November 2, 2024

Ruki River’s Carbon Mysteries: Shedding Light on a Very Dark River

Current data from the previously unstudied Ruki River in the Congo Basin shows that it carries a heavy load of carbon in its dark water.If the appearance of the muddy Amazon River stimulates a coffee cut with cream, the Ruki River, gushing gently through the Congo Basin, is like a dark tea. The OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 recorded this image of the Ruki River at its confluence with the Congo River, around 650 kilometers (400 miles) upstream (north) of DRCs capital city Kinshasa.Research Findings on the Ruki RiverFor the first time, researchers have actually determined the chemical composition and circulation of the Rukis dark waters. It includes 4 times as much natural carbon as the Congo River and 1.5 times as much as the Rio Negro, the worlds largest blackwater river and a significant tributary of the Amazon.

Recent data from the formerly unstudied Ruki River in the Congo Basin reveals that it carries a heavy load of carbon in its dark water.If the look of the muddy Amazon River stimulates a coffee cut with cream, the Ruki River, gushing gently through the Congo Basin, is like a dark tea. The OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 caught this image of the Ruki River at its confluence with the Congo River, roughly 650 kilometers (400 miles) upstream (north) of DRCs capital city Kinshasa.Research Findings on the Ruki RiverFor the very first time, scientists have determined the chemical composition and flow of the Rukis dark waters. It includes 4 times as much natural carbon as the Congo River and 1.5 times as much as the Rio Negro, the worlds biggest blackwater river and a significant tributary of the Amazon.