Earth rescue signal? The Southern Ocean is absorbing carbon violently, and the annual carbon absorption is about 530 million tons more than the release

The Earth's climate system is actually very complex, and changes in any factor may have an impact on the Earth's climate system.

Our climate system has actually changed a lot over the long history of our planet. The climate system is extremely important to life, and every change in the climate system may affect the existence of life.

And is the current climate system on Earth cooling or warming? According to the research of scientists, we found that the Southern Ocean is actually absorbing carbon continuously, and its annual carbon absorption is 530 million tons more than its carbon release.

Earth's five oceans

The Southern Ocean is unfamiliar to many people, because in our general understanding, the world's ocean plates have always been composed of four oceans: the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. The Southern Ocean is unheard of. Ocean Plate.

And the Southern Ocean is indeed not recognized from the beginning. In 1915, National Geographic drew up a map of the world and determined that there are indeed only four oceans in the world.

In fact, the first time the Southern Ocean was recognized was on June 8, 2021, World Oceans Day, when the American Geographical Society announced the recognition of the existence of the fifth largest ocean in the world. Since then, the Southern Ocean has its own "legitimately recognized identity".

The fifth largest ocean in the world - the Southern Ocean

Since the regional scope of the Southern Ocean is located near a special Antarctica, changes in oceanographic data in the Southern Ocean are of great reference value for environmental changes.

Near the Southern Ocean, there is a well-known strong ocean current in the world, that is, the Antarctic Circulation. As the name suggests, this current moves around Antarctica.

According to expert statistics, the total length of the Antarctic circulation is 21,000 kilometers, and the direction of movement has been kept moving eastward. Due to the long length and strong force of the Antarctic circulation, it has always had a great impact on the Antarctic continent, including the surrounding waters.

Due to the influence of the Antarctic circulation, a special type of water mass, the Antarctic bottom water, is also formed near Antarctica.

In the Southern Ocean, climate change is actually very fast. According to expert research, the climate of the Southern Ocean region is easily affected by some very small factors. This also means that the rate of climate change in the Southern Ocean region is still very fast compared to other regions.

Although the "fifth ocean" the Southern Ocean only occupies 30% of the total area of ​​the earth's oceans, its influence is huge.

According to the research of scientists, the area of ​​the Southern Ocean has the intersection of ocean currents and ocean currents. At the same time, in the Southern Ocean region, there are also junctions for heat transfer and carbon transfer between the atmosphere and the deep ocean.

From this point of view, the Southern Ocean waters have a very large impact on the overall climate of the earth, and the status of this fifth ocean in human history is extremely important.

"Carbon sequestration" in the Southern Ocean

Judging from the scientific research results published by scientists in "Nature Communications", on Earth, a "slow motion" collision has occurred in the plate tectonics region.

On the basis of this "slow motion" collision, there is even a "carbon absorption" phenomenon. This ingested carbon will not be re-released in the form of volcanic emissions, but will be locked in the depths of the earth indefinitely.

Especially in the Southern Ocean region, scientists have found that this large amount of "carbon absorption" also exists in this region through data comparison.

In the waters of the Southern Ocean, the inhalation volume will generally be slightly stronger in summer, and the outgassing volume will be less in winter. Through a comparison of poor data, scientists found that in the Southern Ocean, the annual "carbon absorption" is actually 530 million tons more than the "carbon release".

This also proves that there is indeed a surprising phenomenon of carbon absorption in the Southern Ocean. Therefore, in the lower atmosphere of the Southern Ocean in summer, the content of carbon dioxide generally decreases.

From the perspective of the overall ecosystem of the earth, this "carbon absorption" phenomenon is actually not a very strange phenomenon. Our ocean itself is an important part of the climate cycle system in nature. The existence of the ocean is extremely important for the production of oxygen and the absorption of carbon dioxide on the earth.

Is this the Earth's "self-help" signal?

In recent years, the "greenhouse effect" has gradually become the most serious problem in the world's climate system. Due to the long-term damage to the earth's environment by human beings, the carbon dioxide we emit on the earth every year is actually very huge. Therefore, the temperature of the earth is still rising.

So the "carbon absorption" behavior of the Southern Ocean this time has also made many people wonder if this is the "self-rescue" behavior of the earth? Will our earth cool down in the future due to the "carbon sequestration" of the oceans?

The answer may be disappointing. In fact, the implementation of climate cooling by the earth through the ocean is undoubtedly a dream for human beings. Compared with the overall climate system of the earth, the "carbon sequestration" behavior in the Southern Ocean region actually has less impact, and most of the affected areas are only over the Southern Ocean itself.

Our planet is not cooling down, but is heating up. If we want to cool the earth, we still need to protect the environment. After all, the main culprit behind the current climate change on the earth is human beings.