Ventilation of the Deep Southern Ocean and Deglacial CO 2 Rise

Abstract

Telling Up from Down It is generally believed that carbon dioxide accumulates in the deep ocean during cold periods and that it is released rapidly and in huge quantities during deglaciation, but evidence of deep ocean carbon dioxide storage has been elusive. Now Skinner et al. (p. 1147 ; see the Perspective by Anderson and Carr ) present radiocarbon data from the Southern Ocean that indicate that the deep water circulating around Antarctica was about twice as old relative to the atmosphere as it is today, a condition considered indicative of carbon dioxide accumulation and storage.