A schematic showing the ocean current "conveyor belt".
Click on image for full size
Deep Water and the CO2 cycle
The deep ocean waters are under pressure and are much colder than layers of the ocean which are closer to the surface.
Dissolved carbon dioxide seems to be absent from the deep ocean water and as a result calcium carbonate, from the shells of sea organisms such as foraminifera, as well as carbonates washed into the sea from weathered rocks are able to dissolve in the deepest ocean waters.
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