Die ZEIT, November 2009: Die CO2-Speicher der Weltmeere sind voll: Bislang haben die Ozeane gut ein Viertel des vom Menschen verursachten Kohlendioxids aufgenommen. Doch jetzt verweigern die Meere langsam ihren Dienst.
Reality check: Southern Ocean ‘Sink’ Turns The Tide On Climate Alarm
The Southern Ocean has recovered its ability to suck vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, overturning fears the natural “sink” had stalled with dire consequences for future climate change.
Acting like a giant lung, the Southern Ocean carbon sink accounts for about 40 per cent of the ocean uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide.
Climate scientists had feared the uptake of carbon dioxide by the Southern Ocean had slowed in what was feared to be a “feedback” response to human activity.
New research published today in the journal Science reveals that rather than stalling, the amount of CO2 being absorbed by the Southern Ocean was on the rise again.
Benny Peiser from the London-based Global Warming Policy Foundation said it was “not the first time that lengthier observations have led to the demise of a short-term climate scare”.
“The fact that researchers now acknowledge they cannot predict future trends indicates that they don’t fully understand the underlying physics and mechanisms,” Dr Peiser said.
