science-363-6432-rocean-co2-sink-1994-2007

The oceanic sink for anthropogenic CO2 from 1994 to 2007

The ocean is an important sink for anthropogenic CO2 and has absorbed roughly 30% of our emissions between the beginning of the industrial revolution and the mid-1990s. This effect is an important moderator of climate change, but can we count on it to remain as strong in the future? Gruber et al. calculated the ocean uptake of anthropogenic CO2 for the interval from 1994 to 2007, which continued as expected. They also observed clear regional deviations from this pattern, suggesting that there is no guarantee that uptake will remain as robust with time.

By Nicolas Gruber, et al. Mar 15th, 2019