While the overall concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere continues to increase, causing the global temperature to rise, these land and ocean "sinks" slow the effect.Ī more precise understanding of where carbon sinks exist, how big they are, and how they may be changing as society continues to emit more CO2 is crucial to projecting the future trajectory of climate change. Once human-produced CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels and other activities enter the atmosphere, some of the gas is taken up by plants and some is absorbed into the ocean. National Science Foundation, NCAR's sponsor, as well as by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Airborne measurements show a drawdown of CO2 in the lower atmosphere over the Southern Ocean surface in summer, indicating carbon uptake by the ocean."
The atmosphere, however, can integrate fluxes over large expanses. "While measurements taken from the ocean surface and from land are important, they are too sparse to provide a reliable picture of air-sea carbon flux. "You can't fool the atmosphere," said NCAR scientist Matthew Long, the paper's lead author. The research also highlights the power that airborne observations have in revealing patterns in the global carbon cycle. The study, published in the journal Science, uses observations from research aircraft flown during three field projects over nearly a decade, as well as a collection of atmospheric models, to determine that the Southern Ocean takes up significantly more carbon than it releases. Previous research published in recent years suggested the Southern Ocean might be less of a sink than previously thought. The findings provide clarity about the role the icy waters surrounding Antarctica play in buffering the impact of increasing greenhouse gas emissions. The Southern Ocean is a significant carbon sink - absorbing a large amount of the excess carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by human activities - according to a new study led by scientists affiliated with the National Center for Atmospheric Research.