Anthropogenic CO2 in Southern Ocean surface waters: evidence from stable organic carbon isotopes

We present an approach for tracing the fate of anthropogenic CO₂, compiling a large data set of stable organic carbon isotope ratios from surface sediments, plankton, and sinking matter in the Atlantic Ocean. The δ¹³C values of sinking matter are generally lower by 0.5–4.6‰ compared to the surface sediments. This difference increases with increasing latitude, which is explained by a stronger modern increase in surface water CO₂ (aq)] in the Southern Ocean relative to the Tropical/Subtropical Ocean. Preindustrial dissolved CO₂ concentrations in Atlantic surface waters, estimated from the δ¹³C_org of surface sediments, are compared to recently measured surface water CO₂ (aq)] values taken from literature. We obtain only a slight increase in CO₂ (aq)] at lower latitudes but a significant change of about 7 ± 2 μ m in high latitudinal surface waters which we attribute to anthropogenic perturbation. Our results suggest that CO₂ released by human activities has been stored in Southern Ocean surface waters.