Natural Sinks Still Sopping Up Carbon

Earth’s ecosystems keep soaking up more carbon as greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere, new measurements find. The research contradicts several recent studies suggesting that “carbon sinks” have reached or passed their capacity. By looking at global measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the new work, presented at an annual conference on global monitoring, calculates instead that total sinks have increased roughly in line with rising emissions.

Exactly where the sinks are isn’t clear. One possibility is that forests are regrowing in parts of the world more than scientists had thought, sucking up carbon in the process. Or the oceans may be taking up significantly more carbon than researchers had estimated.