A new United Nations report has raised alarms about critical gaps in scientific knowledge of how the world’s oceans absorb and store carbon, saying these blind spots could skew climate predictions and weaken global climate planning. The assessment, released by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, highlights that uncertainties in ocean carbon cycles — including long-term carbon uptake, biological processes and regional variability — are large enough to affect climate model outputs and policy decisions.
The oceans currently take in about one-quarter of human carbon dioxide emissions, but models differ by 10–20 % or more in estimating how much carbon the sea actually stores. These discrepancies are linked to limited observational data, especially from deeper waters, and a poor understanding of how warming, ocean circulation shifts, plankton dynamics and microbial communities influence carbon storage.
Scientists warn that without expanded global monitoring, enhanced climate-ocean models and coordinated research, climate projections may continue to misjudge how much carbon the ocean will absorb in the future. This could have direct consequences for national emissions targets and adaptation strategies, particularly for coastal communities facing rising seas and more extreme weather.
The report calls for a roadmap to strengthen international cooperation, robust ocean observing systems and improved scientific capacity worldwide. News as reported
