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A viral tweet by Peter Clack has sparked debate online with its bold claims about carbon dioxide (CO2) and its role in climate science. It states that oceans are the largest reservoir of CO2, supposedly holding 93% of it—50 times more than the atmosphere and 19 times more than land. The tweet dismisses concerns about rising CO2 levels as a “colossal scam,” accusing climate science of ignoring CO2’s importance in photosynthesis, oxygen production, and the global food chain. While these claims might sound scientific at first glance, they are misleading, lacking factual accuracy, and attempt to downplay the established link between human-driven CO2 emissions and global warming.
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Claim 1: The oceans hold 93% of all carbon dioxide.
Fact: This claim is misleading. Oceans hold about 93% of the Earth’s active carbon in the carbon cycle, but most of this carbon exists in the form of bicarbonate and carbonate ions, which are chemically stable. Only a tiny fraction is dissolved in CO2 gas. The post incorrectly implies that this carbon is interchangeable with atmospheric CO2, overlooking that carbon in the ocean is primarily locked in forms that do not directly contribute to atmospheric concentrations. Moreover, this reservoir operates on slower timescales than the rapid changes in atmospheric CO2 levels caused by human activities.
Oceans act as a massive carbon sink, absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere through processes like diffusion and biological uptake by phytoplankton. Once absorbed, CO2 undergoes chemical reactions that convert it into bicarbonates and carbonates, which remain dissolved in seawater. This buffering system is crucial in regulating atmospheric CO2 levels but has limits. Excess CO2 emissions from human activities have disrupted this balance, leading to ocean acidification and negatively impacting marine life, such as coral reefs and shell-forming organisms.
Claim 2: This is 50 times more than the atmosphere and 19 times more than the land.
Fact: While oceans contain about 50 times more carbon than the atmosphere, the claim about land is exaggerated. Scientific estimates show that oceans store approximately 15-16 times more carbon than terrestrial ecosystems, not 19 times as suggested. By overstating the comparison, the tweet misleads readers about the relative contributions of different carbon sinks.
Carbon reservoirs in the Earth’s system are dynamic and interconnected. Land ecosystems, including forests, soils, and vegetation, store significant carbon and play a vital role in sequestering atmospheric CO2 through photosynthesis. The exaggerated comparison disregards the complexity of carbon cycling, where terrestrial ecosystems act as critical carbon sinks that buffer rising CO2 levels. Protecting these ecosystems is as vital as addressing oceanic absorption capacity to mitigate climate change.
Claim 3: The colossal scam about CO2 completely ignores the reality of CO2 in the formation of life, photosynthesis, the creation of oxygen, and the global food chain.
Fact: This claim is false. Climate science fully acknowledges CO2’s role in photosynthesis, which underpins oxygen production and the global food chain. However, the concern is not about CO2’s natural functions but the excess CO2 from human activities driving climate change. Rising atmospheric CO2 levels are causing global warming, ocean acidification, and disruptions to ecosystems and food security, all backed by extensive scientific research.
Photosynthesis, driven by CO2 and sunlight, is the foundation of life on Earth. It supports plant growth and oxygen production. However, increased atmospheric CO2 due to fossil fuel burning and deforestation has shifted this balance. The greenhouse effect traps heat in the atmosphere, leading to global warming. This warming alters ecosystems and affects the processes the claim highlights, such as crop productivity and oxygen generation in stressed environments.
Peter Clack’s tweet presents a distorted view of carbon storage and the role of CO2 in climate science. By selectively presenting data and making exaggerated claims, the post attempts to downplay the critical issue of anthropogenic CO2 emissions and their impacts on global warming. The oceans play a vital role in the carbon cycle but cannot indefinitely absorb the excess CO2 generated by human activities. Climate science does not ignore the importance of CO2 in natural processes but emphasises the urgent need to address its destabilising effects on the planet.
The oceans – the largest CO2-reservoir
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