ROLE OF MOUNTAIN STREAMS IN CARBON CYCLE

Key findings: 

• The international study led by Switzerland-based research institute École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has been published in the journal Nature Communications.
  
  
• Mountain streams have a higher average carbon dioxide emission rate per square metre than streams at lower altitudes, due in part to the additional turbulence caused as water flows down slopes.
  
  
• Mountain streams account for 5% in the global surface area of fluvial networks. 10%-30% is the share of mountain streams in carbon dioxide emissions from all fluvial networks.
  
  
• The findings indicate that the carbon dioxide comes from geological sources. The result shows importance of including mountain streams in assessments of the global carbon cycle.