Microbes are siphoning massive amounts of carbon from Earth’s tectonic plates

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https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/04/microbes-are-siphoning-massive-amounts-carbon-earth-s-tectonic-plates

Source: By Raleigh McElvery, Science Magazine. 

Excerpt: A few kilometers below our feet lies a hidden world of microbes whose chemical reactions are shaping the long-term habitability of the planet. A new study suggests some of these microbes are siphoning off massive amounts of carbon as it enters Earth, using it to fuel their own sunless ecosystems. ...Researchers say the microbes represent an overlooked factor in efforts to balance Earth’s deep carbon cycle. ...These microbes could be sequestering 2% to 22% of the carbon previously thought to reach the deep mantle, the researchers report today in Nature Geoscience. ...  

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