Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Conversation
The Conversation
Environment
Teresa Silverthorn, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Liverpool

Ditches and canals are a big, yet overlooked, source of greenhouse gas emissions – new study

Dick Kenny/Shutterstock

It’s a cold winter morning in the bleak and bare arable fields of the East Anglian fens. At the edge of a field, a scientist dips a long pole into a ditch. So, what is a climate researcher doing here?

We are measuring greenhouse gas emissions from ditches and canals by collecting samples of ditch water and analysing them in the laboratory. We also use floating chambers – a low-tech creation (sometimes coupled with high-tech sensors) made of a plastic bucket and noodle-shaped swimming floats that sit on top of the water and collect the gases emitted from it.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.