endorheic

As an endorheic basin, the lake does not drain into the sea—and it’s the sole home for a rare, unique species of salamander.

That means the world’s endorheic basins today store carbon equivalent to the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere by seven hurricanes similar in magnitude to Hurricane Katrina, said Steven McNulty, a U.S.

Using estimates of how much carbon endorheic basins in China absorbed during a warm period 6,000 years ago, Yu’s team estimated how much carbon endorheic basins store each year.