Carbon processes
What are the 3 potential fates of terrestrial carbon in inland waters?
Outgassing, storage and export
Which of the aqueous fates have the most data uncertainty?
Storage
What does DOC stand for?
Dissolved organic carbon
What are the two primary pathways from terrestrial landscapes to enter inland waters
Export of organic carbon from terrestrial ecosystems and export of inorganic carbon from terrestrial ecosystems
Why do the authors not want to include wetlands into the carbon flux calculations?
Because they assimilate and return CO2 without contributing to the net flux from land to inland waters
Are rivers with a higher velocity expected to have a higher or lower dissolved carbon content?
DOC concentrations increase with discharge
Why is it important to study C transport in low order rivers?
They have higher levels of organic carbon than global estimates
Which of these regions is the most understudied (data-poor) in terms of river carbon fluxes (Polar, Tropical or Desert) ?
Tropical
What is the reason for an increase in the estimate carbon flux of terrestrial C to inland waters in recent studies?
This is due to low historical estimates
How is the majority of carbon fixed in undersaturated hotspots?
Atmospheric CO2
Name three ways in which anthropogenic activities will cause an increase in carbon transfer to inland waters
land-use change, soil erosion (deforestation), agriculture, sewage production, water withdrawal, damming of watercourses, climate change
How and why do anthropogenic reservoirs affect CO2 outgassing?
They increase the outgassing by trapping sediment, increasing residence times and increasing the surface areas of rivers