Ancient Arctic carbon is pouring into the sea, but the seabed captures most of it

Ancient Arctic carbon is pouring into the sea, but the seabed captures most of it

Thawing Arctic permafrost is releasing ancient carbon into the ocean, raising fears that microbes could turn it into greenhouse gases and accelerate climate change. But sediment cores collected near Canada’s Herschel Island reveal a more reassuring twist: most of this land-based carbon becomes buried in the seafloor, while only about 10 percent is converted into gases.