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.
To understand where Earth might be headed, it's important to know where it has been. Throughout its existence, especially over the past couple of million years, Earth has experienced periodic cold and warm intervals, known ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 25, 2026
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Vegetarians need not worry yet—plants will be on Earth for a long time to come. But not forever. The sun will ultimately determine the long-term existence of life on Earth. Its total energy output, called luminosity, has ...
The Australian government has agreed to invest almost $53 million in a north Tasmanian company that will upgrade its coal-fired kiln to burn wood "waste" and used tires for cement manufacturing.
Environment
Jun 19, 2026
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Fungi are key constituents of the soil microbial community, playing a major role in moving carbon and energy through the soil food web. A recent analysis carried out by Professor Matthias C. Rillig from Freie Universität ...
Ecology
Jun 19, 2026
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AIMS scientists are quantifying the amount of groundwater flowing from the land to the Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia to help understand the viability of blue carbon storage solutions to reduce the impacts of climate ...
Environment
Jun 18, 2026
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Methane is one of the most powerful greenhouse gases, and lakes and wetlands are among its largest natural sources. In many lakes, methane can be seen bubbling up from the bottom and escaping directly into the atmosphere.
Earth Sciences
Jun 17, 2026
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Arctic fjords are among the most efficient natural systems for absorbing and storing carbon long term. However, as the Arctic is warming about four times faster than the global average, fjord ecosystems are changing rapidly. ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 17, 2026
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A new study published in Nature shows that rock weathering increasingly counteracts river CO2 emissions as permafrost degrades. The study was carried out by a collaborative team of researchers from Umeå University in Sweden ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 17, 2026
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An international team of researchers has found plants in the tropics absorb much less carbon dioxide than previous modeling had suggested, which has implications for ecosystem management.
Earth Sciences
Jun 16, 2026
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Beneath our feet lie some of the largest living organisms on Earth. Fungi are mostly invisible and largely overlooked, but they help sustain the ecosystems and food systems that we depend on every day.
Plants & Animals
Jun 15, 2026
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