Using direct measurements of CO2 exchange, or fluxes, between the air and sea, the scientists found the ocean around Antarctica absorbs 25% more CO2 than previous indirect estimates based on shipboard data have suggested. The Southern Ocean plays a major role in absorbing CO2…
The results – published in the journal Science Advances - show the summer Southern Ocean is likely to be a strong CO2 sink, challenging the much weaker estimates based on float data and model simulations, which the authors say “substantially underestimate” the observed CO2 uptake…
Lack of winter data is a general problem with ships because of the difficulty accessing the region at that time, which the floats partially address. Acknowledging that their cruise data only covers some parts of the Southern Ocean in summer, the authors say continued efforts towards high-quality observations are essential to improve estimates of air-sea CO2 fluxes.
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