The Deep Ocean Might Store Way Less Carbon Than We Hoped

Around 50 times more carbon dioxide is locked away in the oceans than in the atmosphere, making them one of the most important carbon sinks.

We can't rely on carbon capture and storage because we're producing too much CO 2 too quickly.

A new study shows that the deep ocean isn't able to hold as much carbon as was thought.

Scientists looked at the cycle of carbon as it's sucked up by plants near the surface of the water that moves down to the sea.

The process is more leakier and retains less carbon than previously thought.

The ocean is an important carbon sink, and the depth to which biological carbon sinks affects how much atmospheric carbon dioxide the ocean stores, according to a model analyst.

The study shows that the lifespan of carbon storage in the deep ocean may be less than thought.

It will take 100 years for carbon to be locked away.

It was thought that the deep ocean's circulation pathways would keep captured carbon out of the world for thousands of years.

According to the simulations used by the researchers, only 66 percent of the carbon in the North Atlantic Ocean would be stored for a century or more.

The amount of carbon that stays put for a century or more depends on a number of factors, including ocean currents and temperature.

The findings have implications for estimates of future predictions of carbon sequestration by global biogeochemical models, which may be overstated, as well as for carbon management strategies.

Models will need to be updated as the climate changes. As the ocean warms up, experts think it will mean less mixing between layers and less carbon going down to the bottom.

The better our models are, the better we can figure out what's coming and how we can prevent it. How much CO 2 we're producing, how much the ocean is capable of storing, and how long it's likely to be locked away for are all things scientists need to know.

It's possible that by augmenting the natural carbon cycle in various ways, more carbon could be taken out of atmospheric circulation, but we need to know just how efficient the deep ocean is as a carbon sink.

Artificially enhanced carbon storage by the ocean is one avenue being explored to help us achieve net zero by the year 2020. Baker says there are ocean schemes for removing carbon dioxide.

Our work suggests that the effectiveness of nature-based solutions is dependent on the assumption that carbon reaching the deep ocean will be stored for hundreds of years.

The research has appeared in a journal.