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River metabolism in the contiguous United States: A West of extremes.

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Title: River metabolism in the contiguous United States: A West of extremes.
Authors: Maavara, Taylor (AUTHOR), Yuan, Zimin (AUTHOR), Johnson, Andrew M. (AUTHOR), Zhang, Shuang (AUTHOR), Aho, Kelly S. (AUTHOR), Brinkerhoff, Craig B. (AUTHOR), Logozzo, Laura A. (AUTHOR), Raymond, Peter (AUTHOR)
Source: Science. 11/6/2025, Vol. 390 Issue 6773, p622-627. 6p.
Subjects: Metabolism, Droughts, Photosynthesis, Hydrological research, Carbon fixation, Respiration, Carbon cycle, River conservation
Geographic Terms: West (U.S.), United States
Abstract: River metabolism is among the most uncertain fluxes in the global carbon cycle. We present estimates for gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) for more than 175,000 rivers across the contiguous United States (CONUS), including metabolic responses to extreme hydrological conditions. Our model predicts an annual GPP in CONUS rivers of 10.1 teragrams of carbon per year and an ER of 18.7 teragrams of carbon per year, which implies that net ecosystem productivity (NEP; where NEP = GPP – ER) is a small contributor to river carbon dioxide emissions. More than 70% of river metabolism occurs in the West, where regions of both extreme heterotrophy and autotrophy exist. Autotrophy is prominent across the West and is sensitive to drought, particularly in understudied biomes such as arid desert shrublands, which may indicate that global riverine uptake of carbon dioxide is higher than hypothesized. Editor's summary: River organisms are the most important influence on the transport of carbon and other nutrients from land to sea. These ecosystems have been considered predominantly net heterotrophic, but Maavara et al. reveal that the rivers of the continental US also display a broad range from extreme heterotrophy to autotrophy. Increases in riverine gross primary productivity are particularly sensitive to drought conditions, and more than 70% of river metabolism occurs in the western US. —Jesse Smith [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Science is the property of American Association for the Advancement of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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PubType: Academic Journal
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  Data: River metabolism in the contiguous United States: A West of extremes.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Maavara%2C+Taylor%22">Maavara, Taylor</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yuan%2C+Zimin%22">Yuan, Zimin</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Johnson%2C+Andrew+M%2E%22">Johnson, Andrew M.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhang%2C+Shuang%22">Zhang, Shuang</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Aho%2C+Kelly+S%2E%22">Aho, Kelly S.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Brinkerhoff%2C+Craig+B%2E%22">Brinkerhoff, Craig B.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Logozzo%2C+Laura+A%2E%22">Logozzo, Laura A.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Raymond%2C+Peter%22">Raymond, Peter</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Science%22">Science</searchLink>. 11/6/2025, Vol. 390 Issue 6773, p622-627. 6p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Metabolism%22">Metabolism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Droughts%22">Droughts</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Photosynthesis%22">Photosynthesis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hydrological+research%22">Hydrological research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Carbon+fixation%22">Carbon fixation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Respiration%22">Respiration</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Carbon+cycle%22">Carbon cycle</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22River+conservation%22">River conservation</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22West+%28U%2ES%2E%29%22">West (U.S.)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+States%22">United States</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: River metabolism is among the most uncertain fluxes in the global carbon cycle. We present estimates for gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) for more than 175,000 rivers across the contiguous United States (CONUS), including metabolic responses to extreme hydrological conditions. Our model predicts an annual GPP in CONUS rivers of 10.1 teragrams of carbon per year and an ER of 18.7 teragrams of carbon per year, which implies that net ecosystem productivity (NEP; where NEP = GPP – ER) is a small contributor to river carbon dioxide emissions. More than 70% of river metabolism occurs in the West, where regions of both extreme heterotrophy and autotrophy exist. Autotrophy is prominent across the West and is sensitive to drought, particularly in understudied biomes such as arid desert shrublands, which may indicate that global riverine uptake of carbon dioxide is higher than hypothesized. Editor's summary: River organisms are the most important influence on the transport of carbon and other nutrients from land to sea. These ecosystems have been considered predominantly net heterotrophic, but Maavara et al. reveal that the rivers of the continental US also display a broad range from extreme heterotrophy to autotrophy. Increases in riverine gross primary productivity are particularly sensitive to drought conditions, and more than 70% of river metabolism occurs in the western US. —Jesse Smith [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Science is the property of American Association for the Advancement of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1126/science.adu9843
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 6
        StartPage: 622
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Metabolism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Droughts
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Photosynthesis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Hydrological research
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Carbon fixation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Respiration
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Carbon cycle
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: River conservation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: West (U.S.)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: United States
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: River metabolism in the contiguous United States: A West of extremes.
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              M: 11
              Text: 11/6/2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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