Understanding carbon emissions from dredged sediments under changing environmental conditions is critical for assessing their environmental impact in large-scale sediment reuse projects. This study investigates the effects of moisture, temperature, and oxygen availability on CO₂ emission rates from dredged sediments collected from the Port of Rotterdam, comparing them with global soil data from nearly 400 laboratory incubations. Sediment incubation experiments revealed that CO₂ emissions increased with higher moisture levels, elevated temperatures, and oxygen exposure. However, the observed optimal moisture (>85% water-filled pore space) and temperature (20–30 °C) differed from transitional biogeochemical model assumptions, indicating a need to revisit these functions. Machine learning analysis using XGBoost suggested that similar moisture and temperature response patterns are widespread in both soils and sediments, whereas oxygen has stronger effect on sediments, likely because organic carbon is better preserved in reducing environments than aerated soils. Notably, under oxic conditions, dredged sediment exhibited higher CO2 emissions rates than many soils, implying the more reactive nature of carbon in dredged sediments. A two-pool model further indicated that carbon emissions in most incubations were dominated by the slow carbon pool, with differences in average emission rates throughout incubation reflecting the carbon reactivity of slow pool. These findings suggest that dredged sediments, if not handled properly, can act as a biochemical carbon bomb upon oxygen exposure. Therefore, carbon-sensitive sediment management strategies are essential to mitigate carbon emissions during sediment dredging, processing, and reuse. (2025-04-16)