THE DEEP CARBON CYCLE: DISCOVERIES OF THE DEEP CARBON OBSERVATORY

The Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) is a ten-year quest to understand the quantities, movements, forms, and origins of carbon in Earth. More than 90% of Earth’s carbon resides in the planet’s deep interior, but most research on the global carbon cycle focuses on a small fraction of Earth’s carbon in the atmosphere, oceans, biosphere, and shallow crustal environments. DCO’s mission is to understand Earth’s entire carbon cycle, including the deep carbon cycle, which plays an important role in modulating Earth’s climate and habitability over geologic time scales.

A decade of focused research has led to transformational discoveries by DCO scientists on the physical, chemical, and biological roles of carbon in Earth. DCO scientists have published more than 1400 peer-reviewed papers, documenting novel results of broad interest beyond traditional scientific disciplines. Discoveries by DCO researchers include new theories on the origins of diamonds; insights into the critical role of volcanoes in recycling carbon; previously unknown deep abiotic sources of natural gas and other hydrocarbons; and a better understanding of the diverse and extensive deep microbial biosphere. Through these and many other discoveries, DCO is changing our understanding of Earth as a dynamic, evolving world.

No less important than its scientific advances, DCO has built an enduring legacy in the diverse, dynamic, interactive community of 1200 deep carbon scholars—physicists, geologists, chemists, and biologists—in more than 50 countries. In particular, DCO has focused on cultivating the next generation of deep carbon researchers, who will carry on the tradition of exploration and discovery for decades to come. DCO’s community-building and management innovations are keys to the program’s scientific success. DCO may serve as an effective model for tackling other large-scale, interdisciplinary, and international science questions.