Drying of the Aral Sea reshapes the anthropogenic carbon inventory of Central Asia
Abstract
Lakes store large quantities of carbon in their sediments, contributing to climate regulation. Yet the fate of this carbon after lake desiccation remains unclear. Using a space-for-time substitution approach, combining sediment cores, carbon dioxide flux measurements, and remote sensing, we quantified organic carbon losses from the world’s largest desiccated lake, the Aral Sea. Since 1960, exposed lake bed sediments have released 204 ± 53 teragrams of carbon (Tg C), with vegetation growth offsetting less than 1%. Incorporating these emissions alters the regional carbon budget, transforming the Aral Sea basin from a presumed land-use-change carbon sink into a net source. Reflooding the sea could prevent an additional 165 ± 13 Tg C release, reframing restoration not only as an ecological and humanitarian imperative but also as a climate mitigation opportunity.
Article Details
Journal Info
Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Authors (15)
Rafael Marcé
Centre for Advanced Studies, Spanish National Research Council (CEAB-CSIC), Blanes, Spain.
Daniel Diaz de-Quijano
Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Girona, Spain.
Sofía Rodríguez-Gómez
Universidad de Málaga; Departamento de Ecología, Grupo de Ecología Marina y Limnología, Málaga, Spain.
Enrique Moreno-Ostos
Universidad de Málaga; Departamento de Ecología, Grupo de Ecología Marina y Limnología, Málaga, Spain.
Makhambet Mukhtar
NGO Aral Tenizi, Aralsk, Kazakhstan.
Björn Wissel
Université Claude Bernard - Lyon 1, UMR 5023 LEHNA,Villeurbanne, France.
Zoraida Quiñones-Rivera
Université Claude Bernard - Lyon 1, UMR 5023 LEHNA,Villeurbanne, France.
Carolina Olid
UB-Geomodels Research Institute, Departament de Dinàmica de la Terra i l’Oceà, Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain.
Santiago Giralt
Geosciences Barcelona (GEO3BCN), CSIC, Barcelona, Spain.
Joan Pere Casas-Ruiz
Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA-UIB-CSIC), Esporles, Spain.
Georgiy Kirillin
Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, Germany.
Daniel Mercado-Bettín
Centre for Advanced Studies, Spanish National Research Council (CEAB-CSIC), Blanes, Spain.
Valentí Rodellas
Physics Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra, Spain.
Jordi Ibáñez-Insa
Geosciences Barcelona (GEO3BCN), CSIC, Barcelona, Spain.
Núria Catalán
Centre for Advanced Studies, Spanish National Research Council (CEAB-CSIC), Blanes, Spain.