Rivers and Greenhouse Gases: CBMA Research Featured in the News

A study led by Cláudia Pascoal, director of the CBMA, published in Global Change Biology, highlights how human activities in rivers can double greenhouse gas concentrations, worsening the climate crisis.

The research analyzed 50 rivers in northern Portugal, measuring ecosystem metabolism and greenhouse gas levels along a gradient of human impacts, including increased nitrates, rising water temperatures, and reduced oxygen levels. The findings underscore that the combined effects of these pressures amplify the emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from rivers into the atmosphere.

Cayetano Gutiérrez, co-author from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, emphasized that addressing these multiple stressors is crucial to improving river health and mitigating their role in climate change.

The study gained significant media attention and was featured in the newspaper Público. You can read the full article (PT only) here.

Full Press Release (PT only) here.