Without tiny marine organisms using silica for shells, Earth’s oceans generated more clay, released more carbon dioxide, and kept Earth warmer for longer.
carbon cycle
Posted inNews
Solar Panel Arrays May Affect Soil Carbon Levels
As research ramps up on how to maximize the benefits of colocating agriculture and solar panels, researchers are also beginning to investigate other potential ecosystem benefits.
Posted inNews
Carbon Cycles Through Plants More Quickly Than Expected
A radioactive isotope produced by nuclear weapons reveals that plants take up more carbon—but hold on to it for less time—than current climate models suggest.
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Sand’s Role in Rerouting Meandering Rivers Is Bigger Than We Thought
Researchers delve into the dirt causing rivers to migrate.
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Middle-of-the-Road Mountains Form the Best Carbon Sinks
Silicate rock weathering has a sweet spot: erosion that isn’t too fast or too slow.
Posted inScience Updates
How Are Deep Soils Responding to Warming?
Scientists aim to integrate observations from deep-soil-warming experiments worldwide to better understand how ecosystems vital to food security and environmental health will react to climate change.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Animals Deserve to Be Included in Global Carbon Cycle Models, Too
Because they are far less plentiful than plants and microbes, animals have typically been excluded from examinations of carbon exchange in the atmosphere. But new research shows they may have a considerable influence on carbon cycle dynamics.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Africa’s Carbon Sink Capacity Is Shrinking
A new estimate of Africa’s greenhouse gas budget from 2010 to 2019 shows increasing emissions from cropland expansion, livestock, and fossil fuel use—meaning the continent may have transitioned from an overall carbon sink to a slight carbon source.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Researchers Compare Observations Versus Modeling of Coastal Carbon Cycle
While storing carbon dioxide, the coastal ocean also releases methane and nitrous oxide. New research shows that understanding the impact of coastal oceans on climate requires more research into these fluxes and how they counteract each other.
Posted inScience Updates
The Open Ocean, Aerosols, and Every Other Breath You Take
Phytoplankton and other marine plants produce half of Earth’s atmospheric oxygen and have big effects on food webs and climate. To do so, they rely on nutrients from the sky that are hard to quantify.