<p>Oceans are currently absorbing more CO2 than they are outgassing, so, no, warming oceans are not adding CO2 to the atmosphere.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When carbon dioxide CO2 is released into the atmosphere from the
burning of fossil fuels, approximately 50% remains in the atmosphere,
while 25% is absorbed by land plants and trees, and the other 25% is
absorbed into certain areas of the ocean.<a href="https://sos.noaa.gov/catalog/datasets/ocean-atmosphere-co2-exchange/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">1</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>For CO2 <em>in saltwater</em> Henry's Law is modified by the Revelle Factor (or Buffer Factor), reducing the rate of absorption of CO2 -</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In order to enter the ocean, carbon dioxide gas has to partition into
one of the components of carbonic acid: carbonate ion, bicarbonate
ion, or protonated carbonic acid, and the product of these many
chemical dissociation constants factors into a &quot;back-pressure&quot; that
limits how fast the carbon dioxide can enter the surface ocean.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revelle_factor" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Before the Revelle (Buffer) Factor was understood it was widely assumed Henry's Law meant atmospheric concentrations of CO2 would not rise significantly in response to fossil fuel emissions due to ocean absorption.</p>
<p>In any case we have inventories of CO2 emissions sources, natural and anthropogenic; we know where the additional CO2 is coming from.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-23T01:25:10.253Z
2024-08-23T01:25:10.253Z
Ken Fabian
<p>How do the trends in oceanic <span class="math-container">$\ce{CO2}$</span> concentrations compare to the oceanic temperature?
In other words, could the rise in atmospheric &quot;fossil fuel&quot; sourced <span class="math-container">$\ce{CO2}$</span> be partly due to the shift in the equilibrium of <span class="math-container">$\ce{CO2}$</span> (sol) vs. <span class="math-container">$\ce{CO2}$</span> (gas)?</p>

<climate-change><oceanography><co2>
Henry's law applied to oceanic surface temperature and turbulence
Darian Reed
# Henry's law applied to oceanic surface temperature and turbulence

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-08-20)

How do the trends in oceanic $\ce{CO2}$ concentrations compare to the oceanic temperature?
In other words, could the rise in atmospheric "fossil fuel" sourced $\ce{CO2}$ be partly due to the shift in the equilibrium of $\ce{CO2}$ (sol) vs. $\ce{CO2}$ (gas)?

**Tags:** climate-change, oceanography, co2


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-08-23. Score: 1

Oceans are currently absorbing more CO2 than they are outgassing, so, no, warming oceans are not adding CO2 to the atmosphere.

> When carbon dioxide CO2 is released into the atmosphere from the
> burning of fossil fuels, approximately 50% remains in the atmosphere,
> while 25% is absorbed by land plants and trees, and the other 25% is
> absorbed into certain areas of the ocean.[1](https://sos.noaa.gov/catalog/datasets/ocean-atmosphere-co2-exchange/)

For CO2 *in saltwater* Henry's Law is modified by the Revelle Factor (or Buffer Factor), reducing the rate of absorption of CO2 -

> In order to enter the ocean, carbon dioxide gas has to partition into
> one of the components of carbonic acid: carbonate ion, bicarbonate
> ion, or protonated carbonic acid, and the product of these many
> chemical dissociation constants factors into a "back-pressure" that
> limits how fast the carbon dioxide can enter the surface ocean.[2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revelle_factor)

Before the Revelle (Buffer) Factor was understood it was widely assumed Henry's Law meant atmospheric concentrations of CO2 would not rise significantly in response to fossil fuel emissions due to ocean absorption.

In any case we have inventories of CO2 emissions sources, natural and anthropogenic; we know where the additional CO2 is coming from.


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