A new study has revealed for the first time that ancient carbon, stored in landscapes for thousands of years or more, can find its way back to the atmosphere as CO₂ released from the surfaces of rivers.
A new study has revealed for the first time that ancient carbon, stored in landscapes for thousands of years or more, can find its way back to the atmosphere as CO₂ released from the surfaces of rivers.
The findings, led by scientists at the University of Bristol and the cover story of the journal Nature, mean plants and shallow soil layers are likely removing around one gigatonne more CO₂ each year from the atmosphere to counteract this, emphasising their pivotal and greater part in combating climate change.
Lead author Dr Josh Dean, Associate Professor in Biogeochemistry and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at the University of Bristol, said: “The results took us by surprise because it turns out that old carbon stores are leaking out much more into the atmosphere then previous estimates suggested.
“The implications are potentially huge for our understanding of global carbon emissions. Plants and trees take up CO2 from the atmosphere and can then lock this carbon away in soils for thousands of years.
Read more at University of Bristol
Image: Aerial image of rivers in northeast Siberia which are known to emit old carbon. (Credit: University of Bristol)
