Posted on 08/17/2025 2:21:13 PM PDT by Eleutheria5
A new global study reveals that ancient carbon, once thought securely stored in soils and rocks, is leaking into the atmosphere via rivers.
For the first time, researchers have confirmed that carbon trapped in landscapes for thousands of years or longer can return to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide escaping from river surfaces.
The study, led by scientists from the University of Bristol and featured as the cover story in Nature, suggests that plants and upper soil layers may be absorbing about one additional gigaton of CO2 annually to balance this release. This highlights an even more critical role for vegetation and soils in slowing climate change.
Lead author Dr Josh Dean, Associate Professor in Biogeochemistry and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at the University of Bristol, said: “The results took us by surprise because it turns out that old carbon stores are leaking out much more into the atmosphere than previous estimates suggested. The implications are potentially huge for our understanding of global carbon emissions. Plants and trees take up CO2 from the atmosphere and can then lock this carbon away in soils for thousands of years.”
He continues, “Our findings show some of this old carbon, as well as ancient carbon from rocks, is leaking sideways into rivers and making its way back to the atmosphere. We don’t yet know how humans are affecting this flow of ancient carbon, but we do know plants and trees must be taking up more carbon from the atmosphere today to account for this unrecognized release of old carbon.”
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(Excerpt) Read more at scitechdaily.com ...
“ Yes the forest contributes O2 to the atmosphere but its removal of CO2 is minimal.” If trees are plants and they take up CO2 to survive and release O2 so that we can survive. I presume, then, that a forest of trees takes up a lot of CO2, which some might consider a CO2 sink.
I thought the selling of snake oil was lost in the past when we got beyond the mid 20th century; and then the Internet came along.
Carbon Cult of the Apocalypse
Cannibalism will be making a comeback!
The Cargo Cults seem more scientific...
Who woulda thunk it ?
Their lips are moving ... their either fools or liars.
I did not read it and really dont want to but carbon is an ubiquitous mineral found in all sort of rock which is continuously leached into the flowing water. At a nearly molecular level.
Yes, it is ubiquitous. My understanding from the article was that CO2 (not the elemental carbon) was getting into the rivers. Which means we are all going to die, of course.
Of course.
The water cycle that I learned about in elementary school back in the 1950s has just now been rediscovered?
Water the universal solvent carries everything with it as it goes through its cycle.
I swear, some of the most ignorant people on Earth are its most educated.
Carbon is as big a scam as the needle mask thing.
I knew it! The air I breathe has been getting stale of late.
Amazing. They discovered the Carbon Cycle. What’s next, hot water?
Greenies will insist on getting rid of trees and rocks so the atmosphere stays pure and pristine. Its for the Children!!
More wind farms and solar farms?! They’ve already uglified the mountains in Cyprus with those damned bird-killing monstrosities! Trees are nice! They give shade, and sometimes fruit, birds and critters live in them. They fight soil erosion, and you can even mount a f@#$ing windmill on top of a Georgia f@#$ing pine! Let’s see Don Quixote try to joust with that!
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