With the ocean absorbing more carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) over the past decade, less of the greenhouse gas is reaching the Earth's atmosphere. That's decidedly good news, but it comes with a catch: Rising levels of CO 2 in the ocean promote acidification, which breaks down the calcium carbonate shells of some marine organisms. Geographers have determined why the ocean has absorbed more carbon over the past decade. Credit: Copyright Michele Hogan The cause of this recent increase in oceanic CO 2 uptake, which has implications for climate change, has been a mystery. But new research from UC Santa Barbara geographer Timothy DeVries and colleagues demonstrates that a slowdown of the ocean's overturning circulation is the likely catalyst. Their findings appear in the journal Nature . "Such a slowdown is consistent with the projected effects of anthropogenic climate change, where warming and freshening of the surface ocean from melting ice caps leads to ...
All about Ecology