saturation level

Scientists have issued a new warning about climate change after discovering a sudden and dramatic collapse in the amount of carbon emissions absorbed by the Sea of Japan, according to The Guardian UK.

Currently, the world’s oceans absorb 11 billion tons of carbon dioxide.  (It should be noted that is only one quarter of what is emitted.)  Many of limits on emissions are set based on what is expected of the ocean absorption.  If the oceans have reached a saturation limit we may need to restrict the allowable emissions even more.  

The scientists have discovered that the warmer atmospheric temperatures have affected a process called ‘ventilation’.  This is the way seawater flows and mixes and drags absorbed CO2 from surface waters to the depths.

They compared the dissolved CO2 in the seawater with similar samples collected in 1992 and 1999. The results showed the amount of CO2 absorbed during 1999 to 2007 was half the level recorded from 1992 to 1999.

Crucially, the study revealed that ocean mixing, a process required to deposit carbon in deep water, where it is more likely to stay, appears to have significantly weakened.

And while many believe that the oceans are not going to stop absorbing CO2, even reducing the uptake a small amount, will have its affects across the globe.  It becomes a vicious circle.  The more CO2 in the atmosphere the warmer it gets, the warmer is gets the harder it is for oceans to absorb CO2, the less the oceans absorb CO2 the more CO2 in the atmosphere, starting the circle over again.