In message .com, Pete
L writes
Only heard a short news item this morning about this. Researchers have
found that the Atlantic was absorbing far less CO2 than it did x years
ago. The reporter asked the 'expert' (well, I suppose he was) and he
had no idea why this was happening. Seems reasonable to suggest that
it will increase further global warming because of the green house
effect. I would have thought the simple answer is that if the ocean
temperature is warmer it will dissolve/absorb less CO2 so the result
isn't too surprising. Anybody know more about this?

The absorption of CO2 by the oceans isn't as simple as the equilibrium
between dissolved and atmospheric carbon dioxide. The fixation of CO2 by
phytoplankton, the formation of calcite and aragonite skeletal elements,
and the export of these to deeper waters by gravity, all have an effect.
This is why "fertilising" the oceans is one proposed technique of carbon
sequestration.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley