Publication Date:
2019
Description:
〈p〉We quantify the oceanic sink for anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉) over the period 1994 to 2007 by using observations from the global repeat hydrography program and contrasting them to observations from the 1990s. Using a linear regression–based method, we find a global increase in the anthropogenic CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 inventory of 34 ± 4 petagrams of carbon (Pg C) between 1994 and 2007. This is equivalent to an average uptake rate of 2.6 ± 0.3 Pg C year〈sup〉–1〈/sup〉 and represents 31 ± 4% of the global anthropogenic CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emissions over this period. Although this global ocean sink estimate is consistent with the expectation of the ocean uptake having increased in proportion to the rise in atmospheric CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, substantial regional differences in storage rate are found, likely owing to climate variability–driven changes in ocean circulation.〈/p〉
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics