GHG Emissions from Canadian Reservoirs
GHG-CaRe: A survey of Canadian reservoirs
In 2019, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) adopted a new Methodology Report that require countries to include greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from flooded lands in their National Inventories Report. Proposed estimation approaches rely on simple averages of emissions rates per climate zone, inappropriate for large countries with diverse landscapes such as Canada.
This project seeks to advance reservoir GHG science using a two-pronged approach – (1) adapting current methodologies to the Canadian context, and (2) developing new and complementary predictive tools.
In collaboration with Environment Canada, BC Hydro, Grand River Conservation Area (GRCA), Hydro-Quebec, Manitoba Hydro Ontario Power Generation (OPG), Waterpower Canada and the University of Waterloo, we are looking into understanding how reservoirs are emitting greenhouse gases to the atmosphere across Canada.
In 2023, we collected data from 6 reservoirs across Ontario and Quebec.
In 2024, we collected data from 5 reservoirs across British Colombia and Quebec.
In 2025, we collected data from 6 reservoirs across Manitoba and Ontario.
We visited each reservoir three times, taking measurements at a main site close to the dam, but also at multiple other locations in the reservoir. Data that we collected includes: Water temperature, Dissolved gas concentrations (O2, CO2, CH4), CO2 and CH4 emissions and nutrients
