Oceans' Uptake of Manmade Carbon May Be Slowing

The oceans last year took up a record 2.3 billion tons of CO2 produced from burning of fossil fuels

Scientists at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory have released the first year-by-year accounting of how much carbon dioxide the oceans, which act as a sink for CO₂, have absorbed during the industrial era, which suggests the sea is struggling to keep up with rising emissions.

The study, appearing in this week’s issue of the journal Nature, estimates that the oceans last year took up a record 2.3 billion tons of CO₂ produced from burning of fossil fuels. But with overall emissions growing rapidly, the proportion of fossil fuel emissions absorbed by the oceans since 2000 may have declined by as much as 10 percent.

More

Top Stories

Researchers Discover Use for Carbon Dioxide in Conversion of Biomass Into Biofuel

The influence of CO2 is visible when comparing the steam gasification of walnut shells with and without CO2 in the gasification medium. [Image credit: Marco Castaldi and Heidi Butterman]

Researchers at Columbia have successfully discovered a beneficial use for carbon dioxide in the conversion of organic materials, such as grass and bark, into fuel.

More

Columbia Researchers Explain Gap Between Climate Change Information and Action

Columbia Researchers Explain Gap Between Climate Change Information and Action

A recent poll shows that the number of Americans who accept that human activity is changing Earth’s climate is declining, even though the scientific data is overwhelming and continues to build rapidly.

More

Multimedia

Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia's Earth Institute, discusses the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration during the event launch for Climate Change: Picturing the Science, written by Columbia scientists and edited by Gavin Schmidt. (5:43)
Find Columbia News on Facebook
The Record Special Issue: Leadership in Climate Research