Really Sciency

Visit my other blog 'Really Sciency' looking at Climate Science and its portrayal, misrepresentation and denial in the media.

Monday 27 December 2010

Is the Sink sunk?

The ocean is losing it's appetite for carbon. The total uptake of carbon is declining

 One of the most concerning pieces of research to come out in the last year or so is the news that the Ocean uptake of Co2 seems to be declining.

About two thirds of all emitted Co2 is absorbed by the oceans, offsetting the effects our emissions have been having on the atmosphere. This is causing concern in its self because it causes the oceans to become less alkaline and more acidic over time and the altered chemistry can affect ocean life - a process known as Ocean Acidification.

But oceans cannot absorb carbon dioxide indefinitely, there must come a point of saturation when it stops or even emits - a tipping point. It seems unclear when this point will be reached but the latest research suggest that a decline has started which means a larger fraction of our emission will go directly into affecting the atmosphere.

More reports on this effect can be found here and here.

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