Dr Mike BillettDr Mike Billett

Dr Mike Billett

Section Head and NERC Research Fellow

Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Bush Estate
Penicuik
Midlothian
EH26 0QB
T: +44 (0)131 4454343
F: +44 (0)131 4453943
E-mail: Dr Mike Billett
 

Research interests

My main research interest is in soil and surface water biogeochemistry, in particular the impact of soil processes, catchment management and environmental change on water quality. Recent research has focused on peatland carbon cycling at scales ranging from the water-atmosphere interface to catchment and regional inventories of carbon transport. Approaches include field-based studies, application of isotopic methods, laboratory simulation and predictive modelling.

Apart from the UK, I have carried out research in the Svalbard, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Canada, Greece, Ghana, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Current collaborators include McGill University (Montreal), University of British Columbia (Vancouver), SKYE (Finland), METLA (Finland), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Uppsala), NERC Radiocarbon Facility (Environment), University of Leeds and ERI Thurso. My research is funded largely by NERC, DEFRA and the European Union.

Release of carbon from peatlands

The stability of carbon stored in Northern hemisphere peatlands is a major issue in global carbon cycling. These huge repositories of carbon are affected both by climate and land management and there is concern that the sink-source relationships of some peatlands are changing. My research aims to both quantify the fluxes and understand the processes that control key parts of the peatland carbon cycle, in particular the soil-water-atmosphere system. This involves quantifying carbon losses in the aquatic system and includes vertical (evasion or degassing) as well as lateral (downstream) fluxes. Whilst much of the work is UK-based, recent research has been carried out in Canada and Finland.

Methodological advances in CO2 measurement

I have an interest in methodological development, in particular the measurement of CO2 in surface waters. Whilst this area of research has been partly constrained by over-reliance on indirect methods, we routinely use the “headspace” method to measure free CO2 directly. In addition, we have been involved in the testing, development and deployment of an in-stream NDIR sensor which measures CO2 directly and continuously. This is a significant methodological step which will greatly improve our understanding of the process that control CO2 concentrations in aquatic systems. In collaboration with the NERC Radiocarbon Facility (Environment), I have also been involved in the development of a direct method that measures the isotopic composition (δ13C and 14C) of evasion CO2 released from the water surface to the atmosphere.

CEH carbon catchments

I co-ordinate the new CEH Carbon Catchments Initiative, a network of four UK peatland sites (Forsinard, Auchencorth Moss, Moor House, Upper Conwy), which aims to quantify the overall carbon budget of individual peatlands by measuring and combining various flux terms. In particular this involves linking the land-atmosphere carbon flux (measured using eddy covariance and chamber methods) to the downstream fluxes of POC, DOC, DIC and gaseous forms of carbon. The Carbon Catchments also provide a framework for other related research. For example, the site at Moor House is the focus of a collaborative study on the role of peatland “pipes” in the transport of various forms of carbon to the steam system.

Brief CV

  • 2007-present: Section Head, CEH at Edinburgh
  • 2003-present: NERC Research Fellow, CEH at Edinburgh
  • 1990-2003: Teaching Fellow/Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, Department of Plant & Soil Science, University of Aberdeen
  • 1987-1990: PDRF, Department of Plant & Soil Science, University of Aberdeen
  • 1986-1988: MSc (by research) Soil Science (1989), University of Aberdeen
  • 1983-1986: PDRF, Department of Geology, University of Southampton
  • 1979-1983: PhD Geology (1984), University College London
  • 1975-1979: BSc Geology, University of Edinburgh

Selected publications

See also the NERC Open Research Archive.

Dinsmore, Kerry J.; Skiba, Ute M.; Billett, Michael F; Rees, Robert M.; Drewer, Julia. 2009 Spatial and temporal variability in CH4 and N2O fluxes from a Scottish ombrotrophic peatland: implications for modelling and upscaling. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 41 (6). 1315-1323. 10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.03.022

Dinsmore, Kerry J.; Skiba, Ute M.; Billett, Michael F; Rees, Robert M. 2009 Effect of water table on greenhouse gas emissions from peatland mesocosms. Plant and Soil, 318 (1-2). 229-242. 10.1007/s11104-008-9832-9

Holden J., Smart R., Chapman P.J., Baird A.J. and Billett M.F. (in press). The role of natural soil pipes in water and carbon transfer in and from peatlands. American Geophysical Union Monograph “Northern Peatlands and Carbon Cycling”. Ed. Baird A.J. et al.

Dinsmore, K. J.; Billett, M. F. 2008 Continuous measurement and modeling of CO2 losses from a peatland stream during stormflow events. Water Resources Research, 44, W12417. W12417. 10.1029/2007WR007284

Dinsmore, Kerry J.; Billett, Mike F.; Moore, Tim R.. 2009 Transfer of carbon dioxide and methane through the soil-water-atmosphere system at Mer Bleue peatland, Canada. Hydrological Processes, 23 (2). 330-341. 10.1002/hyp.7158

Dinsmore, Kerry J.; Skiba, Ute M.; Billett, Michael F.; Rees, Robert M.. 2009 Effect of water table on greenhouse gas emissions from peatland mesocosms. Plant and Soil, 318 (1-2). 229-242. 10.1007/s11104-008-9832-9

O’Brien H.E., Labadz J.C., Butcher D.P., Billett, M.F. and Midgley N.G. (2008). Impact of catchment management upon dissolved organic carbon and stream flows in the Peak District, Derbyshire, UK. Proceedings of the 10th BHS National Hydrology Symposium, 178-185.

Billett M.F. and Moore T.R. (2008). Supersaturation and evasion of CO2 and CH4 in surface waters at Mer Bleue Peatland, Canada. Hydrological Processes, 22: 2044–2054.

Billett M.F., Garnett M.H. and Harvey F. (2007). UK peatland streams release old carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and young dissolved organic carbon to rivers. Geophysical Research Letters, 34, L23401, doi:10.1029/2007GL031797.

Garnett M.H. and Billett, M.F. (2007). Do riparian plants fix CO2 lost by evasion from surface waters? An investigation using carbon isotopes. Radiocarbon, 49: 993–1001.

Evans C.D., Freeman C., Cork L.G., Thomas D.N., Reynolds B., Billett M.F., Garnett M.H., and Norris D. (2007). Evidence against recent climate-induced destabilisation of soil carbon from 14C analysis of riverine dissolved organic matter. Geophysical Research Letters, 34, L07407, doi:10.1029/2007GL029431.

Billett M.F., Deacon C., Palmer S.M., Dawson J.J.C. and Hope D. (2006). Connecting organic carbon in streamwater and soils in a peatland catchment. Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences 111, GO2010, doi:10.1029/2005JG000065.

Billett M.F., Garnett M.H. and Hardie S.M.L. (2006). A direct method to measure 14CO2 lost by evasion from surface waters. Radiocarbon, 48: 61-68.

Stutter M.I., Deeks L.K. and Billett M.F. (2006). Impact of soil and groundwater heterogeneity on surface water chemistry in an upland catchment. Journal of Hydrology, 318: 103-120.

Stutter M.I., Deeks L.K. and Billett M.F. (2005). Transport of conservative and reactive tracers through a naturally structured upland podzol field lysimeter. Journal of Hydrology, 30: 1-19.

Billett M.F., Palmer S.M., Hope D., Deacon C., Storeton-West R., Hargreaves K.J., Flechard C. and Fowler D. (2004). Linking land-atmosphere-stream carbon fluxes. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 18, GB1024, doi:10.1029/2003 GB002058.

Dawson J.J.C., Billett M.F., Hope D., Palmer S.M. and Deacon C.M. (2004). Sources and sinks of aquatic carbon linked to a peatland stream continuum. Biogeochemistry, 70: 71-92.

Hope D., Palmer S., Billett M.F. and Dawson J.J.C. (2004). Variations in dissolved CO2 and CH4 in a first order stream and catchment: an investigation of soil-stream linkages. Hydrological Processes, 18: 3255-3275.