evidence: "When we started in the 70s and 80s, we had this concept: we’ll measure [carbon dioxide concentrations in the ocean] 10 years later, and we’ll just see the anthropogenic input," says Feely. "We had very simplistic ideas that the anthropogenic changes would be the only changes we would see," he adds a little ruefully. [...] Continuous measurements of the atmosphere are obtained at cold and remote observatories on the shores of the Southern Ocean, such as Palmer Station on the Antarctic Peninsula. These atmospheric data complement the direct measurements of ocean water made during research cruises. (Photograph courtesy Jeffrey Kietzmann, National Science Foundation.) Le Quéré expected to see a steady increase in the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the Southern Ocean between 1981 and 2004 (blue line). Instead, weather station measurements (red line) suggested year-to-year variability, but no long-term increase over time. (Graph by Corrine Le Quéré, University of East Anglia.)