Researchers discovered a four-phase pattern in soil organic matter decay and carbon dioxide flows to the atmosphere due to soil warming. This pattern has significant implications for global warming, as it suggests that microbial communities are adapting to changing conditions by evolving new enzymes to process reduced carbon.
A new study published in Nature Communications outlines the mechanisms of converting permafrost carbon to CO2, highlighting the importance of sunlight and the right microbial community. The research found that sunlight enhances decay by some microbial communities, making frozen carbon more accessible to others.
A new study reveals that tropical forests act as a net source of carbon dioxide, with most releases caused by deforestation and degradation. The majority of land areas in the tropics showed no significant change in carbon over the 12-year period, but those that did experienced losses mainly due to deforestation.
A study by MIT professor Daniel Rothman suggests that a sixth mass extinction may occur if the world's oceans hold enough carbon to destabilize the system. By 2100, human activities are estimated to add about 310 gigatons of carbon to the oceans, potentially tipping the planet into unknown territory.
Scientists at NIST have developed a laboratory instrument that can measure the source of carbon in materials, enabling new applications in biofuels and bioplastics industries. The instrument uses cavity ringdown spectroscopy to detect subtle differences in CO2 wavelengths, allowing for accurate measurement of heavy CO2 concentrations.
Researchers studied 61 tropical tree species with age ranges of 84 to 255 years and found that old trees stored more carbon than younger ones. The trees maintained high carbon accumulation rates until the end of their lives, accumulating up to 50% of their final carbon stock in the last quarter.
Researchers in Japan and China create a way to isolate solid carbon dust from gaseous carbon dioxide, yielding a promising approach to fix carbon in a stable form. The method also shows potential for treating atmospheric CO2 and scrubbing other harmful gases.
A new inorganic adhesive method was developed to overcome the challenges of using organic adhesive in cryogenic adsorption pumps. The method involves combining membranes of metals with good compatibility, creating a strong adhesive force. The new pump achieved seven times larger pumping speed compared to previous models.
A new study suggests that glaciers may have played a role in releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, potentially warming the planet. The research found that glacial weathering increased the rate of carbon dioxide release, with oscillating glaciers changing atmospheric levels by up to 25 parts per million over 10,000 years.
Scientists have developed a light-activated material that can chemically convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide without generating unwanted byproducts. The material, a nickel organic crystalline structure, showed near 100% selectivity for CO production and no detection of competing gas products.
Researchers at Osaka University have developed a new method for building complex organic molecules by selectively transforming strong carbon-fluorine bonds. This breakthrough enhances the control over chemical reactions, enabling more synthetic freedom for constructing intricate carbon structures.
A global data set reveals that volcanic arcs mobilize carbon from crustal carbonate platforms, particularly in Italy and Indonesia. This finding requires a downward revision of past organic carbon burial estimates.
Researchers have found that significant amounts of black carbon can persist in both pristine and non-pristine areas of snow, impacting climate change predictions. The study used molecular analysis to track the origins of black carbon, finding evidence of wildfires burning thousands of miles away in remote areas.
Researchers find that including an indirect land use change factor in biofuel policies leads to a relatively small reduction in emissions at a high economic cost. The inclusion of this factor imposes a hidden tax on all fuels, increasing their carbon emissions per gallon and fuel prices for consumers.
Researchers created a new form of ultrastrong, lightweight carbon by pressurizing and heating glassy carbon to extreme temperatures. This material has unique properties that make it suitable for various applications, including aerospace engineering and military armor.
A new study predicts a significant decline in carbon storage in the Sierra Nevada mountains under projected climate-wildfire interactions. The research highlights the need for policy makers to take action to maintain these forested ecosystems, which can help regulate water flow and mitigate the effects of global warming.
Researchers successfully synthesized a carbon nanobelt, measuring 0.83 nm in diameter, using a novel synthetic strategy based on a macrocycle precursor. The breakthrough opens a new field of nanocarbon science and has potential applications in electronics and photonics.
A new Stanford study found that microbes sometimes fail to break down all plant and animal matter, leaving behind buried organic carbon. This preserved carbon can seep into nearby oxygen-rich waterways, where it's consumed by microbes, contributing to greenhouse gas production.
A study from the University of Vermont found that imitating old-growth forests enhances carbon storage in managed forestland. The new technique, called structural complexity enhancement, showed higher levels of carbon storage than conventional forestry methods.
A study found that the carbon footprint of acquisitive and violent crime dropped from 7 million tonnes CO2e in 1995 to below 3 million tonnes CO2e by 2015. This represents a cumulative reduction of 54 million tonnes CO2e over this period, alongside a 30% decrease in crime.
A global 'carbon law' aims to halve carbon emissions every decade, peaking by 2020 and falling to zero by 2050. The roadmap also calls for rapid adoption of renewable energy, carbon removal technologies, and sustainable agriculture practices to achieve this goal.
A new study proposes a simple rule of thumb, or 'carbon law', to rapidly reduce carbon emissions. The authors argue that halving emissions every decade could catalyze disruptive innovation and help achieve the UN's Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to well below 2°C.
Marine biologists quantify the carbon consumption of bacterioplankton to better understand the ocean carbon cycle. The study found that increased CO2 levels stimulate bacterial respiration, converting organic carbon back to CO2 and limiting the ocean's ability to store it.
A new study found that door and window locks offer good security with a low carbon footprint, making them the most desirable burglary prevention measure. In contrast, burglar alarms are less effective and have a high carbon footprint, producing more emissions than an incidence of burglary.
A new study published in Scientific Reports suggests that the relationship between tree diversity and carbon storage in tropical forests may not exist as previously assumed. Researchers found that high-carbon forest stocks do not necessarily correlate with high biodiversity, contradicting previous studies.
Researchers at Indiana University have engineered a molecule that harnesses sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into a carbon-neutral fuel source. The new molecule uses nanographene to absorb light and triggers a highly efficient reaction to produce carbon monoxide, a versatile raw material in industrial processes.
A new European study has found that soil carbon loss is more sensitive to climate change compared to carbon taken up by plants. In wetter regions, soil carbon loss increased, while in drier regions it decreased, and this could lead to a positive feedback on atmospheric CO2 levels.
Researchers from the University of Limerick are leading a €4.9m project to produce carbon fiber from forestry by-products, aiming to halve its CO2 footprint. The LIBRE project expects to reduce production costs by 30% and bring down the environmental impact of carbon fiber manufacturing.
The task force proposes strategies to recycle carbon dioxide and remove large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, complementing carbon-free approaches like electrification. These approaches aim to produce an overall emissions reduction of at least one billion tons of carbon dioxide per year.
A new study published in Nature Communications reveals that wetlands store a significant amount of carbon, with freshwater inland wetlands holding nearly 10 times more carbon than tidal saltwater sites. The research highlights the importance of protecting wetlands from human activity to prevent climate change.
Recent research suggests that coastal wetland ecosystems such as mangrove forests, tidal marshes, and seagrass meadows are effective climate buffers, storing carbon for hundreds to thousands of years. Coastal wetlands capture and store more than 200 metric tons of carbon per year globally, with 50-90% stored in soils.
A recent study by University of Montana researcher Ashley Ballantyne and former doctoral student William Smith found that land ecosystems take up less carbon during periods of rapid warming and more during periods of slower warming. This slowing-down is attributed to reduced plant respiration, not increased photosynthesis.
A Florida State University researcher investigated how carbon moves from the ocean surface to greater depths and remains there for hundreds of years. The study found that certain areas of the sea, particularly fronts where temperature or salinity changes, act as giant conduits moving carbon to deeper depths.
New research suggests climate-protection policies focusing on tree diversity and carbon stocks could imperil the world's most biodiverse tropical forests. The study found that African forests store high levels of carbon but are species-poor, while Amazon and Asian forests have higher biodiversity but less carbon stored per hectare.
A recent study by University of Exeter researchers found that temperature fluctuations drive the year-to-year variability of global land-based carbon sinks. Locally, however, water availability is the dominant factor in determining the success of carbon sinks.
Analysis by Carnegie's Marion Le Voyer and Erik Hauri has doubled the world's known finds of mantle carbon, revealing a more complex distribution than previously thought. The team studied tiny magmatic inclusions trapped inside solid crystals that protected them from degassing during magma ascent and eruption.
A study by the University of Southern Denmark reveals that Thurøbund's protected and productive bay stores a record amount of carbon, with an average of 27,000 grams per square meter. This exceeds global estimates of seagrass meadow storage, highlighting the importance of preserving these ecosystems.
Researchers found that both crops successfully sequestered more carbon in the soil than was lost from the soil surface, with sugarcane storing three times as much carbon. Deficit irrigation boosted soil carbon sequestration but reduced yield.
A new type of activated carbon, cellular activated carbon, has been produced with a bimodal structure featuring both micro and mesopores. The material exhibits high adsorption kinetics due to its larger pores, making it suitable for various industries such as energy storage and catalysis.
Researchers at Michigan Tech created a new way to synthesize sodium-embedded carbon nanowalls, which have two orders of magnitude higher conductivity than three-dimensional graphene. The material also retains high capacity after 5,000 charge/discharge cycles, making it ideal for supercapacitors and energy devices.
Researchers use neutron diffraction to study high-pressure and high-temperature phases of solid carbon dioxide, shedding light on the Earth's carbon cycle and potential for carbon substitution with silicon dioxide. The study provides new insights into the behavior of carbon dioxide under extreme conditions.
Researchers mapped carbon recovery in Amazonian forests after logging activities, finding highest potential in the Guiana Shield and western regions. Surviving trees may be more reliable for storing carbon than newly recruited juveniles.
Researchers at Kyushu University have developed a new simulation method to predict the behavior of oil, carbon dioxide, and water in underground reservoirs. The approach can help identify optimal sites for carbon sequestration, which could significantly increase energy supply and combat climate change.
Researchers at University of Nevada, Reno partner with Earthwatch Institute to study Sierra meadow ecosystems and their carbon storage potential. Citizen scientists from northern California and Reno area participate in project, measuring carbon stored in plants and vegetation.
A global study predicts that soils may release large quantities of carbon dioxide in response to warming, leading to even faster rates of warming globally. Soils in Arctic ecosystems are the most susceptible to releasing stored carbon when warmed.
A new study predicts that global warming will drive the loss of at least 55 trillion kilograms of carbon from soils by mid-century, more than double projected human-related emissions. This loss is expected to be greatest in high latitudes, where cold conditions have allowed massive carbon stocks to build up over thousands of years.
Researchers simulate carbon dissolution in water-rich fluids at the Earth's upper mantle, revealing unexpected forms of carbon, and challenging previous geochemical models. The study suggests that water transports carbon mostly through highly active ions, not dissolved CO2 molecules.
Experts predict that soils will lose a significant amount of their carbon content, leading to increased soil erosion and flood damage. Land use changes and management practices are crucial to mitigate this trend and protect soil functions.
The study reveals that wastewater treatment plants emit an overlooked source of carbon dioxide, which could increase global greenhouse gas emissions by 12-23 percent. Treating wastewater sludge with on-site carbon sequestration and renewable energy could help reduce fossil carbon emissions from these plants.
The Colorado River delta's annual carbon cycle has changed dramatically due to poor water management, with fossil clam shells revealing vast amounts of carbon being added to the atmosphere. The reduced carbon emissions at the delta are vastly outweighed by the carbon emissions from transporting water to cities and farms.
Researchers at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School used data from international scientific cruises to map the distribution of dissolved organic carbon in the Atlantic Ocean. They found that one third of global ocean net production comes from this basin, with nutrient arrival predicting DOC production.
Microbiologist Kristen DeAngelis receives $2.5 million grant from US Department of Energy to study soil microbes' impact on carbon cycle. The research aims to improve understanding of how climate change affects soil carbon storage and develop new methods for modeling microbial contributions to global carbon cycling.
Researchers have compiled a 30-year data set to construct the first ice core-based record of atmospheric oxygen concentrations spanning 800,000 years. The study shows that atmospheric oxygen has declined by 0.7 percent relative to current concentrations, primarily due to fossil fuel burning.
Researchers estimate that seaweed globally sequesters 173 trillion grams of carbon per year, with 90% of this being due to transport into deep-sea sediments. This highlights the significance of seaweed as a major carbon sink, surpassing Amazonian forests.
Researchers at University of Wisconsin-Madison have created carbon nanotube transistors that outperform state-of-the-art silicon transistors, achieving a current 1.9 times higher than silicon transistors. The breakthrough could pave the way for carbon nanotubes to replace silicon in electronic devices.
A recent study challenges the assumption that biofuels are carbon neutral, finding a net increase in CO2 emissions from their use in the US. The research suggests that crop-based biofuels like corn ethanol and biodiesel offer only modest reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Researchers at Rice University have developed a recipe to make carbon capture materials the best they can be. Experiments showed that once a sorbent material achieved a surface area of 2,800 square meters per gram, neither more surface area nor larger pores made it more efficient at capturing carbon dioxide.
Researchers at Cornell University have developed an oxygen-assisted aluminum/carbon dioxide power cell that captures CO2 while producing electricity and a valuable oxalate. This technology has the potential to reduce energy consumption in carbon capture systems, making it more commercially viable.
Researchers at Kumamoto University have developed a novel, pot-shaped carbon nanomaterial with a deeper orifice than any previously produced hollow carbon nanostructure. The material's unique characteristic enables it to gradually release substances contained within, making it suitable for applications such as drug delivery systems.
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory develop new method to convert CO2 into carbon monoxide, a reactant for making methanol fuel. The process is efficient and uses minimal energy, with the catalyst lasting over 100 hours.