Ecobreves – BRAZIL: The Role of Amazon Basin Rivers in the Carbon Cycle

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 10 2011 (IPS) - The Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture at the University of São Paulo is studying the role played by the rivers of the Amazon Basin in the carbon cycle. “We know that the Amazon region is a carbon sink, but we have very little information about how its rivers affect the cycle,” researcher Alex Krusche told Tierramérica.

Previous studies have demonstrated that rivers transport carbon to the oceans in the form of carbonates and organic particles. But data already gathered through this new research indicate that the Amazon River, for example, releases 13 times more carbon into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide gas than the total amount of carbon transported to the ocean in all its forms.

“As well as increasing our understanding of the function of rivers in this cycle, the data will also serve as a parameter for comparison in order to assess the impact of human activities in the future,” added Krusche.