The BBC again. (Who's paying them?)
Nearly 50% of the carbon dioxide that humans have pumped into the atmosphere over the last 200 years has been absorbed by the sea, scientists say.
Consequently, atmospheric levels of the potent greenhouse gas are not nearly as high as they might have been.
(Just as well, else those who did'nt believe in man-made global warming, would be in a didactic sweat by now.)
Since the beginning of the industrial age around 1800, the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has increased from 280 parts per million (ppm) to 380 ppm.
"If the ocean had not removed 118 billion metric tonnes of carbon between 1800 and 1994, the CO2 level in the atmosphere would be about 55 parts per million greater than currently observed.
Thats making it harder for some marine animals to form shells."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3896425.stm
