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

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.