In years to come, the Arctic Ocean will absorb less CO2 than expected

We humans benefit from the oceans’ tremendous capacity to absorb greenhouse gases. Due to the low temperature of the water, the Arctic Ocean absorbs an especially large amount of CO2 in relation to its size. Due in part to climate change, this effect will be less pronounced in the future. A new study released by Universität Hamburg’s Cluster of Excellence CLICCS shows how much CO2 is released into the atmosphere in the Arctic Ocean by the erosion of coastal permafrost.

The world’s oceans mitigate climate change by absorbing roughly 30% of anthropogenic greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. But that percentage is now being affected by the impacts of global warming, e.g. ...