Get the latest tech news
Lakes Aren't Just Drying Out. They Might Also Be Releasing More CO2
As part of a team exploring Utah's Great Salt Lake, climate researcher Melissa Cobo "discovered more disturbing evidence that dried-out lakes are a significant source of carbon dioxide emissions," reports the Washington Post. But more disturbingly, they write that this source of emissions "has not...
As part of a team exploring Utah's Great Salt Lake, climate researcher Melissa Cobo "discovered more disturbing evidence that dried-out lakes are a significant source of carbon dioxide emissions," reports the Washington Post.But more disturbingly, they write that this source of emissions "has not been included in the official accounting of how much carbon the world is releasing into the warming atmosphere." In a new study in the journal One Earth, the researchers calculated that 4.1 million tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were released from the drying bed of the Great Salt Lake in 2020, the year Cobo and others collected the samples. When lakes dry out, oxygen can penetrate deep into the sediment, waking up microorganisms that start to feast on the organic matter, releasing carbon dioxide, Marcé said.
Or read this on Slashdot
