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The Atlantic stores 13% more carbon dioxide anthropogenic (caused by human activity) which is thought to date. Is the conclusion of an international study in which researchers have taken part of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and concluding that the amount of anthropogenic CO2 in the Atlantic is 54 GtC, instead of the estimated 47 to date (each gigatonnes are 1015 grams). Ie that the measurements obtained in the late twentieth century were 13% undervalued. The investigation, which is part of the project CARBOOCEAN of the European Union, published in the journal Biogeosciences.

The study was conducted in the Atlantic Ocean for its important role in global ocean circulation and ocean as the largest amount of CO2 stored with respect to its total volume. However, according to researcher Marcos Vazquez CSIC, Institute of Marine Research in Vigo, "the findings are extrapolated to any other of the world ocean, so the overall amount of carbon stored may be larger than estimated so far" .

To estimate the amount of anthropogenic carbon dioxide, the researchers used five methods of analysis, combining classical and modern techniques. Four of these methods are based on measures of dissolved CO2, salinity, temperature, alkalinity and nutrients in seawater. The fifth is based on estimates from the presence of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons in industrial use) in the ocean. It is expected that the analysis and comparison of the results used to identify the shortcomings of each method and improved.

The investigation, which in addition to Spanish researchers have participated French scientists, U.S. and Norway, is part of the European project CARBOOCEAN, which aims to accurately assess the sources and sinks of anthropogenic carbon in the ocean since 1800 (at the time starting the industrial revolution) and to estimate what might happen in the future.