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Originally published in Science Express on 17 May 2007
Science 22 June 2007:
Vol. 316. no. 5832, pp. 1735 - 1738
DOI: 10.1126/science.1136188
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Reports

Saturation of the Southern Ocean CO2 Sink Due to Recent Climate Change

Corinne Le Quéré,1,2,3* Christian Rödenbeck,1 Erik T. Buitenhuis,1,2 Thomas J. Conway,4 Ray Langenfelds,5 Antony Gomez,6 Casper Labuschagne,7 Michel Ramonet,8 Takakiyo Nakazawa,9 Nicolas Metzl,10 Nathan Gillett,11 Martin Heimann1

Based on observed atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and an inverse method, we estimate that the Southern Ocean sink of CO2 has weakened between 1981 and 2004 by 0.08 petagrams of carbon per year per decade relative to the trend expected from the large increase in atmospheric CO2. We attribute this weakening to the observed increase in Southern Ocean winds resulting from human activities, which is projected to continue in the future. Consequences include a reduction of the efficiency of the Southern Ocean sink of CO2 in the short term (about 25 years) and possibly a higher level of stabilization of atmospheric CO2 on a multicentury time scale.

1 Max Planck Institut für Biogeochemie, Postfach 100164, D-07701 Jena, Germany.
2 School of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK.
3 British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.
4 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Earth System Research Laboratory, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305, USA.
5 Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Marine and Atmospheric Research, PMB1 Aspendale, Victoria 3195, Australia.
6 National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 14901, Wellington, New Zealand.
7 South African Weather Service, P.O. Box 320, Stellenbosch, 7599 South Africa.
8 Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement/Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (LSCE/IPSL), Gif-sur-Yvettes, Cedex 91191, France.
9 Center for Atmospheric and Oceanic Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan.
10 Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat: Experimentation et Approaches Numériques (LOCEAN/IPSL) CNRS, Université Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris, France.
11 Climate Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: c.lequere{at}uea.ac.uk

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)