Carbon Cycle

The Carbon Atom

• All living organisms are
based on the carbon
atom.
 The Carbon Atom
• Carbon compounds can be solid, liquid, or gas
under conditions commonly found on the
earth's surface.
• Because of this, carbon can help form solid
minerals (such as limestone), 'squishy'
organisms (such as plants and animals), and
can be dissolved in water or carried around the
world through the atmosphere as carbon
dioxide gas.
 Carbon . . . On the move!
• Carbon atoms
continually move
through living
organisms, the oceans,
the atmosphere, and
the crust of the planet.
 Carbon
Carbon exists in the nonliving environment as:

• Carbon dioxide (CO2)

• Carbonic acid ( HCO3−)
• Carbonate rocks (limestone and coral = CaCO3)
• Deposits of Fossil fuels
• Dead organic matter
 Organic Carbon

• Hydrocarbons: CH4

• Carbohydrate: CH2O
 Inorganic carbon
• Carbon Dioxide: CO2

• Calcium Carbonate: CaCO3

Mandale Limestone Quarry

Carbon reservoirs
 Carbon reservoirs

•The atmosphere.

•The biosphere (include fresh water systems and non-living

organic material, such as soil carbon).

•The oceans ( including dissolved inorganic carbon and

living and non-living marine biota).

•The lithosphere (sediments, Earth core including fossil fuels) .

 The Carbon Cycle
• This movement is known as the carbon cycle.
The paths taken by carbon atoms through this
cycle are extremely complex, and may take
millions of years to come full circle.
• Consider, for example, the journey of a "typical"
carbon atom that existed in the atmosphere as part
of a carbon dioxide molecule some 360 million years
ago, during the Carboniferous Period. That molecule
drifted into the leaf of a large fern growing in the
extensive tropical swamp forests of that time.
• The Carboniferous is a geologic period
and system that spans 60 million years
from the end of the Devonian Period 358.9
million years ago, to the beginning of the
Permian Period, 298.9 Mya.
Swamp
• Soon after, the fern died
and the remains sank
into the muck at the
bottom of the swamp.
• Over thousands of years,
more plants grew in the
swamp and their remains
also sank into the
swamp, forming a layer
of dead plant material
many meters thick.
 Swamp … to … Rock
• Gradually, the climate changed, becoming
drier and less tropical.
• Sand, dust, and other materials slowly
covered the ancient swamp and sealed the
decaying vegetation under an ever-thickening
layer of sediment.
• The sediment hardened, turning to
sedimentary rock.
 Coal = Organic Sedimentary Rock
• The carbon atom stayed
trapped in the remains
of the long-vanished
swamp while the
pressure of the layers
above slowly turned the
material into coals.
• Some 360 million years later, in the 1900s, the coal
bed was mined by humans and burned to fuel
industrial civilization.
Carbon Cycle
 Carbon is released into the
atmosphere in several ways
• Respiration by plants and animals.

• Decay of animal and plant matter.

• Combustion of organic material

• Production of cement.

• The ocean releases CO2 into the atmosphere.

• Volcanic eruptions and metamorphism

Carbon is taken from the atmosphere
in several ways
• Photosynthesis.
• The oceans when the seawater becomes
cooler, more CO2 dissolve and become
carbonic acid.
• In the upper ocean areas organisms convert
reduced carbon to tissues, or carbonates.
 Photosynthesis
• CO2 + H2O + sunlight  CH2O + O2
 Release of Energy

• The process of burning

released the energy
stored in the carbon
compounds in the coal
and reunited the carbon
atom with oxygen to
form again
 The Journey Continues
• The carbon was released to the atmosphere
through the smokestack and the journey
continues.
• Many other paths are possible, some taking
only hours or days to trace, others, like the
one we just learned about, many millions of
years
 The Carbon Cycle
• Carbon may be stored for extended periods
(the "sinks")
• There are various way it is likely to be released
to the atmosphere (the "source")
• There are things that trigger these sources to
release carbon (the "release agents")
• Together they define the carbon cycle.
 “The Sinks” = Where Carbon is Stored
• Carbon sinks include long-lived trees
 “The Sinks”
• All living
and non-
living
organisms
 “The Sinks”
• Limestone (formed
from the carbon-
containing shells of
small sea creatures that
settle to the ocean
bottoms and build up
into thick deposits)
 “The Sinks”
• Plastic (a modern invention, but very long-lived)
 “The Sinks”
And . . .

• Burial of organic matter

(such as those that
formed the fossil fuels
we use today).
 “The Sources” = How Carbon is
Released into the Atmosphere
• Carbon sources include the burning of fossil fuels
and other organic matter
 “The Sources”

• Weathering of limestone rocks

“The Sources”
• The breakdown of substances
into simpler molecules is
called decomposition.
• Fungi and bacteria
decompose organic matter.
• Carbon dioxide and water are
returned to the environment.
“The Sources”
And . . .

• The respiration of living

organisms.
• (Cellular Respiration)
 “Releasing Agents”

• Release agents include volcanic activity, forest fires

“Releasing Agents”
• Combustion is the
process of burning a
substance, such as
wood or fossil fuels.
• Because of combustion,
carbon dioxide is
released back into the
atmosphere.
 “Releasing Agents”
And . . .

• Many human activities.

 Respiration
• CH2O + O2  CO2 + H2O + energy
 Combustion or Oxidization of
hydrocarbon

CH4 + 2 O2  CO2 + 2 H2O + energy

 Human Impacts on the Carbon
Cycle
Burning fossil fuels have serious impact on
the carbon cycle.
 Fossil Fuel

86% of global primary energy consumption is

fossil fuels.
 Fossil Fuels
• Petroleum
• Natural Gas
• Coal
 CO2 Concentration

Pre-Industrial value: 280 ppm (600 billion tons)

Current value: 380 ppm (800 billion tons)
Critical value: 560 ppm (1200 billion tons)
• Co2 concentration in the air is 412 parts per
million
• The concentration of carbon dioxide in
Earth's atmosphere is currently at nearly
412 parts per million (ppm) and rising.
• This represents a 47 percent increase since
the beginning of the Industrial Age, when
the concentration was near 280 ppm, and
an 11 percent increase since 2000, when it
was near 370 ppm.