The small number of academics who study climate change worries a specialist

Although continental aquatic ecosystems play a leading role in the emission of greenhouse gases that encourage climate change, in Mexico there are few academic teams focused on their study and research, said Oscar Gerardo Nieto, researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

In the conference Aquatic ecosystems: greenhouse effect and climate change, Organized by the National School of Earth Sciences (ENCiT), the specialist said that although hydroecosystems represent only 3.7 percent of the Earth’s surface, their methane emissions into the atmosphere contribute 16 percent, while releasing 15 percent of the total carbon dioxide.

This means that What they release of methane into the atmosphere is equivalent to 2,711 million heads of cattle, double the number of animals that currently exist on the planet; Meanwhile, its carbon dioxide production represents 2,482 million gasoline vehicles, that is, 50 times the units of the Mexican vehicle fleet..

Gerardo Nieto pointed out that aquatic ecosystems not only release greenhouse gases, they can also capture and store large quantities of carbon. To know if a hydroecosystem is a source or capture of carbon, it is necessary to carry out studies to determine its production, consumption, storage and emissions.

The challenges

He believes that determining the interaction of these environments with the atmosphere faces several challenges. Among the most relevant, he said, most of the scientific studies correspond to bodies of water located in the northern hemisphere, the number of measurements is limited and the analysis of the samples is not done on site, but in a laboratory, which can interfere with the results.

The scientific literature focuses on boreal and temperate ecosystems, leaving aside tropical, subtropical, as well as southern and Antarctic environments. This happens because most of the universities that have resources are in the United States, Canada and Europe, and logistically it is easier to study the closest ones.he explained.

The postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences comments that he began to be interested in this topic when, in his childhood, he heard the adults around him talk about climate change. He then considered it crucial to study continental aquatic ecosystems, which are still outside the scientific literature.

He highlighted the case of lakes in Siberia, because they are fed by the thawing of permafrost, a permanently frozen layer of soil found in cold regions, such as that area and the Arctic, which can release massive amounts of carbon stored for thousands of years in the form of organic matter in ice.

Studying these lakes helps us understand how these climate changes are affecting greenhouse gas dynamics in the region and how they may influence global climate.he stressed.

In the case of Mexico, Gerardo Nieto, who is part of a scientific team analyzing the Valle de Bravo reservoir, said that in the country there are only three or four scientific groups that investigate aquatic biomes (ecological communities with characteristic vegetation and fauna) in relation to greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, and he stressed that there are no more than 10 bodies of water analyzed.

We need to include hydroecosystems that are not included in global inventories of greenhouse gas emissions; until now everything has been focused on boreal and temperate ecosystems, completely leaving aside subtropical systems, such as those we have in Mexico; another part that is also very forgotten are the southern ecosystems.

Monitoring these greenhouse gas emissions, he said, helps assess their sensitivity to climate change and understand the potential impacts on local and regional environments. This in turn will enable informed decisions to be made to address climate change, as well as protect biodiversity and ecosystem services.