Travis W. Drake, Jordon Hemingway, Matti Barthel, Antoine de Clippele, Negar Haghipour, Jose N. Wabakanghanzi, K. Van Oost, Six Johan
Abstract Congo Basin lakes Mai Ndombe and Tumba are major CO 2 sources. Here we show that their dissolved inorganic carbon is some 2,170–3,515 14 C years old and partially (39–40%) originates from the surrounding peatlands. This implies a loss pathway for peat carbon, in which microbes respire old carbon within the peat and the resulting CO 2 is transported to the lakes and outgassed, linking these immense ancient stores to the modern carbon cycle.