The Southern Ocean has begun to absorb more atmospheric¹ carbon dioxide (CO2) according to new research from an international team, including the University of East Anglia. A decade ago scientists announced that the amount of CO2 being absorbed by the Southern Ocean had not increased since the late 1980s. And it was feared that this 'carbon sink' might have begun to saturate². 

 

But new research to be published tomorrow (Friday) in the journal Science reveals that rather than stalling, the amount of CO2 being absorbed is on the rise again. 

 

It is thought that changes in weather - particularly wind patterns and temperature - are responsible for this reinvigoration.

 

But the research team say that while this may look like good news for climate change, the effect could only be temporary and that future trends cannot be predicted reliably.

 

Dr Dorothee Bakker, from UEA's School of Environmental Sciences, said: "The Southern Ocean behaves like a giant lung - breathing in and absorbing vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and releasing it later in the year.

 

"The seas around Antarctica absorb significantly more CO2 than they release. And importantly, they remove a large part of the CO2 that is put into the atmosphere by human activities such as burning fossil fuels. They basically help to slow down the growth of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere and lessen³ the rate of climate change.

 

"We looked at what is happening in the Southern Ocean - which is responsible for capturing 40 per cent of the global oceanic uptake of man-made CO2. 

 

"In the 2000s scientists pointed⁴ out that the Southern Ocean carbon sink might have begun to saturate. This was actually quite unexpected as it was previously⁵ thought that there would be a direct relationship between the amount of CO2 in the air, and the amount of CO2 absorbed by the sea.

 

"Research back then showed that the amount of CO2 captured by the Southern Ocean had not increased since the late 1980s. 

 

"But our findings reveal that the tables have turned and that this carbon sink has reinvigorated over the past decade. It is much stronger - and it has in fact regained⁶ its expected strength."

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