Overview
- Radiocarbon analyses show that up to about 40% of carbon dioxide emitted from Lac Mai Ndombe and Lac Tumba originates from ancient peat rather than recent plant material, according to a Nature Geoscience study led by ETH Zurich.
- The physical and biogeochemical pathways moving old peat carbon into lake waters remain unknown, and researchers say resolving these mechanisms is a priority.
- A companion Journal of Geophysical Research paper finds that lake water levels strongly regulate methane emissions, with higher levels enhancing microbial methane consumption and lower levels allowing more methane to escape.
- Although Congo Basin peatlands cover roughly 0.3% of Earth’s land surface, they store about one third of tropical peat carbon, underscoring the global significance of any sustained releases.
- The team warns that intensified drought and deforestation-driven hydrological change could mobilize more peat carbon and methane, and calls for basin-wide flux measurements to assess whether current emissions reflect a natural balance or emerging destabilization.