# Ocean absorbs more fossil fuel carbon while land uptake stalls, 30 years of data show

Source: [Earth News - Earth Science News, Earth Science, Climate Change](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-ocean-absorbs-fossil-fuel-carbon.html) · 2026-11-13 · Earth & Climate
Page: https://themorning.science/story/ocean-absorbs-more-fossil-fuel-carbon-while-land-uptake-stalls-30-years-of-data-8ca7e703c3ef5ca1
Kind: research · Impact: medium

## In brief

- The ocean has absorbed carbon dioxide from fossil fuel emissions at an increasing rate since 1990.
- Net carbon uptake by forests, soils and other land ecosystems has not grown over the same period.
- The study, led by scientists at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, is based on 30 years of data.

## Why it matters

The findings show that the ocean and land are not changing in step as natural carbon sinks, which bears on how much fossil fuel CO2 stays in the atmosphere.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-13: New study reports ocean and land carbon uptake trends from 30 years of data

## Coverage

- [Ocean absorbs more fossil fuel carbon while land uptake stalls, 30 years of data show](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-ocean-absorbs-fossil-fuel-carbon.html) — Earth News - Earth Science News, Earth Science, Climate Change, 2026-11-13

Tags: carbon cycle, ocean, land carbon sink, fossil fuels, climate

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science