carbon sink

noun

plural carbon sinks

: a location (such as the ocean, the soil, or a forest) that stores substances which contain carbon and especially carbon dioxide

Advocates of "sequestration" argue that the ocean already functions as the world's largest carbon sink: it contains 50 times more carbon dioxide than the atmosphere, most of which is stored in sediments on the ocean floor.

—Linda Baker

Research has found that drought and declining water availability are increasingly impeding the ability of tropical ecosystems to soak up carbon dioxide, making the tropics a less effective carbon sink.

—Glenn Scherer

Peatlands serve as a major carbon sink. Their defining feature is a thick soil layer of leaf litter and other dead vegetation in a waterlogged state, meaning it can't fully decompose, which prevents vast amounts of carbon emissions.

—Isabel Esterman

Examples of carbon sink in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Mangroves, comprised of trees that grow in saline water, typically where rivers meet the sea, are biodiversity hotspots and act as huge carbon sinks, helping combat climate change. —Kamalpreet Singh, Travel + Leisure, 19 June 2024

In 2012, a U.N. study found that mangrove forests — a major carbon sink — have suffered greatly due to the development of shrimp and fish farming. —Frida Garza / Grist, Quartz, 17 June 2024

Losing such a major carbon sink will have devastating consequences for biodiversity and human well-being in Brazil and far beyond. —Matias Spektor, Foreign Affairs, 7 Nov. 2022

Venus is the closest exoplanet Studying Venus could give scientists insights of what a world looks like when there are no carbon sinks left. —Regina G. Barber, NPR, 8 May 2024

Additionally, responsible grazing keeps grasslands healthy, increasing biodiversity and providing a natural carbon sink, while reducing the risk of wildfires, Dr. Manzano says. —Michael Benanav, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Apr. 2024

Cutting down half a dozen or so trees would gain as much as 2,000 kWh a year, but come at a financial and climate expense, since trees are carbon sinks. —Tik Root, WIRED, 30 Mar. 2024

By contrast, bottom trawling endangers not just the future of local fish stocks, but the existence of one of Europe’s most important carbon sinks. —Tristan Kennedy, WIRED, 19 Mar. 2024

The elimination of these precious carbon sinks released titanic amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, unleashing an environmental catastrophe. —Patricia Cohen Jes Aznar, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above