Array of sensors aboard the RSS Discovery research ship

New research, partially funded by ESA, reveals that the cool ‘ocean skin’ allows oceans to absorb more atmospheric carbon dioxide than previously thought. These findings could enhance global carbon assessments, shaping more effective emission-reduction policies. The results are based on measurements taken by flux systems aboard research ships as they traversed the Atlantic Ocean. These sensors detected tiny differences in carbon dioxide in air swirling towards the ocean surface and away again, along with precise temperature readings of the ocean.

The photograph shows the bow of the RSS Discovery during the Atlantic Meridional Transect 19 in 2019, with the University of Southampton’s ISAR for measuring skin temperature, Plymouth Marine Laboratory’s eddy covariance instrument that measures carbon dioxide flux and the Sea-Bird HyperSAS that measures phytoplankton biomass, and IFREMER’s C-band radar that measures sea-surface properties.

Read full story: Thin cool surface skin boosts ocean’s carbon uptake