LOCATE is a multi-disciplinary project that will undertake the first ever coordinated sampling of the major rivers in Great Britain. This will help scientists answer questions about the long-term fate of organic carbon held in soil over the next fifty to one hundred years by establishing how much carbon from soils is getting into rivers and estuaries and determining what is happening to it.
The LOCATE vision is that in ten years the key processes relevant to decomposition of terrigenous Carbon are well represented in models, particularly for Carbon stored in boreal peatlands.
Key Facts
- The largest organic carbon reserves in Europe are in the soil of North Scotland and the largest peat areas are in Wales and Southwest England
- Decreasing levels of acidifying air pollution has led to a 60% increase in dissolved organic carbon levels of rivers over 25 years, affecting riverine carbon losses and drinking water supplies
- Restoring some elements of our carbon reserves could cost up to £570 million over the next 40 years
- LOCATE will sample one third of the rivers that drain the UK
