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Carbon cycle

New pathways in the sand

Organic carbon decomposition in anoxic marine sediments was thought to be dominated by bacteria, but experimental data and microbial culture studies now show that microalgae buried in coastal sands may also play an important role in carbon turnover.

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Figure 1: The role of microalgae in energy transfer in coastal sands.

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Correspondence to Alexandra Rao.

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Rao, A. New pathways in the sand. Nature Geosci 10, 3–4 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2855

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