Why rivers matter for the global carbon cycle

A satellite image of Siberia Lena delta that flows in the Arctic Ocean. NASA In a new journal article, EPFL professor Tom Battin reviews our current understanding of carbon fluxes in the world's river networks. He demonstrates their central role in the global carbon cycle and argues for the creation of a global River Observation System. Until recently, our understanding of the global carbon cycle was largely limited to the world's oceans and terrestrial ecosystems. Tom Battin, who heads EPFL's River Ecosystems Laboratory (RIVER), has now shed new light on the key role that river networks play in our changing world. These findings are outlined in a review article commissioned by Nature . Battin, a full professor at EPFL's School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC), persuaded a dozen experts in the field to contribute to the article.