Indirect evidence suggests that the Southern Ocean is a net carbon sink and has absorbed as much as 15% of the carbon emissions emitted by humanity since the industrial revolution. But at some times of year and in specific places in this region, carbon-rich surface waters release CO2 into the atmosphere.
Now, researchers are getting some of their first glimpses in near-real time of what happens in the Southern Ocean, particularly in winter. “Right off the bat, we are seeing CO2 fluxes into the atmosphere that are much greater than we had estimated before,” Sarmiento says. “It’s just revolutionary.”
in the time remaining, to help us understand how the man-made system of capitalism will lead to the extinction of our human species, and so many others.
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Antarctica’s Southern Ocean May No Longer Help Delay Global Warming
Click here to access article by Jeff Tollefson posted on The Real News Network from an article originally from Scientific American (behind a paywall).