THE CARBON

CYCLE
 Carbon and THE CARBON CYCLE
• Carbon is one of the most abundant elements on the Earth‘s crust and important molecule in the
carbon cycle, all life is based on the element carbon that has the symbol ‘C’ and the atomic
number 6.
• Carbon is the major chemical constituent of most living matter including human-beings. Proteins,
nucleic acids, lipids, carbohydrates, and other molecules essential to life contain carbon.
• Carbon moves in complex chemical and physical transfers from sources, or reservoirs, where it is
released and again utilized. Movement of carbon between atmosphere, living organisms (in
land and water) and ground
• Carbon is present in the atmosphere as the gas carbon dioxide (CO2), which makes up
approximately 0.04% of the atmosphere. It is also present in the ocean and fresh water as
dissolved CO2 and in rocks as calcium carbonate (CaCO3).
• The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among
the biosphere and geosphere (made of hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere of
the Earth).
• It describes the movement of carbon as it is recycled and reused throughout the biosphere, as
well as long-term processes of carbon sequestration to and release from carbon sinks.
• The carbon cycle was discovered by Antoine Lavoisier and Joseph Priestley, and popularized
by Humphry Davy.
 1. COMPONENTS OF THE CARBON CYCLE

1. ATMOSPHERE
2. BIOSPHERE
3. HYDROSPHERE (Ocean with
dissolved and undissolved
inorganic and organic carbon
sediments)
4. LITHOSPHERE along with Earth’s
mantle and crust (carbon stores
interact through geological
processes)
5. CRYOSPHERE (frozen carbon
reserves)
 2. CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE CARBON
CYCLE
 The general carbon cycle can be divided into two categories:
 BIOGENIC (Fast domain) which operates at shorter time
scales (days to thousands of years).
 GEOLOGICAL (Slow domain) which operates over large
time scales (millions of years)
 2.1Biogenic Carbon Cycle
• Biogenic carbon cycle is the set of processes in the general
carbon cycle where natural carbon emissions related to
biologically-based materials are involved (biosphere,
atmosphere and hydrosphere).
• Combustion, harvest, digestion, fermentation,
decomposition or processing of biologically based materials
results in the emission of biogenic carbon.
 2.2 Geological Carbon Cycle
• The geological component of the carbon cycle is where it interacts
with the lithosphere in the processes of weathering, dissolution,
precipitation of minerals in rocks
• Participation of minerals and elements (fossil fuels) from below the
earth (geological) through volcanic eruptions
 3. PROCESSES IN THE CARBON CYCLE

1. PHOTOSYNTHESIS
2. RESPIRATION
3. COMBUSTION
4. DECOMPOSITION (fossil fuel
formation)
5. COMPACTION (rock formation)
6. EROSION
Process 1: PHOTOSYNTHESIS
• During photosynthesis, plants, algae, and cyanobacteria remove Carbon
dioxide from the air and fix, or incorporate it into complex organic
compounds such as glucose.

• Photosynthesis incorporates carbon from the abiotic into the biological

compounds of producers.

CARBON MOVES FROM ATMOSPHERE TO PLANTS

 Process 2: RESPIRATION
• C is utilized in cellular respiration by consumer (animals) and a decomposer
(microbes) that breaks down the remains of the producer and consumer by aerobic
and anaerobic respiration, fermentation etc.
• The process of a cellular respiration returns CO2 to the atmosphere. A similar
carbon cycle occurs in aquatic ecosystems between aquatic organisms and
dissolved CO2 in water.
• CARBON MOVES FROM ANIMALS TO ATMOSPHERE
 Process 3: COMBUSTION (HUMAN
& NATURAL)
• The process of burning or combustion, may return the carbon in oil, coal, natural
gas, and wood to the atmosphere.
• In combustion, organic molecules are rapidly oxidized (combined with oxygen)
and converted CO2 and water with an accompanying release of light and heat.
• CARBON MOVES FROM FOSSIL FUELS TO THE ATMOSPHERE
 Process 4: DECOMPOSITION
(fossil fuel formation)
• Millions of years ago vast coal, beds formed from
the remains of partially decomposed dead plants
and animals that were buried and subjected to
anaerobic conditions. The oils of unicellular marine
organisms probably gave rise to the underground
deposits of oil and natural gas that accumulated in
the geologic past.

• Coal, oil, and natural gas, called fossil

fuels because they formed from the
remains of ancient organisms. Fossil fuels
are non- renewable resources. The Earth
has a finite or limited supply of these
resources.

• CARBON MOVES FROM PLANTS

AND ANIMALS TO THE GROUND
Process 5: BURIAL AND COMPACTION
(LIMESTONE FORMATION)
• An even greater amount of carbon that is stored for millions of years is incorporated
into the shells of marine organisms.
• When these organisms die, their shells sink to the ocean floor and sediments cover
them forming cemented together to form limestone, a meter thick.
• CARBON MOVES FROM ORGANISMS TO OCEAN
 Process 6: ROCK WEATHERING AND
EROSION
• When the process of geologic uplift exposes rocks, physical weathering
processes (thermal, Frost, ocean waves, pressure, salt crystal growth ),
chemical weathering processes (carbonation, hydration, oxidation) and
biological weathering processes (rooting, mosses)
• Erosion carries the weathered rock particles to rivers and oceans.
• This returns carbon to the water and atmosphere where it is available to
participate in the carbon cycle once again.
• CARBON MOVES FROM GROUND TO WATER AND ATMOSPHERE
Total Carbon in Earth Reservoirs: Sources

Gigaton(109 metric tons)

 Anthropogenic influence
 Since the industrial revolution, human activity has modified the carbon cycle and its component functions by directly carbon addition.
 The largest human impact is through direct burning fossil fuels, which transfers carbon from the geosphere into the atmosphere. The rest of increase is caused
by changes in land-use, Deforestation- replacing trees with plants will reduce carbon uptake
 Direct and indirect human-caused land use and land cover change has led to the loss of biodiversity, which lowers carbon uptake and direct release into the
atmosphere.  Air pollution, for example, damages plants and soils, while many agricultural and land use practices lead to higher erosion rates, washing carbon
out of soils and decreasing plant productivity.
 Another one is chemical process of calcination of limestone for Clinker (industrial precursor of cement). High ocean temperatures, acid rain and polluted runoff
change the ocean's chemical composition, coral reef destruction all reduces ocean carbon uptake.
 Arctic methane emissions indirectly caused by anthropogenic global warming also affect the carbon cycle
 CO2 in the atmosphere at present has reached irreversible levels, the rate of released by the burning of fossil fuels is about double the net uptake by carbon
sinks.