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.
The biological productivity of the Southern Ocean in the summertime is substantially greater than many previous estimates have suggested, according to new airborne research by the U.S. National Science Foundation National ...
Earth Sciences
May 6, 2026
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For generations, the mild and temperate climate of northwestern Europe has been credited to one legendary force: the Gulf Stream. This idea is so deeply entrenched in our cultural identity that in James Joyce's Ulysses, the ...
Earth Sciences
May 5, 2026
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Rising sea levels could do more than flood coastlines. Research from Missouri University of Science and Technology shows they may also trigger the release of large amounts of carbon stored in coastal ecosystems into the atmosphere.
Earth Sciences
May 4, 2026
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After nearly four decades, the world's longest-running soil warming experiment is revealing a surprising result: even "stable" carbon in forest soils can break down as temperatures rise, releasing more CO₂ into the atmosphere. ...
Environment
Apr 28, 2026
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The first study to measure the full economic value of bottom trawling in Europe's waters calculates that the destructive fishing practice imposes up to €16 billion annually in net costs to society. The research is published ...
Environment
Apr 28, 2026
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How much of the essential trace element iron remains available for marine life in the ocean depends critically on the diversity of organic molecules in seawater, according to new research published in Nature Communications ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 28, 2026
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Push a metal corer into a peatland and you pull up something remarkable: a dark, dense, sponge-like material made of partly decomposed plants. This peat is rich in carbon. In some places, that peat has been building up for ...
Environment
Apr 28, 2026
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Rivers worldwide are under severe stress: they are warming, losing oxygen, and as a result emitting increasing amounts of greenhouse gases. Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now quantified these ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 27, 2026
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In the vast plume of the Amazon River, microscopic algae adopt a surprisingly flexible survival strategy: They combine photosynthesis with the uptake of organic matter. An international research team led by the Leibniz Institute ...
Ecology
Apr 23, 2026
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14
Lakes are often described as "hotspots" in the global carbon cycle, yet quantifying their "breath"—the exchange of carbon dioxide (CO2) between water and the atmosphere—has long been notoriously difficult due to extreme variability ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 22, 2026
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