Ocean acidification “provides a case study of a way that we can drive forward bipartisan action on an environmental issue,” says an Ocean Conservancy scientist.
carbon cycle
Tracing the Path of Carbon in North America
A team of more than 200 scientists released a decade-long look at how carbon weaves through Earth’s air, soil, water, and plants. Here are nine key takeaways from their report.
Tool to Capture Marine Biological Activity Gets Coastal Upgrade
Upwelling hinders an efficient method to estimate a key measure of biological productivity in coastal waters, but accounting for surface temperatures could boost accuracy.
How Nitrogen Contributes to Permafrost Carbon Dynamics
Nitrogen released into the soil from thawing permafrost in the Arctic could accelerate soil carbon decomposition and alter carbon dynamics, with global implications.
Hydrology Dictates Fate of Carbon from Northern Hardwood Forests
As spring snowmelt and fall rains inundate northern hardwood forests with moisture, soil bacteria get moving and increase carbon exports to the atmosphere and into nearby water bodies.
Autumn Warming No Longer Accelerating Carbon Loss in the North
An analysis of Point Barrow’s 40-year record points to the importance of calculating the carbon cycle’s response to temperature during the northern latitudes’ non-growing season.
Landslides Send Carbon-Rich Soils into Long-Term Storage
Earthquake-triggered landslides move soils down steep slopes and deposit the sediments near rivers, sequestering the carbon contained within them for millions of years.
Human Activities Create Corridors of Change in Aquatic Zones
Canals, dammed reservoirs, irrigation ditches, and pollution are changing species diversity, microbial communities, and nutrient levels in aquatic zones across the planet.
Better Plant Data at the Root of Ecosystem Models
Version 2 of the Fine-Root Ecology Database is bigger, better, and free to download and use.
Carbonate Melting Enhances Mantle CO2 Fluxes in Old Ocean Basins
The amount of CO2 segregated from the mantle by carbonate melting beneath old oceanic crust may equal that emitted along the mid-ocean ridge system, thereby contributing to the global carbon cycle.
