RIVERINE INORGANIC CARBON DYNAMICS: OVERVIEW AND PERSPECTIVE

Inorganic carbon, the great part of the riverine carbon exported to the ocean, plays an important role in the global carbon cycle and ultimately impacts the coupled carbon-climate system. An overview was made on both methods and results of the riverine inorganic carbon researches. In addition to routine in situ survey, measurement and calculation,the direct precipitation method and the gas evolution technique were commonly used to analyze dissolved inorganic carbon in natural water samples. Soil CO2, carbonate minerals and atmospheric CO2 incorporated into riverine inorganic carbon pool via different means, with bicarbonate ion being the dominant component. The concentration of inorganic carbon, the composition of carbon isotopes (δ13C and △14C), and their temporal or spatial variations in the streams were controlled by carbon input, output and changes of carbon biogeochemistry within the riverine system. More accurate flux estimation, better understanding of different influential processes, and quantitative determination of various inputs or outputs need to be well researched in future.