Researchers have identified a feedback loop between drought, soil desiccation and carbon dioxide emissions that can accelerate climate change effects.
As published in Mongabay India on 24 June, 2024.
Climate science researchers have been concerned with amplifying feedback loops that exacerbate the effects of climate change. Amplifying or positive feedback loops are mechanisms that increase the warming effects caused by an initial event. For example, the melting of Arctic sea ice due to warming temperatures further increases warming because the melted water has a lower albedo (fraction of light reflected by a surface) compared to ice.
To gain a more realistic understanding of global temperature changes and climate tipping points, researchers are increasingly emphasising that these feedback loops need to be accounted for. A recent study published in Environmental Research Letters highlights one such feedback loop which is overlooked in current climate dialogues — the loop connecting drought, soil desiccation and carbon dioxide emission.
Soil is home to 80% of the terrestrial carbon and the study postulates that under conditions of drought and soil surface cracking or desiccation, this carbon is exposed to oxidation, thereby increasing the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere.
Understanding this feedback loop could be vital in devising measures to mitigate global warming and prevent droughts.
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