The Carbon Cycle is the system of chemical transformations of carbon-containing compounds in the exchanges between the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. It is a biogeochemical cycle of great importance for the regulation of the Earth’s climate, and in it basic activities are involved to sustain life.
Summary
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- 1 Natural state
- 2 Carbon Cycle
- 3 Types of Cycles
- 1 Life cycle
- 2 Biogeochemical cycle
- 4 Storage
- 5 Exploitation
- 6 Source
- 7 External links
Natural state
Carbon is an essential component for plants and animals. It is part of compounds such as: glucose, a carbohydrate important for the performance of processes such as: respiration; it is also involved in photosynthesis in the form of CO 2 (carbon dioxide) as it is found in the atmosphere.
The fundamental carbon reserve, in CO 2 molecules that living beings can assimilate, is the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. This gas is in the atmosphere in a concentration of more than 0.03% and every year approximately 5% of these CO 2 reserves are consumed in the photosynthesis processes, that is to say that all the carbon dioxide is renewed in the atmosphere each 20 years.
In the biosphere as a whole, most of the respiration is done by the roots of plants and soil organisms and not, as it might seem, the more visible animals. Green vegetables that contain chlorophyll take CO 2 from the air and during photosynthesis release oxygen, they also produce the essential nutritional material for living beings. Since all green plants on earth carry out this same process on a daily basis, it is not even possible to imagine the amount of CO 2 used in photosynthesis.
To the extent that CO 2 is consumed by plants, it is also replaced through the respiration of living beings, by the decomposition of organic matter and as a final product of oil, coal, gasoline combustion, etc. Living beings and many natural phenomena such as fires participate in the carbon cycle. Aquatic living things take CO 2 from water . The solubility of this gas in water is much higher than it is in air.
There is also carbon in carbonate rocks (limestone, coral) and in fossil fuels (mineral coal and oil).
During photosynthesis, green plants take up CO 2 from the abiotic environment and incorporate the carbon into the carbohydrates they synthesize. Part of these carbohydrates are metabolized by the same producers in their respiration, returning carbon to the surrounding environment in the form of CO 2 . Another part of these carbohydrates are transferred to animals and other heterotrophs, which also release CO 2 when breathing.
Carbon Cycle
Carbon cycle
The complete carbon cycle requires metabolic decomposers in the organic compounds of dead organisms and add new amounts of CO 2 to the environment. To all of the above must be added the enormous amount of CO 2 that reaches the atmosphere as a product of volcanic activity, the erosion of carbonate rocks and, above all, the burning of fossil fuels by man.
Carbon is an element. It is part of the oceans, air, rocks, soils and living beings. Coal doesn’t stay in one place, it’s always on the move!
- Carbon goes from the atmosphere to plants.
In the atmosphere, carbon combines with oxygen in a gas called carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). With the help of the Sun, through the process known as photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is extracted from the air and becomes food.
- Carbon goes from plants to animals.
Through food chains, carbon from plants goes to the animals that eat them. Animals that eat other animals also obtain carbon through their food.
- Carbon goes from plants and animals to the soil. .
When plants and animals die, their bodies, wood, and leaves decompose on the ground. Part of the decomposed matter is buried and after millions and millions of years, it becomes fossil fuel.
- Carbon goes from living things to the atmosphere.
Every time you breathe out, you are releasing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into the atmosphere. Animals and plants get rid of carbon dioxide gas through a process known as respiration.
Carbon from fossil fuels goes into the atmosphere when the fuel is burned. When humans burn fossil fuels to power their factories, power plants, cars, and trucks, most of the carbon quickly enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas. Each year, five and a half billion tons of carbon are released in the form of burned fossil fuels. This is equivalent to the weight of 100 million African elephants. Of the large amount of carbon released by fuels, 3.3 billion tons enter the atmosphere, and most of the rest is dissolved in seawater.
- Carbon moves from the atmosphere to the oceans.
The oceans and other bodies of water absorb some of the carbon from the atmosphere. Carbon dissolves in water. Marine animals use carbon to create the material for their skeletons and shells.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere. Without this and other greenhouse gases, Earth would be an icy place. But humans have burned so much fuel that there is approximately 30% more carbon dioxide in the air today than 150 years ago. According to information obtained from the ice sheets, the atmosphere had not contained such a quantity of carbon for approximately 420,000 years. The recent increase in greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, is causing our planet to get hotter. Carbon also moves across our planet over long time scales. For example, over millions of years, the weathering of rocks on land can add carbon to surface water,
Carbon can be removed from salt water over long time scales when it is collected by the shells and bones of marine animals and plankton at the bottom of the sea. These shells and bones are made of limestone, which contains carbon. When deposited on the seafloor, carbon is stored outside the carbon cycle for long periods of time. The amount of limestone deposited in the ocean depends somewhat on the amount of shallow, tropical and warm oceans on the planet, because that is where limestone-producing organisms, such as corals, proliferate. Carbon can be released back into the atmosphere if the limestone melts or metamorphoses into a subduction zone.
Cycle Types
Biological cycle
It includes the exchanges of carbon (CO 2 ) between living beings and the atmosphere, that is, photosynthesis, the process by which carbon is retained in plants and the respiration that returns it to the atmosphere. This cycle is relatively fast, estimating that the renewal of atmospheric carbon occurs every 20 years.
Biogeochemical cycle
Regulates the transfer of carbon between the Hydrosphere, the atmosphere and the lithosphere (oceans and soil). CO 2Atmospheric dissolves easily in water, forming carbonic acid that attacks the silicates that make up rocks, resulting in bicarbonate ions. These ions dissolved in water reach the sea, are assimilated by animals to form their tissues, and after their death they are deposited in sediments. The return to the atmosphere occurs in volcanic eruptions after the fusion of the rocks that contain it. This last cycle is of long duration, since geological mechanisms are involved. In addition, there are occasions in which the organic matter is buried without contact with the oxygen that decomposes it, thus producing the fermentation that transforms it into coal, oil and natural gas.
Storage
The storage of carbon in fossil deposits means in practice a reduction in atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide. If these deposits are released, as has been done for a long time with coal, or more recently with oil and natural gas, the cycle moves towards a new equilibrium in which the amount of atmospheric CO 2 is greater; even more so if the possibilities of recycling it are reduced by reducing the forest and plant mass.
Exploitation
The exploitation of fossil fuels to support industrial and transport activities (along with deforestation) is today one of the greatest aggressions that the planet suffers, with the consequences known to all: climate change (due to the greenhouse effect), desertification, etc.
