New study shows there has been no rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide fraction in past 160 years

Once again we have to point out that no matter how many times Al Gore, the Democrats in Congress and the main stream media tells you otherwise, the debate is clearly NOT over on man-made global warming.

One of the key elements of the complex global warming models touted by global warming proponents like NASA and the East Anglia CRU is the assumption that the oceans and plants (for a variety of reason, including deforestation) are losing their ability to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, and the man made or anthropogenic fraction of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing.

The University of Bristol recently conducted a study where they researched the anthropogenic fraction of CO2 in the atmosphere and found that there has been no statistically significant change in the last 160 years.

Science Daily reported on the new study:

Many climate models also assume that the airborne fraction will increase. Because understanding of the airborne fraction of carbon dioxide is important for predicting future climate change, it is essential to have accurate knowledge of whether that fraction is changing or will change as emissions increase.

To assess whether the airborne fraction is indeed increasing, Wolfgang Knorr of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol reanalyzed available atmospheric carbon dioxide and emissions data since 1850 and considers the uncertainties in the data.

In contradiction to some recent studies, he finds that the airborne fraction of carbon dioxide has not increased either during the past 150 years or during the most recent five decades.

Watts Up With That provides analysis of the new study:

This suggests that terrestrial ecosystems and the oceans have a much greater capacity to absorb CO₂ than had been previously expected.

The results run contrary to a significant body of recent research which expects that the capacity of terrestrial ecosystems and the oceans to absorb CO₂ should start to diminish as CO₂ emissions increase, letting greenhouse gas levels skyrocket. Dr Wolfgang Knorr at the University of Bristol found that in fact the trend in the airborne fraction since 1850 has only been 0.7 ± 1.4% per decade, which is essentially zero.

The strength of the new study, published online in Geophysical Research Letters, is that it rests solely on measurements and statistical data, including historical records extracted from Antarctic ice, and does not rely on computations with complex climate models.

You can also view the complete study at wattsupwiththat.com.