Lunch Seminar "The role of inland waters in the carbon cycle - carbon sinks, carbon sources, or both?"

Abstract

Inland waters play an import role in the carbon balance of the continents. Rivers and lakes emit the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere, the sediments of lakes and reservoirs sequester carbon, and rivers flush carbon from land to the ocean. While we have started to acknowledge that these processes are relevant, their magnitudes are still uncertain. In addition, we still know very little about their regulation and dynamics over space and time. This talk will present recent advances in our understanding on carbon processing in streams, lakes and reservoirs, and discuss the relevance of these findings for large-scale carbon budgets and potential climate feedbacks.