How Hurricanes May Add to Global Warming New Research Shows That Hurricanes Pump More CO2 into the Air by Roiling Oceans

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Scientists tracking the global warming gas carbon dioxide (CO2) should look at what hurricanes do to the surface of the sea.

The ocean soaks up about a third of the CO2 coming from fossil fuel burning and forest clearance. But new research shows that hurricanes pump some of that CO2 back into the air - and could hold important implications for global warming.

Nicholas Bates at the Bermuda Biological Station For Research at Berry Beach calls this feedback effect "significant." He explains that "hurricanes, essentially, are making oceans lose CO2." This enhances the accumulation of the climate warming gas in the atmosphere. That, in turn, has impacts - that are still …