Degassed versus Consumed Flux of CO₂ from the Third Pole

The Himalaya hosts hundreds of active geothermal springs, which emit a substantial fraction of CO2 into the atmosphere. The quantity and rate of metamorphic CO2 emissions provide an important input in understanding the global carbon cycle. The Himalaya controls the earth's carbon cycle and reflects a long-term climate variability driven by metamorphism in response to geochemical weathering caused by orogenic forcing. The CO2 degassing has significantly increased (similar to more than threefold) in recent decades compared to the estimated CO2 drawdown in the Himalaya due to silicate weathering. The present study highlights the research gaps and limitations associated with measuring degassed concentrations from a geothermal field to the atmosphere.