservoir with an IRGA Model LiCOR 7500A and meteorological variables were measured with a floating platform with sensors 2 meters above the surface of the lake. Maximum and minimum CO2 concentrations were observed during the night, related to forest breeze enriched with CO2 and the respiration or photosynthetic activity of the lake. Due to the dimensions of the lake, both land and lake breezes control the concentration of CO2. CO2 showed a strong correlation with the meteorological variables, temperature (- 0.76) and relative humidity (0.71). However, only the wind direction showed a statistically significant effect at 5% in the cross-correlation. Our results corroborate other studies in this lake and other Amazonian reservoirs.