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.
The ocean is an important carbon sink that absorbs 20–30% of the total anthropogenic CO2 emissions in the industrial era (1.0–3.0 Pg annually, 1 Pg = 1015 g). Tropical cyclones are among the most devastating weather systems ...
Earth Sciences
May 25, 2026
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Marine microplastics affect algae's ability to grow and photosynthesize. Researchers have now calculated what impact this has on the greenhouse effect and the ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide.
Environment
May 24, 2026
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36
Natural geological processes have been regulating Earth's climate for millions of years. Accelerated versions of these processes are now being promoted as technologies to draw down carbon from the atmosphere—and some are ...
Earth Sciences
May 22, 2026
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55
A collaborative research team has revealed the long-overlooked carbon storage potential of coral reef ecosystems and how reef-dwelling fish, corals, and surface sediments jointly shape reef carbon reservoirs. The paper is ...
Ecology
May 22, 2026
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26
Viruses play a far more active role in Earth's carbon cycle than previously understood, according to new research that reveals how they infect and control microbes responsible for carbon production in some of the planet's ...
Earth Sciences
May 14, 2026
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17
Tropical forests store more than 60% of the world's vegetation biomass and are among the most important ecosystems for regulating the global carbon cycle and climate. However, their regulatory role is greatly influenced by ...
Earth Sciences
May 13, 2026
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14
Innovators who are working on ways to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to fight climate change are having a tough time lately.
Environment
May 12, 2026
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Photosynthesis is the oldest carbon-capture technology on Earth. For eons, plants have pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locked carbon—the building block of life on our planet—into their bodies and roots.
Environment
May 11, 2026
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We replaced the stove with plywood, turning the kitchen of the dive boat into an impromptu research lab. Plugging in wires and connecting tubing, we assembled a scientific instrument within the cramped cabin. Then we cast ...
Earth Sciences
May 9, 2026
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17
Four humans recently looped around the moon. Their vessel, an Artemis capsule, was a thin metal shell whose life-support system kept them alive: it provided a carefully balanced atmosphere, a closed water loop, a finite supply ...
Space Exploration
May 6, 2026
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17
