A new study revealed that fjords of Alaska and Norway can suck in potentially damaging carbon from the Earth's atmosphere that make these steep inlets between mountain ranges an effective natural ally for combating the effects of climate change.

Fjords apparently cover only 0.1 percent of the planet's oceans however, they also account for 11 percent of organic carbon from plants, soil and rock that are embedded with marine sediments each year when they are carried off from the land via rivers.

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Scientists believe that these cliff sided inlets that are carved from glaciers during numerous ice ages are also the ocean's major hotspots for organic carbon burial which is based on carbon found per unit area.
These new findings also contribute to a clearer understanding of how carbon which is also a building block for life on Earth, can go through natural cycles and eventually beat man made climate change from greenhouse gases.

Carbon dioxide is the main proponent of these greenhouse gases that can increase global warming. Fjords are truly effective in carbon storage since they originate from deep, heavy flowing, carbon rich waters from rivers that often possess calm and often oxygen depleted water where carbon rapidly and naturally sinks without the interference of bacteria.

All over the world, these fjords are estimated to absorb and capture 18 million tons of carbon every year according to this new study especially fjords that are located in Nordic countries such as Greenland, Canada and Alaska including Chile, New Zealand and Antarctica.

According to Richard Smith from the Global Aquatic Research in New York, fjords are mostly ignored as places that can have the largest potential to store massive amounts of carbon. 

When plants die, carbon will then get buried underneath soil and then washes off into the river or released back into the atmosphere thru gases from vegetation rot. However man made greenhous gases are released from fossil fuels, power plants, automobiles and homes which makes studying the role of carbon important and how natural carbon burial from fjords can help fight climate change.

This study is published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Tagsfjords, fjords alaska greenland canada, fjords climate change soak carbon, global warming, fjords soak up carbon, Greenhouse gases, organic carbon burial