| Popis: |
The harvesting from mountain belts and subsequent delivery to the oceans of particulate\ud organic carbon (POC) is a significant part of the global carbon cycle. The volume of carbon\ud dioxide (CO2) removed from the atmosphere as plant growth (POCbiomass) and subsequently\ud exported from an active mountain belt by erosion can surpass the amount of CO2 consumed by\ud silicate weathering in the same area. However, to effectively sequester CO2 by POCbiomass erosion\ud two conditions must be fulfilled. Firstly, the eroded material must be transported to a location\ud where it can be buried and stored on geological timescales, without being oxidised (and releasing\ud CO2 to the atmosphere). Secondly, the amount of CO2 released by the mobilisation and oxidation\ud of ancient “fossil” carbon previously contained in the rocks of the mountain belt must be lower\ud than the volume sequestered by POCbiomass burial. The volumes and nature of organic carbon\ud exported from active mountain belts has been studied in detail, but the preservation potential of\ud this material once deposited offshore is poorly constrained. |
