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Surprise Drop In Carbon Dioxide Absorbed By East/Japan Sea

Date:
January 7, 2009
Source:
American Geophysical Union
Summary:
The East/Japan Sea in the western North Pacific is ventilated from the surface to the bottom of the ocean over decades. Authors conclude that overturning circulation is weakening, slowing down the transport of anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the surface to the interior of the East/Japan Sea.
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The East/Japan Sea in the western North Pacific is ventilated from the surface to the bottom of the ocean over decades. Such short overturning circulation indicates that carbon dioxide (CO2) from human emissions is able to pervade the East/Japan Sea on similarly short timescales.

Three surveys of the East/Japan Sea (conducted in 1992, 1999, and 2007, respectively) have allowed scientists to measure changes in the sea accumulation rate of CO2 emitted by humans in response to changes in surface conditions.

Park et al. analyze data from these surveys and find that the average uptake rate of anthropogenic CO2 by the East/Japan Sea from 1999 to 2007 was half of what it was for the period between 1992 and 1999.

Further, anthropogenic CO2 absorbed by the water more recently was confined to waters less than 300 meters (984 feet) in depth.

Because emissions have in fact accelerated over the past 10 years, the authors conclude that overturning circulation is weakening, slowing down the transport of anthropogenic CO2 from the surface to the interior of the East/Japan Sea.


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Materials provided by American Geophysical Union. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Geun-Ha Park et al. Sudden, considerable reduction in recent uptake of anthropogenic CO2 by the East/Japan Sea. Geophysical Research Letters, DOI: 10.1029/2008GL036118

Cite This Page:

American Geophysical Union. "Surprise Drop In Carbon Dioxide Absorbed By East/Japan Sea." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 January 2009. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090102101045.htm>.
American Geophysical Union. (2009, January 7). Surprise Drop In Carbon Dioxide Absorbed By East/Japan Sea. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090102101045.htm
American Geophysical Union. "Surprise Drop In Carbon Dioxide Absorbed By East/Japan Sea." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090102101045.htm (accessed March 18, 2024).

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