Carbon cycling refers to the set of biogeochemical processes that regulate the transformation, transport, and storage of carbon among major Earth system reservoirs, including the atmosphere, terrestrial biosphere, oceans, and lithosphere. It encompasses autotrophic carbon fixation, heterotrophic respiration, decomposition, sedimentation, weathering, and anthropogenic fluxes such as fossil fuel combustion and land-use change. Research on carbon cycling quantifies fluxes and pool sizes, characterizes feedbacks between carbon reservoirs and climate, and employs observational networks, isotopic tracers, and Earth system models to constrain budgets, residence times, and perturbation responses across temporal scales from diurnal to geologic.
When most people hear the phrase "ocean acidification," they think of coral reefs, shellfish or declining fisheries. Those concerns are real. But while working on our recent research, I found myself asking a different question: ...
In the heart of the Congo Basin's Cuvette Centrale, a large depression that hosts the world's largest tropical wetland complex, lie two vast, shallow blackwater lakes, Lake Tumba and Lake Mai Ndombe. Together, they are roughly ...
Earth Sciences
12 hours ago
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The interactions between microscopic algal cells and bacteria in the oceans play a pivotal role in the global carbon cycle. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now taken an important step toward deciphering the chemical language ...
Environment
15 hours ago
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Earth has a natural thermostat that has kept the planet habitable for more than 100 million years. Scientists have struggled to fully explain how it works, but new research identifies a missing link between phosphate availability ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 13, 2026
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Tropical forests draw down and store large quantities of CO₂ from the atmosphere. The Amazon rainforest in South America, for example, stores approximately 123 billion tons of carbon—more than is stored in any other terrestrial ...
Environment
Jul 10, 2026
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Continental aquatic ecosystems, such as lakes and reservoirs, occupy a small proportion of Earth's surface but play a significant role in the global carbon cycle. It is estimated that more than 40% of global methane emissions ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 9, 2026
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Carbon sequestration, climate regulation, biodiversity support and shoreline protection: These are all benefits provided by tidal wetlands. As the climate changes, the amount of carbon captured by these vital ecosystems may ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 7, 2026
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Tropical moist forests account for 70% of global living biomass. Deforestation and degradation—that is, the partial damage to tree stands—as well as the subsequent regeneration of forests therefore play a pivotal role in ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 3, 2026
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The effects of individual climate factors on ecosystems are usually considered in isolation. However, in reality, they occur simultaneously and influence each other. Increasing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere contribute ...
Ecology
Jun 30, 2026
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Forests and land play an important role in absorbing carbon dioxide emissions, but current models and forecasts don't incorporate a surprising ecological discovery: Despite more available carbon, climate change and warmer ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 25, 2026
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