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

Yet the blue economy, especially industries like seabed and deep sea mining, can worsen the ocean's ability to act as a carbon sink and can worsen overall climate change. —Devika Rao, theweek, 11 Nov. 2024

Much like forests, phytoplankton is a natural carbon sink and crucial for producing atmospheric oxygen. —Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Nov. 2024

Storing more carbon in the soil would require incorporating techniques like planting cover crops, using biochar (charcoal made from organic waste), or practicing agroforestry (planting trees alongside crops or pastures) that can help turn agricultural lands into a carbon sinks. —Simi Thambi​, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024

To keep this goal in sight, the administration is considering a range of options, from regulation of the power sector, vehicles, and methane emissions under the Clean Air Act to investments in forestry and agriculture that both reduce emissions and act as a carbon sink. —Richard G. Newell, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above