Antarctica Ice Protects Ocean from Carbon Disaster
- A new study challenges previous climate predictions by demonstrating that climate change has not yet diminished the Southern Ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide.
- According to scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), a leading international center of polar and marine research, the Southern Ocean around Antarctica acts as a "carbon sink"...
- As of the crucial role the Southern Ocean plays in mitigating this catalyst for climate change, AWI researchers have been studying this marine habitat.
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Southern Ocean Continues too Absorb CO2 Despite Climate Change,Study Finds
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A new study challenges previous climate predictions by demonstrating that climate change has not yet diminished the Southern Ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide. However,a delicate relationship remains in the balance.
According to scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), a leading international center of polar and marine research, the Southern Ocean around Antarctica acts as a “carbon sink” because it alone stores about 40% of anthropogenic CO emissions-that is, the CO specifically released into the atmosphere by humans.
As of the crucial role the Southern Ocean plays in mitigating this catalyst for climate change, AWI researchers have been studying this marine habitat. Observational data show that climate change has not yet appeared to diminish its ability to absorb CO. They sought to understand why, and recently published their results in Nature Climate Change.
The chemical composition of the upper ocean, or the top layer most influenced by the atmosphere, has helped to trap carbon in the deep sea. But as climate change continues to alter the South Ocean, the critical question is whether it will be able to continue keeping carbon at bay, or if the carbon will finally be released into the atmosphere, threatening the world as we know it.
Antarctica is the world’s carbon “sink”
As long as natural CO doesn’t surface from the deep ocean, the Southern Ocean can continue to absorb anthropogenic CO, a press release explains. The upper layer of the sea, closest to the surface, keeps the denser, CO-rich waters contained due to its low saline content.
“The water that upwells from the depths in the Southern Ocean is extremely old,” having not surfaced for hundreds or thousands of years. Described by study authors as “salty, nutrient-dense, and relatively warm,” the Southern Ocean will continue to function as a “sink” as long as the density stratification between these two layers remains intact.
Though, model studies predicted that strengthening westerly winds, provoked by climate change, would cause this CO-dense water to finally break to the surface. This expected event has not occurred, which has effectively curbed climate change. According to the study authors, the cold, low-salinity water of the upper ocean has continued to function as a natural barrier.
the good news is that climate change hasn’t changed the composition of the ocean around Antarctica yet. However, their study, which analyzed data from long-term observations and marine expeditions…