Researchers from the University of East Anglia have found that the North Atlantic Ocean is absorbing Carbon dioxide at a rapidly reducing rate. Drawing data from a ten-year study of the ocean’s CO2 absorption capacity, the researchers are reporting that the rate of absorption halved between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s.

Half of all emitted carbon is absorbed by our ecosystem while the other half remains in the atmosphere. The mechanisms that absorb CO2 are often referred to as “carbon sinks.” These sinks include bodies of water like ocean, wetlands and lakes and land-based mechanisms like plants and soil. As the ocean becomes a less efficient sink (and as other sinks like tree canopy and wetlands are destroyed for development), a larger and larger percentage of our CO2 emissions remain in the atmosphere.

As for an explanation for the decline, many researchers suggest that the ocean is reaching its CO2 saturation point. It is not yet known if the saturation point has been effected by human-induced emissions or whether it is a naturally occuring cycle.