If sink begins to sink
Down to Earth
13th December, 2012
Plants and soils act as carbon sinks, absorbing the ever-increasing amounts of carbon dioxide across the globe. But scientists warn that these natural carbon sinks will weaken over the next century. Using a new computer model of Earth’s surface they examined how carbon storage might react to a warmer planet with higher atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Results indicated that the potential range of outcomes is vast and includes the possibility that plants and soils may release huge amounts of carbon dioxide as the climate heats up, worsening global warming. If this happens, stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations at a specific level would require more drastic efforts than have been proposed currently.