Climate Change Accelerates

Oceans that absorb a quarter of all the carbon belched into the atmosphere every day are losing their capacity to do so, accelerating global warming by as much as 30%. New research, which focuses on the compromised ability of Antarctica's Southern Ocean to soak up carbon emissions, suggests that climate change is already decades ahead of the grimmest predictions.

The research, published in the journal Science, describes the interplay of winds and ocean currents that has led to the saturation of "carbon sinks," which bind the element and keep it from being released into the atmosphere. As oceans become saturated—at an increasing rate—scientists will be forced to adjust predictions concerning carbon emissions. (More climate change stories.)