carbon cycle Archives - State of the Planet

wetland in indiana

For Wetland Plants, Sea Level Rise Stamps Out Benefits of Higher CO2

The beneficial effects of rising CO2 for plants disappear 
under flooding, a 33-year field experiment reveals.

by |May 19, 2022

Scientists Find Surprisingly Stable Carbon Uptake by Land and Oceans From Air

Estimates that predate satellite imagery fill in a missing link and imply that oceans and land have been removing carbon from the air more efficiently than previously thought.

by |March 16, 2022

Tackling a 40 Million-Year-Old Conundrum

A new study bolsters the idea that the uplifts of the Himalayas and Andes that began tens of millions years ago helped trigger the many ice ages that followed.

by Shilei Li, Steven L. Goldstein and Maureen E. Raymo |October 24, 2021

Hidden Within African Diamonds, a Billion-Plus Years of Deep-Earth History

Fluids trapped within the stones are helping researchers reconstruct the deep history of the continent, and eventually maybe others.

by |May 11, 2021

How Will the Ocean Carbon Cycle Evolve in the Future? New Project Aims to Find Out

A new effort to analyze the ocean’s ability to take up CO2 will be important for predicting the effectiveness of climate change mitigation efforts.

by |September 28, 2020
susan trumbore

Lamont Alumna Receives Prestigious Prize

Susan Trumbore, who earned her Ph.D. at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, is among the recipients of the 2020 Balzan Prize, one of the most prestigious international awards in natural science and humanities.

by |September 18, 2020
map of peat samples

Northern Peatlands Contain Twice as Much Carbon as Previously Thought

New findings double potential emissions from these areas, with big implications for climate modeling.

by |October 21, 2019

Drilling the Seabed Below Earth’s Most Powerful Ocean Current

Starting this month, scientists aim to study the Antarctic Circumpolar Current’s past dynamics by drilling into the seabed in some of the planet’s remotest marine regions.

by |May 15, 2019

As Oceans Warm, Microbes Could Pump More CO2 Back Into Air, Study Warns

A new study suggests bacteria may respire more carbon dioxide from the shallow oceans to the air as seas warm, reducing the deep oceans’ ability to store carbon.

by |April 29, 2019
granite hills in china

Unlocking Earth’s Climate Past: A New Tracer Identifies Weathering Intensity Over Time

New method helps determine how quickly silicates wear down over time, which is key to understanding natural processes that remove CO2 from air.

by |April 15, 2019