Rivers play an important role in the global carbon cycle-acting as conduits that transport and transform organic matter (OM) as it moves from the terrestrial environment to the ocean. Some of the OM carried by rivers is ultimately converted to CO 2 and thus rivers may act as a source of CO 2 to the atmosphere. Recent estimates put CO 2 emissions from rivers at 1.8 Pg C/yr-a flux equivalent to >20% of anthropogenic emissions from the burning of fossil fuels-highlighting the importance of rivers in the global carbon cycle (Raymond et al., 2013). As OM moves through aquatic systems a host of environmental (ecosystem) conditions and intrinsic (chemical) properties may influence the degree to which the OM is mineralized
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.