A chemical mystery solved – the reaction explaining large carbon sinks

Credit: klimatetochskogen.nu

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A ‘Holy Grail’ explanation of a process in nature’s carbon cycle is claimed.
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A mystery that has puzzled the scientific community for over 50 years has finally been solved, says EurekAlert.

A team from Linköping University, Sweden, and Helmholtz Munich have discovered that a certain type of chemical reaction can explain why organic matter found in rivers and lakes is so resistant to degradation.

Their study has been published in the journal Nature.

“This has been the holy grail within my field of research for over 50 years”, says Norbert Hertkorn, scientist in analytical chemistry previously at Helmholtz Munich and currently at Linköping University.

Let us take it from the beginning. When, for example, a leaf detaches from a tree and falls to the ground, it begins to break down immediately. Before the leaf decomposes, it consists of a few thousand distinct biomolecules; molecules that can be found in most living matter.

The decomposition of the leaf occurs in several phases. Insects and micro-organisms begin to consume it, while sunlight and humidity affect the leaf, causing further breakdown. Eventually, the molecules from the decomposed leaf are washed into rivers, lakes and oceans.

However, at this point, the thousands of known biomolecules have been transformed into millions of very different-looking molecules with complex and typically unknown structures. This dramatic chemical transformation process has remained a mystery that has confounded researchers for over half a century, until now.

“Now we can elucidate how a couple of thousand molecules in living matter can give rise to millions of different molecules that rapidly become very resistant to further degradation”, says Norbert Hertkorn.
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Scientists previously believed that the path to dissolved organic matter involved a slow process with many sequential reactions. However, the current study suggests that the transformation occurs relatively quickly.
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“This discovery helps explaining the substantial organic carbon sinks on our planet, which reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere”, says David Bastviken [professor of environmental change at Linköping University].

Full article here.
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Image credit: klimatetochskogen.nu