Climate change represents the most important global challenge of the 21st century. One of its main causes is the striking rise of the atmospheric CO2 molar fraction from the pre-Industrial Era to the present due to human activities. This is causing the warming of our planet, which would be even more acute without the mitigating role of nature. Terrestrial ecosystems absorb half of this emitted CO2 through plant photosynthesis, which is partly released to the atmosphere due to microbial activity mostly occurring in the upper soil layers. But not all terrestrial ecosystem types are equally well known, and particularly lacking are drylands, despite the fact that they occupy 40% of the land surface. Recent pioneering research has discovered that arid and semiarid ecosystems can store vast amounts of CO2 in pores, cracks and cavities of the underground. We know that this belowground CO2 can escape to the atmosphere when the soil is very dry and the wind energy is high enough to pump it out through a process termed subterranean ventilation. But the big unresolved enigma relates to the origin of this CO2. Where is it coming from? When and through which processes is it produced? The goal of this project is to answer these questions by using state-of-the-art knowledge and methodologies belonging to a wide variety of scientific disciplines: chemistry, physics, biology and hydrology.
Acronym:
TRUE
Author:
Ferrio Díaz, Juan Pedro
Principal researcher:
Ana López Ballesteros (Fellow); Juan Pedro Ferrio (Mentor)
Managing entity:
Otros
Scope:
Internacional
Entidades participantes:
CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION Y TECNOLOGIA AGROALIMENTARIA DE ARAGON (CITA)
Climate change represents the most important global challenge of the 21st century. One of its main causes is the striking rise of the atmospheric CO2 molar fraction from the pre-Industrial Era to the present due to human activities. This is causing the warming of our planet, which would be even more acute without the mitigating role of nature. Terrestrial ecosystems absorb half of this emitted CO2 through plant photosynthesis, which is partly released to the atmosphere due to microbial activity mostly occurring in the upper soil layers. But not all terrestrial ecosystem types are equally well known, and particularly lacking are drylands, despite the fact that they occupy 40% of the land surface. Recent pioneering research has discovered that arid and semiarid ecosystems can store vast amounts of CO2 in pores, cracks and cavities of the underground. We know that this belowground CO2 can escape to the atmosphere when the soil is very dry and the wind energy is high enough to pump it out through a process termed subterranean ventilation. But the big unresolved enigma relates to the origin of this CO2. Where is it coming from? When and through which processes is it produced? The goal of this project is to answer these questions by using state-of-the-art knowledge and methodologies belonging to a wide variety of scientific disciplines: chemistry, physics, biology and hydrology.