|Location of sediment carbon sink                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | Area of carbon sink (x1012 m2) |                | OC burial rate (g/m2/yr) | Amount of OC buried (x1012 g/yr) |                   | Carbon burial in lakes, reservoirs, and peatlands | Carbon burial in the world's oceans
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | -------------- | ------------------------ | -------------------------------- | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | -----------------------------------
|U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet FS-058-99                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         | April 1999                    
|Elk Lake, MinnesotaElk Lake, Minnesota, is typical of the many lakes in glaciated parts of the Midwestern United States that bury organic carbon at a rate of about 72 g/m2/yr.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
|Table 1.  Burial of organic carbon.
[OC, organic carbon. Large lakes include 28 lakes, each with an area greater than 5,000 km2]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
|
|
|
|LAKES                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |                               
|Large                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               | 1.18                           |                | 5                        | 6                                |                  
|Small                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               | 0.32                           |                | 72                       | 23                               |                  
|Inland seas                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         | 1.00                           |                | 5                        | 5                                |                  
|Total                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               | 2.50a                          | ........2.50a  |                          | 34a                              |                  
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                |                |                          | 60b                              |                  
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                |                |                          | 48-72c                           |                  
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                |                |                          | 54d                              | ...........54d   
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
|RESERVOIRS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          | 0.40a                          |                | 400                      | 160a                             |                  
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | 0.66c                          |                |                          | 300-400c                         |                  
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | 0.66c                          |                |                          | 200b                             |                  
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | 0.53d                          | ........0.53d  |                          | 265d                             | ..........265d   
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
|PEATLANDS (present)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | 3.30e                          | ........3.30e  | 29                       | 96e                              | ..............96e
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
|TOTAL "LAND"                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |                                | 6.33           |                          |                                  | 415              
|(lakes, reservoirs, peatlands)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
|
|
|OCEANS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |                               
|Margins                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             | 42f                            |                |                          |                                  |                  
|Basins                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | 320f                           |                |                          |                                  |                  
|Total                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               | 362f                           | ..........362f |                          | 60-130f                          |                  
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                |                |                          | 82g                              |                  
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                |                |                          | 115h                             |                  
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |                                |                |                          | 97d                              | ..............97d
|TOTAL "OCEAN"                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |                                | 362            |                          |                                  | 97               
|"Land"/"Ocean" quotient                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |                                | 0.02           |                          |                                  | 4.3              
|Lake Powell, UtahLake Powell, Utah, was formed by the damming of the Colorado River behind Glen Canyon dam at Page, Arizona. The drainage basin of the Colorado River is underlain mostly by soft, easily eroded sandstones and shales. The tremendous sediment load delivered to Lake Powell by the Colorado and its upstream tributaries, the Green and Gunnison Rivers, results in the rapid accumulation of sediment behind Glen Canyon dam. The high sediment-accumulation rates in reservoirs globally results in an estimated organic-carbon burial rate in reservoirs of about 400 g/m2/yr.
|A forested peatland, Shingobee Fen, in northwestern Minnesota. Unlike bogs that receive moisture from precipitation and feed the ground-water table, fens are fed by ground water. This forested fen receives a large discharge of nutrient-rich ground water that provides an environment for rare aquatic plants.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
|AccessibilityFOIAPrivacyPolicies and Notices                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
|U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
      URL: https://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/fs/fs-0058-99/
Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact
Page Last Modified: Tue Nov 29 17:52 EDT 2016                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |