Warming reduces ocean’s carbon dioxide uptake

Some of the first evidence that climate change is negatively impacting the ocean carbon sink has been identified.

Researchers found that higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide have largely been matched by higher levels of dissolved carbon dioxide in the seawater.

However, rising temperatures are slowing carbon absorption across a large portion of the subtropical North Atlantic. Since warmer water cannot hold as much carbon dioxide, the ocean’s carbon capacity is decreasing as it warms.