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Where do fossil fuel emissions end up?

Geology assistant professor Katsumi Matsumoto, who researches carbon cycles, says approximately half of the carbon dioxide emitted in recent decades has remained in the atmosphere. The oceans absorb about 30 percent, and land plants and soils absorb the rest. This partitioning has changed in the past and will change in the future, as we continue to modify the land surface and marine environment.

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