Navigating the ocean carbon sink: insights from The Ocean Race

The ocean critically mitigated global surface warming by taking up a large portion of the additional carbon released to the climate system by human activities. The strength of this carbon sink depends on ocean dynamics and its interaction with the natural carbon cycle, both of which are critically altered by the ongoing climatic changes, making detailed global monitoring essential. However, the vastness and variability of the ocean makes collecting enough long-term CO₂ observations challenging.

During The Ocean Race, Team Malizia collected underway temperature, salinity and CO₂ fugacity data all around the globe, creating a unique dataset that enhances our understanding of oceanic carbon dynamics. This dataset shows the potential of racing sailboats as new platforms global-scale ocean CO2 monitoring. Using these vessels enables data collection across diverse and often hard-to-reach regions, offering a new approach to addressing knowledge and data gaps in the carbon cycle.

Here, we present key findings from this dataset, including a case study from the North Atlantic where a storm event triggered significant CO₂ release. This observation provides new insights on the mechanisms driving the CO₂ flux between the ocean and atmosphere in this region. These findings underscore the value of racing sailboats in revealing new insights into the ocean’s carbon sink and highlight their role as promising tools for carbon cycle research in an era of climate change.