Carbon Dioxide Exchange Between Atmosphere and Ocean and the Question of an Increase of Atmospheric CO2 during the Past Decades

From a comparison of C14/C1s and Cla/C1* ratios in wood and in marine material and from a slight decrease of the C14 concentration in terrestrial plants over the past 50 years it can be concluded that the average lifetime of a CO, molecule in the atmosphere before it is dissolved into the sea is of the order of 10 years. This means that most of the CO, released by artificial fuel combustion since the beginning of the industrial revolution must have been absorbed by the oceans. The increase of atmospheric CO, from this cause is at present small but may become significant during future decades if industrial fuel combustion continues to rise exponentially. Present data on the total amount of C 0 2 in the atmosphere, on the rates and mechanisms of exchange, and on possible fluctuations in terrestrial and marine organic carbon, are inadequate for accurate measurement of future changes in atmospheric COP An opportunity exists during the International Geophysical Year to obtain much of the necessary information.