Earth’s Largest Land-Based Carbon Sink Has Sprung a Disturbing Leak
Gizmodo • • world
Key Points:
- A study published in Nature Geoscience reveals that two lakes in the Congo Basin, Lac Mai Ndombe and Lac Tumba, are releasing significant amounts of carbon dioxide, with up to 40% originating from ancient peat deposits.
- The Congo Basin's peatlands, covering just 0.3% of Earth's land surface, store 30 billion metric tons of carbon, but new findings challenge the assumption that this carbon remains locked away for millennia.
- Researchers estimate that Lake Mai Ndombe alone may be releasing over 150 gigatons of ancient carbon annually, potentially due to microbial activity converting peat carbon into methane and subsequently CO2.
- Climate change, through increased droughts and warming, may be destabilizing
