Quantifying Methane Emissions from Laurentian Great Lakes Estuaries Using In Situ Measurements, Remote Sensing, and Machine Learning

Authors

• Jillian Greene, Grand Valley State University
• Ashtyn Gluck, Grand Valley State University
• Bopaiah Biddanda, Grand Valley State University
• Michael Philben, Hope CollegeFollow
• Sean Woznicki, Grand Valley State University

Document Type

Letter to the Editor

Publication Date

3-1-2026

Publication Source

Limnology and Oceanography Letters

Volume Number

11

Issue Number

2

E-ISSN

23782242

Article Number

e70099

Abstract

Freshwater estuaries are natural contributors to the carbon cycle, including production and emission of methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas (GHG); however, estimates of their contribution to global GHG emissions is uncertain. Recent research has identified the potential for quantifying limnetic methane using optical remote sensing coupled with machine learning. In this study, CH4 fluxes were measured from three drowned river mouth (DRM) estuaries along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan using low-cost, autonomous floating samplers in the littoral zone and discrete samples in the pelagic zone from May to October 2024. Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Color Instrument, Gridded Meteorological Data, and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer were used to calculate environmental variable proxies, which were used to estimate CH4 fluxes with machine learning. Model performance (R² = 0.50) indicated ability to capture trends in CH4 flux and extend predictions to other DRM estuaries. These results provide an accessible framework for reducing the current uncertainty in lakes' CH4 emissions estimates.

Recommended Citation

Published in: Limnology and Oceanography Letters, Volume 11, Issue 2, March 1, 2026.