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 This shift has improved soil health, cut cropland erosion and advanced the ability of soil to act as a crucial carbon sink. Magi Richani, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 Losing a large portion of the Amazon could turn a key carbon sink into a source of emissions, as wildfires burn and plants and animals decompose, no longer able to survive. Evan Bush, NBC News, 14 Feb. 2024 This could mean the large-scale collapse of a biome that has for 65 million years has served as the Earth’s carbon sink, absorbing billions of tons of carbon while largely weathering changes in climate. Andrew Jeong, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2024 Notable examples of natural carbon sinks include forests and ecosystems like peatlands. Simi Thambi​, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 But the forest is still a huge, crucial carbon sink. Rosa Rahimi, CNN, 14 Feb. 2024 Before our current era of rapid warming, vole booms and busts helped make the tundra an overall carbon sink, Austin Roy, who worked with Team Vole while a graduate student at the University of Texas at El Paso, told me. Bathsheba Demuth, The Atlantic, 4 Jan. 2024 Approximately 4 billion hectares of forest around the world act as a carbon sink which, over the past two decades, has annually absorbed a net 7.6 billion metric tons of CO2. Alloysius Attah, WIRED, 8 Jan. 2024 Experts fear that mining could negatively impact carbon sinks and ocean life, including still-unidentified species near the ocean floor. Naomi Greenberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'carbon sink.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of carbon sink was in 1963

Dictionary Entries Near carbon sink

Cite this Entry

“Carbon sink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carbon%20sink. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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