2. What is Carbon Cycle
The global moment of carbon between a
biotic environment including the atmosphere
and oceans and organism is known as
carbon cycle
Source of carbon cycles:
A major source of
atmospheric CO2 is degassing
from volcanic activity which
acts as a release of carbon
dioxide
Another important source of
carbon in the atmosphere is in
the decomposition of organic
material
Weathering and Erosion
3. Sinks of Carbon cycle
Terrestrial ecosystems draw carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere and use it in
photosynthesis
All plants act as a sink for carbon dioxide
because it is a necessary gas for
photosynthesis
Marine ecosystems have the capacity to
store significant amounts of carbon in
sediments and also are able to sequester
carbon in photosynthesis or
chemosynthesis through phytoplankton,
seaweeds, and other marine algae
Most storage of carbon is in marine
sediments and rocks, although some
carbon is used by marine life in the
formation of calcium carbonate
5. Photosynthesis
Definition:-
Chemical process by which plants
containing chlorophyll use sunlight to
manufacture their own food by converting
carbon dioxide and water to carbohydrates,
releasing oxygen as a by-product
Process:-
Photosynthetic organisms, such as plants and
certain algae, absorb carbon dioxide through
tiny pores in their leaves
The plants then "fix" or capture the carbon
dioxide and convert it into simple sugars like
glucose
Plants store and use this sugar to grow and to
reproduce
When plants are eaten by animals, their
carbon is passed on to those animals
6. Respiration
Definition:-
The process in which oxygen is used
to break down organic compounds into
carbon dioxide and water
Process:-
Usually think only of breathing oxygen when
we hear the word "respiration," it has a
broader meaning that involves oxygen
To a biologist, respiration is the process in
which oxygen is used to break down organic
compounds into carbon dioxide (CO2) and
water (H2O)
In animal respiration is both taking in oxygen
(and releasing carbon dioxide) and oxidizing
its food (or burning it with oxygen) in order
to release the energy the food contains
In both cases, carbon is returned to the
atmosphere as carbon dioxide
7. Decomposition
Definition:-
The breakdown of complex molecules—molecules of which dead
organisms are composed—into simple nutrients that can be reutilized by
living organisms
Process:-
Decomposition is the largest source through which carbon is returned to the
atmosphere as carbon dioxide
Decomposition process carried out by the microorganisms known as
Decomposers
They consume both waste products and dead matter, during which they also
return carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by respiration
Decomposers not only play a key role in the carbon cycle, but also break
down, remove, and recycle what might be called nature's garbage
9. Weathering of rocks
Definition:-
Weathering is the breaking down
of rocks, soil and minerals as well as wood and
artificial materials through contact with the Earth's
atmosphere, waters and biological organisms
Process:-
Not all carbon atoms are always moving
somewhere in the carbon cycle, many become
trapped in limerock
Sometimes after millions of years, the waters
recede and the limerock is eventually exposed
to the elements
When limerock is exposed to the natural
process of weathering, it slowly releases the
carbon atoms it contains
And they become an active part of the carbon
cycle once again
11. Atmosphere
Carbon in the Earth's atmosphere exists in two
main forms, carbon dioxide and methane
It is significant that so much carbon dioxide
stays in the atmosphere because CO2 is the
most important gas for controlling Earth’s
temperature
Carbon dioxide, methane, and halocarbons
are greenhouse gases that absorb a wide
range of energy—including infrared energy
(heat) emitted by the Earth—and then re-emit
it
The re-emitted energy travels out in all
directions, but some returns to Earth, where it
heats the surface
Water vapor concentrations in the air are
controlled by Earth’s temperature
12. ATMOSPHERE
• Rising carbon dioxide concentrations are already causing the planet to heat up
• At the same time that greenhouse gases have been increasing, average global
temperatures
13. Oceans
About 30 percent of the carbon dioxide that
people have put into the atmosphere has diffused
into the ocean through the direct chemical
exchange
Dissolving carbon dioxide in the ocean creates
carbonic acid, which increases the acidity of the
water
Ocean acidification affects marine organisms in
two ways
First, carbonic acid reacts with carbonate ions in
the water to form bicarbonate
Second, the more acidic water is, the better it
dissolves calcium carbonate
An increase in carbon dioxide could increase
growth by fertilizing those few species of
phytoplankton and ocean plants (like sea grasses)
that take carbon dioxide directly from the water
14. Terrestrial biosphere
The terrestrial biosphere includes the
organic carbon in all land-living organisms,
both alive and dead, as well as carbon
stored in soils
Plants on land have taken up approximately
25 percent of the carbon dioxide
In the tropics, however, forests are being
removed, often through fire, and this
releases carbon dioxide
The biggest changes in the land carbon
cycle are likely to come because of climate
change
Carbon dioxide increases temperatures,
extending the growing season and
increasing humidity
With a longer, warmer growing season,
plants need more water to survive
16. Burning of fossils fuels
Natural gas , oil, coal are fossil fuels that
are commonly burned to generate
electricity in power plants ,in homes and in
industries
When a oil or coal is burned carbon is
released into the atmosphere
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere increase
The primary industrial activities that emit
carbon dioxide and affect the carbon cycle
are petroleum refining, paper, food and
mineral production, mining and the
production of chemicals
17. Deforestation
Deforestation is the another method
through which human effect carbon cycle
Forest are the natural carbon sink when
human cut forest the carbon dioxide
increase in the atmosphere and the trees
are no longer absorb the carbon dioxide
for photosynthesis
Agriculture is the primary cause of
deforestation
Farmers remove trees on a large-scale
basis to increase acreage for crops and
livestock
18. Carbon sequestration
When plants remove carbon dioxide
from the air and store it ,the process is
known as carbon sequestration
Agricultural and forestry methods can
effect how much carbon dioxide is
removed from the atmosphere and
stored by the plants
Human remove carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere by plants and trees in
managing farmlands
These sinks of carbon dioxide affect the
carbon cycle by decreasing the amount
of carbon dioxide in the air