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A first estimate of organic carbon storage in Holocene lake sediments in Alberta, Canada

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Abstract

This paper reports a first estimate of the Holocene lake sediment carbon pool in Alberta, Canada. The organic matter content of lake sediment does not appear to depend strongly on lake size or other limnological parameters, allowing a simple first estimate in which we assume all Alberta lake sediment to have the same organic matter content. Alberta lake sediments sequester about 15 g C m-2 yr-1, for a provincial total of 0.23 Tg C yr-1, or 2.3 Pg C over the Holocene. Alberta lakes may represent as much as 1/1700 of total global, annual permanent carbon sequestration.

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Campbell, I., Campbell, C., Vitt, D. et al. A first estimate of organic carbon storage in Holocene lake sediments in Alberta, Canada. Journal of Paleolimnology 24, 395–400 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008103605817

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008103605817

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