Big peat bog discovery in Congo

Wildlife Extra says about this video:

Vast peatland found in Congo Republic

An enormous peatland, the size of England, has been discovered in a remote part of Congo-Brazzaville and is thought to contain billions of tonnes of peat that date back 10,000 years. It is hoped the carbon-rich material could shed light on centuries of environmental change in this little-studied region.

Dr Simon Lewis, from the University of Leeds, said: “It’s remarkable that there are parts of the planet that are still uncharted territory. Few people venture into these swamps as they are quite difficult places to move around in and work in.”

He told The Guardian: “The Congo peatland is a major store of carbon, slowly removing carbon from the atmosphere. This should, if the region is not drained for agricultural use, store billions of tonnes of carbon for the long term, keeping it out of the atmosphere.

“Additionally, as peat develops it [retains concurrent] environmental conditions so can provide a window on the past. Pollen captured as the peat forms can be linked to the vegetation [of the] time.

“This is important for the central Congo basin region as so little is known about the region, either today or in the past. Understanding past vegetation and climatic changes can help scientists make robust assessments of how the climate will likely change in the future and how that will [affect] the swamp forest and peat.”

The bog was first found by satellite images and an expedition, starting from Itanga village in April, confirmed it was there.

From The Guardian about this:

Along the way their guide encountered a gorilla, while on a couple of nights a herd of elephants thundered past the camp. Crocodiles were also a potential danger.