How we discovered that the ocean's surface absorbs much more carbon dioxide than previously thought

The oceans play a pivotal role in drawing down atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) and have so far acted as a brake on the full impact of climate change. Current estimates of the CO₂ from the atmosphere that disappears in the ocean, commonly referred to as the ocean CO₂ sink, suggests that around 25% of all human CO₂ emissions have been taken up by the oceans.