Researchers demonstrate negative influence of dams on climate change. Image source: Shutterstock (#169482320) pictures Clatteringshaws Loch reservoir in Galloway Forest Park.
According to a new study by BioScience the impact of dams on climate change has been underestimated. The rotting of vegetation in the water which is caused by the building of dams creates 25 percent more methane than thought. Due to missing vegetation about a billion tonnes of greenhouse gases are emitted every year. That amounts 1,3 percent of the total annual human-caused global emissions. Over a 100-year timescale dams produce more methane than rice plantations and biomass burning according to the study. The problem with methane is that it contributes almost three times more to global warming than CO2 even though it stays in the atmosphere for only around a decade compared to CO2 which stays several centuries.
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