The recent cold spell has plunged the nation into a deep freeze, resulting in the closure of 247 national parks, the cancellation of 14 domestic flights, and the scrapping of 107 cruise ship voyages.
The recent cold spell has plunged the nation into a deep freeze, resulting in the closure of 247 national parks, the cancellation of 14 domestic flights, and the scrapping of 107 cruise ship voyages. While the cold snap brought relief by significantly reducing the prevalence of particulate matter obscuring our surroundings, a recent study indicates that, besides diminishing particulate matter, it is significantly contributing to the heightened uptake of carbon dioxide by the East Sea.
According to research conducted by a team of researchers including Professor Kitack Lee from the Division of Environmental Science & Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), and Professor Tongsup Lee and So-Yun Kim from the Department of Oceanography at Pusan National University, the cold atmosphere in the Arctic is influencing the absorption of carbon dioxide by the East Sea. The research findings were published in Geophysical Research Letters, an international journal by the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
The research team investigated the correlation between the East Sea’s surface-deep circulation and its carbon dioxide absorption capacity, drawing insights from observations in 1992, 1999, 2007, and 2019. During the initial period (1992-1999), the ocean absorbed 20 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. In the subsequent period (1999-2007), this amount decreased to under 10 million tons per year. However, in the final period (2007-2019), the carbon dioxide uptake surged to 30 million tons per year.
Read more at Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH)
Photo Credit: jcrane via Pixabay
