The Antarctic's deglacial evolution offers new climate change insights

(originally published on Apple News via Newslanded on June 25, 2020)

“Keele University and the University of Exeter researchers have published a new study that could lead to improved climate change projection models and an alternative means to control atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

Antarctic iceberg | Image: Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Carbon sink processes during the Last Ice Age

The international experts investigated the role of Southern Ocean sea ice around Antarctica in regulating carbon dioxide levels during times of past climate change. Using atmospheric CO2 levels data from the Last Ice Age, they were able to advance new carbon sink notions involving the Southern Ocean, which occupies 14% of the earth’s surface.”

[The Southern Ocean] has captured around half of all human-related carbon that has entered the ocean to date, and is therefore crucial for regulating carbon dioxide levels resulting from human activity. — Professor Chris Fogwill, Keele University

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