‘Ancient’ carbon venting from lakes in the Congo Basin peatlands: Study

‘Ancient’ carbon venting from lakes in the Congo Basin peatlands: Study

Across the central Congo Basin lies a bastion of carbon that scientists are just beginning to understand. First mapped only about a decade ago, the Cuvette Centrale peatlands are the size of England and hold some 30 billion metric tons of carbon. Over thousands of years, the swampy conditions in this part of Central Africa have slowed the decay of plant matter falling from the forest above. The process leads to the development of peat, and the p…