Humans may be accelerating the rate at which organic matter decomposes in rivers and streams on a global scale, according to a new study from the University of Georgia, Oakland University and Kent State University.
Humans may be accelerating the rate at which organic matter decomposes in rivers and streams on a global scale, according to a new study from the University of Georgia, Oakland University and Kent State University.
That could pose a threat to biodiversity in waterways around the world and increase the amount of carbon in Earth’s atmosphere, potentially exacerbating climate change.
Published in Science, the study is the first to combine a global experiment and predictive modeling to illustrate how human impacts to waterways may contribute to the global climate crisis.
Read more at: University of Georgia
The researchers collected field data from 550 rivers across the globe, collaborating with more than 150 researchers in 40 countries, for the new study. (Photo Credit: Dorothy Kozlowski)
