GoKawiilStudy finds farm lime use in Mississippi River Basin acts as CO2 sink, not source
Researchers combined century-long river chemistry records, reconstructed acidity and alkalinity inputs, and reactive transport modeling to assess whether agricultural liming in the Mississippi River Basin has released or absorbed CO2 over time. Using discharge and alkalinity data, historic Ca/Mg/SO4/nitrate measurements, and a model called SCEPTER, they built a spatial budget comparing acid inputs from fertilizer, manure and atmospheric deposition against alkalinity from lime application.