US EditionRivers release ancient carbon stored in landscapes for millennia back into atmosphere, study reveals
- An international team led by University of Bristol scientists revealed that rivers worldwide release vast amounts of ancient carbon into the atmosphere.
- The study emerged from questioning prior assumptions that river emissions mainly came from recent plant decay, showing much carbon comes from deep soils and rocks stored for thousands of years.
- Researchers analyzed over 700 river reaches across 26 countries and found rivers emit about two gigatons of carbon yearly, about half from long-buried sources leaking sideways into waterways.
- Lead author Josh Dean explained that significantly more ancient carbon is escaping into the atmosphere than earlier assessments had indicated, which has major consequences for how we understand global carbon emissions and develop climate strategies.
- The findings suggest revising carbon cycle models as plants and soils offset some emissions by removing roughly one gigaton more CO2 annually, but human impacts on ancient carbon flows remain unclear.
19 Articles
19 Articles
Rivers are exhaling ancient carbon — and climate math just changed
Ancient carbon thought to be safely stored underground for millennia is unexpectedly resurfacing literally. A sweeping international study has found that over half of the carbon gases released by rivers come from long-term, old carbon sources like deep soils and weathered rocks, not just recent organic matter. This surprising discovery suggests Earth s vegetation is playing an even bigger role in absorbing excess carbon to keep the climate in ch…
A new report cited by New Scientist warns that close to 60% of river carbon emissions come from old deposits, forcing rethinking global climate change strategies and reviewing known carbon balances
Rivers release ancient carbon stored in landscapes for millennia back into atmosphere, study reveals
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 is released from the surfaces of rivers.
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