http://forces.si.edu/arctic/images/02_02_04_a.gif

The ocean is an important distributor of the planet's heat through the deep sea "conveyor belt" circulation current which moves heat toward the poles from the equator driven by differences in heat and salinity. Therefore, the deep Antarctic Ocean plays a big roll inside this scenario. The process takes 1000 years to complete the circuit.

The Earth's carbon sinks absorb half of all human-produced carbon emissions. The Southern Ocean is one of the biggest sinks, absorbing 15% of CO2 emissions. The gas dissolves into the ocean's surface waters and is stored at cool depths where it is retained far longer than it would be at the warmer surface.

It is expected that the sources of CO2 go up in the near future at the same time the reservoir also increase. However, while the CO2 emissions have increased by 40%, the Southern Ocean reservoir has not changed in 24 years. There are some indications of the deceleration of the conveyor belt, but more alarming, the news that the Southern Ocean has stopped absorbing the carbon dioxide from the planet.

The issue is so critical for the planet that Climate models are predicting a continue feedback that will intensify during this century. More CO2 in the atmosphere is causing warming which in turn is releasing even more CO2 from the oceans, full 40 years before they were expected. Recent discoveries suggest that the North Polar Sea will be free of ice during the summer in 13 years, some 30 years ahead of schedule.

Visualization of the Global Conveyor Belt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9zjmC8InKA

How the conveyor belt flows coming from the oceans and around Antarctica.
http://www.science-in-salamanca.tas.csiro.au/themes/climate/6model_lrge.gif

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