While radiocarbon is best known as a dating tool, this rare isotope can also provide unique and wide-ranging insights into the cycling of carbon in the Earth system.
carbon cycle
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Jet-Propelled Tunicates Pump Carbon Through the Oceans
New research reveals that blooms of the widespread gelatinous zooplankton—along with their feces, daily vertical migrations, and carcasses—increase marine carbon export.
Posted inENGAGE, News
Deep-Sea Pressure Crushes Carbon Cycling
The extreme pressure in the deep sea stifles microbes’ appetite for organic carbon. This finding could have important implications for carbon budgets and geoengineering.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
The World’s Roots Are Getting Shallower
Root-filled soils are hot spots of nutrient cycling and carbon storage. New research finds that the world has lost millions of cubic meters of rooted soil volume—and we’re on track to lose much more.
Posted inNews
The Bottom of the Arctic Is Blooming
Researchers found phytoplankton hidden on the Arctic seafloor, hinting at a cascade of effects on the local ecology and carbon cycle.
Posted inNews
Testing the Resilience of the Amazon
A mega-experiment in Brazil will evaluate how tropical rain forests absorb carbon as emissions increase.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Respiration Quotient Variability and Ocean Oxygen Levels
Respiration quotients in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans reflect different water temperature, nutrient stress and phytoplankton community structure, important for regional carbon and oxygen cycling.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Tracing Anthropogenically Emitted Carbon Dioxide into the Ocean
Researchers labeled anthropogenically emitted carbon and tracked it with an ocean circulation model to determine whether it winds up in the sky or sea.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
The Burning Tundra
As wildfires blaze through the Arctic, scientists examine the role of landscape characteristics on wildfire ecosystem responses in northern aquatic ecosystems.
Posted inNews
Can These Rocks Help Rein in Climate Change?
Spreading olivine on beaches could accelerate ocean uptake of carbon dioxide and potentially limit climate change. The concept and execution still face some scrutiny from scientists.