Carbon flux, in the context of biogeochemical topics, denotes the rate at which carbon in its various chemical forms (e.g., CO₂, CH₄, dissolved inorganic and organic carbon, particulate organic carbon) is transferred per unit area and time between reservoirs such as the atmosphere, terrestrial biosphere, oceans, and lithosphere. It encompasses processes including photosynthetic uptake, respiration, decomposition, combustion, weathering, ocean–atmosphere gas exchange, and sedimentation. Quantification of carbon fluxes, typically in units like g C m⁻² yr⁻¹, is central to constraining carbon budgets, modeling the global carbon cycle, and assessing feedbacks in climate system research.
Peatlands make up just 3% of Earth's land surface but store more than 30% of the world's soil carbon, preserving organic matter and sequestering its carbon for tens of thousands of years. A new study sounds the alarm that ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 23, 2025
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Continental shelf seas—the shallow waters surrounding our coasts that provide most of the world's seafood—are absorbing more carbon than they release, with the strength and direction of the prevailing wind proving a key control, ...
Environment
Oct 23, 2025
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Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) rose faster in 2024 than in any year since records began—far faster than scientists expected.
Environment
Oct 21, 2025
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64
The ocean has helped mitigate global warming by absorbing about a quarter of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, along with more than 90% of the excess heat those emissions generate.
Earth Sciences
Oct 20, 2025
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256
Tropical inland waters don't produce as many greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as previously estimated, according to the results of an international research collaboration led by Charles Darwin University (CDU).
Earth Sciences
Oct 20, 2025
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Climate models suggest that climate change could reduce the Southern Ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2). However, observational data actually shows that this ability has seen no significant decline in recent decades.
Earth Sciences
Oct 17, 2025
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The trunks and branches of trees in Australia's tropical rainforests—also known as woody biomass—have become a net source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, according to a new international study.
Earth Sciences
Oct 15, 2025
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54
Accurately modeling gross primary productivity (GPP) and evapotranspiration (ET) in terrestrial ecosystems is essential for understanding and predicting the global carbon and water cycles. However, current models face considerable ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 13, 2025
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21
New research from the University of St Andrews has shed light on a crucial mechanism of lowering atmospheric CO2 during Earth's past ice ages.
Earth Sciences
Oct 10, 2025
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58
Off the coast of Antarctica, the sea ice retreated toward the southernmost continent and, like a bottle cap taken off a soda bottle, that reduced pressure slowed down a process of critical carbon dioxide capture, dramatically ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 8, 2025
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