Subtle temperature differences at the ocean surface allow more carbon dioxide (CO₂) to be absorbed, new research shows.
Scientists have thought that the ocean skin – a 0.01 mm sliver of surface water, thinner than a human hair, which is typically fractionally cooler than the water below – should increase the amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed from the atmosphere.
This is because cooler waters are more efficient at absorbing carbon dioxide. The gas concentration between this layer and the water some 2 mm deeper is what controls the exchange of the gas between the atmosphere and the ocean.
Theoretical and lab work have suggested this temperature difference should increase the amount of CO₂ absorbed by the ocean – but this had never been successfully observed at sea before.
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