You may have heard of the "lungs of the planet ," referring to the Amazon rainforest or other green areas around the world. These areas are called "lungs" because of their ability to absorb CO2 from the planet, thus contributing to a cleaner and healthier environment for all living things.
One of the planet's lungs is located in the Atlantic region around the Tropic of Cancer. This oceanic zone removes a large portion of human-caused CO2 emissions from the planet. Did it stop functioning in the spring of 2010?
The lung of the Atlantic
The oceans can absorb large amounts of the CO2 we emit through industrial activities and remove it from the cycle by sinking it into the sediments. There is a global carbon balance in which, when there is a lot of carbon in the atmosphere, it tends to dissolve in ocean water. What is the problem with this phenomenon? When too much CO2 is added to the oceans, it causes acidification and, consequently, numerous negative impacts on marine flora and fauna, affecting biodiversity. This has also been addressed in discussions about the differences between climate change and global warming . The most well-known example is coral bleaching, a phenomenon closely linked to the impact of global warming.
Studies on CO2 absorption by the oceans estimate that they are capable of absorbing between 40 and 50% of all the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities since the Industrial Revolution. This engine that helps rid the planet of so much CO2 also has a fragile balance that depends, to a large extent, on global temperatures.
Studies are warning that the oceans, which filter greenhouse gases and mitigate their serious effects on the climate, have been losing their effectiveness for half a century. The journal Scientific Reports , part of the Nature group, published a study on January 30, 2017, warning of the extent to which rising temperatures, induced by both natural phenomena and human activity, could cause the oceans to shift from purifying the atmosphere to burdening it with even more greenhouse gases. This change is also linked to naturally occurring atmospheric particles that affect the global climate.
What happened in the spring of 2010?
Due to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, global temperatures do not stop increasing year after year. This region of the Atlantic known as the marine lung plays a fundamental role: the north equatorial current and that of the Canary Islands pass, two of the elements of the oceanic gyre that regulates the climate in the area.
However, in the spring of 2010, this "lung" (the Earth's lung) ceased functioning due to the significant rise in temperatures resulting from the aftermath of the intense El Niño phenomenon in 2009. Because it was not functioning during the spring of 2010, approximately 420 million tons of CO2 were not absorbed, representing 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions. This also underscores the importance of understanding the Earth's role within the broader context of the oceans.
In the spring of 2010, the effects of El Niño and the Multidecade Atlantic Oscillation caused the ocean surface temperature in that area to rise 3,4 degrees above normal and changed the speed of the winds, which disrupted two of the mechanisms that regulate the absorption of CO2, such as the one that also affects the consequences of global warming.
As a result of this phenomenon, the ocean's aquifer system temporarily collapsed, preventing it from absorbing the 29 million tons of CO2 that accumulated between February and May. It should also be noted that 1,6 million tons of greenhouse gases were released into the atmosphere during the spring of 2010.
Regions where there were major changes
The most notable changes were concentrated in the North Equatorial Current region. In that area, the ocean released approximately 1,2 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere during those months, compared to the normal absorption of 22,4 million tons.
The trend of rising global temperatures is warming the surface waters of the oceans. This is causing an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. This could threaten the ocean's ability to reduce and absorb the effects of CO2, a problem that will impact future air conditioning use .
