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We estimated the oceanic inventory of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2]) from 1980 to 1999 using a technique based on the global chlorofluorocarbon data set. Our analysis suggests that the ocean stored 14.8 petagrams of anthropogenic carbon from mid-1980 to mid-1989 and 17.9 petagrams of carbon from mid-1990 to mid-1999, indicating an oceanwide net uptake of 1.6 and 2.0 ± 0.4 petagrams of carbon per year, respectively. Our results provide an upper limit on the solubility-driven anthropogenic C[O.sub.2] flux into the ocean, and they suggest that most ocean genera[ circulation models are overestimating oceanic anthropogenic C[O.sub.2) uptake over the past two decades., Despite improvements in our understanding of the partitioning of anthropogenic C[O.sub.2] between the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere, substantial uncertainties and insufficient direct observational constraints continue. Recent decadal-scale changes in [...]