Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Measurement of Carbon Dioxide Production from Radiolabeled Substrates in Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: June 27, 2016
Continental shelves as a variable but increasing global sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide
Goulven G Laruelle1, Wei-Jun Cai2, Xinping Hu3
1Department of Geoscience, Environment & Society, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, 1050, Belgium. goulven.gildas.laruelle@ulb.ac.be.
Abstract:
It has been speculated that the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) in shelf waters may lag the rise in atmospheric CO2. Here, we show that this is the case across many shelf regions, implying a tendency for enhanced shelf uptake of atmospheric CO2. This result is based on analysis of long-term trends in the air-sea pCO2 gradient (ΔpCO2) using a global surface ocean pCO2 database spanning a period of up to 35 years. Using wintertime data only, we find that ΔpCO2 increased in 653 of the 825 0.5° cells for which a trend could be calculated, with 325 of these cells showing a significant increase in excess of +0.5 μatm yr-1 (p < 0.05). Although noisier, the deseasonalized annual data suggest similar results. If this were a global trend, it would support the idea that shelves might have switched from a source to a sink of CO2 during the last century.
Related Concept Videos
Carbon-dioxide Fixation
Carbon Dioxide Transport in the Blood
Forms of CO2 Transport
1. Dissolved in plasma: A small percentage (7-10%) of CO2 is transported and dissolved directly in the plasma.
2. Carbaminohemoglobin: Just over 20% of CO2 is chemically bound to...
Global Climate Change
The Carbon Cycle
Carbon Skeletons
Increasing Function

