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Carbon cycle

Fickle trends in the ocean

Nature volume 458, pages 155–156 (2009)Cite this article

A model analysis of the uptake of carbon dioxide in the North Atlantic carries with it a cautionary reminder about interpreting what may be short-term trends as signals of long-term climate change.

Several observational studies have suggested that the carbon sink in the North Atlantic Ocean has decreased in recent decades, possibly reflecting the impact of long-term climate change. Writing in Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Thomas et al.1 propose that this latter interpretation needs to be viewed with great caution. From their modelling work, they argue that the observed trends instead reflect fluctuations on a decadal timescale that are a response to climate variability in the North Atlantic region.

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Figure 1: Impact of a positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation.

References

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  1. Nicolas Gruber is in the Environmental Physics Group, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland. nicolas.gruber@env.ethz.ch,

    Nicolas Gruber

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  1. Nicolas Gruber
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Gruber, N. Fickle trends in the ocean. Nature 458, 155–156 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/458155a

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