Scientists confirm Southern Ocean absorbs much more carbon than it releases

The study, published in the journal Science, found that the waters in the region absorbed roughly 0.53 more petagrams (530 million metric tons) of carbon than they released each year, with stronger summertime uptake and less wintertime outgassing than other recent observations have indicated.

A new study has found that the Southern Ocean, the continuous body of saltwater around Antarctica, is absorbing more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases.

While previous studies and modeling had left researchers uncertain about how much atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) gets absorbed by the waters circling Antarctica, the new observations from research aircraft have confirmed that it is a strong carbon sink and an important buffer for the effects of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

The study, published in the journal Science, found that the waters in the region absorbed roughly 0.53 more petagrams (530 million metric tons) of carbon than they released each year, with stronger summertime uptake and less wintertime outgassing than other recent observations have indicated.

"Airborne measurements show a drawdown of carbon dioxide in the lower atmosphere over the Southern Ocean surface in summer, indicating carbon uptake by the ocean," said Matthew Long, lead author of the study and a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The Southern Ocean is a stronger carbon sink than previous ocean acidity measurements indicated. Using instruments flown on planes, scientists confirmed that the icy water around Antarctica absorbs much more CO2 from the atmosphere than it releases. 🛫 🌊 https://t.co/vZ5IAXasm5 pic.twitter.com/0reNPsymqc

— NASA Atmosphere (@NASAAtmosphere) December 2, 2021