Carbon Cycle and Marine Dynamics Vocabulary

A comprehensive collection of vocabulary flashcards covering fast and slow carbon cycle processes, marine dynamics, sinks, and sources based on the lecture notes.

Carbon Cycle

The movement of carbon between atmospheric gases ($CO_2$, methane), organic biological molecules (glucose), and physical reservoirs.

Direct Exchange

The direct, rapid movement of $CO_2$ gas dissolving continuously back and forth between the ocean surface and the atmosphere in balanced amounts.

Ocean Acidification

A condition caused when elevated atmospheric $CO_2$ increases dissolved $CO_2$ in ocean waters.

Shell Formation

The process where marine organisms and coral reefs extract dissolved carbon to manufacture shells made of calcium carbonate.

Sedimentation

A process where the remains of dead organisms (coral, fish, shellfish) sink to the ocean floor and break down into sediments under water pressure.

Burial

A slow geological process occurring over thousands to millions of years that compresses sediments into sedimentary rock (limestone, sandstone) and fossil fuels.

Coal

A fossil fuel originating primarily from fossilized dead ferns.

Oil and Natural Gas

Fossil fuels originating from compressed marine organic matter, specifically algae and phytoplankton.

Extraction and Combustion

The process of digging up fossil fuels through mining and combusting them, which releases stored carbon back into the atmosphere as $CO_2$ far faster than geological processes can remove it.

Fast Carbon Cycle Processes

Rapidly occurring process rates in the carbon cycle, including combustion of fossil fuels, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and direct gas exchange.

Slow Carbon Cycle Processes

Process rates occurring over long periods, including sedimentation of decomposing organic matter, burial underground, and compression into sedimentary rock, fossil fuels, or phosphorus.

Carbon Sinks

Reservoirs that absorb and store more carbon than they release, mitigating climate change.

Ocean Sinks

Carbon sinks consisting of algae (photosynthesis) and organic matter sediments located at the ocean floor.

Land Sinks

Carbon sinks consisting of plants (carbon stored in glucose and structural tissues) and soil (accumulated decomposed organic matter).

Carbon Sources

Processes that release more carbon into the atmosphere than they store, such as fossil fuel combustion, animal agriculture, and deforestation.

Animal Agriculture

A carbon source process that releases methane gas from cattle and livestock.

Deforestation and Logging

Human practices that release stored $CO_2$ and eliminate ongoing carbon storage.

Photosynthesis

A process performed by plants, algae, and phytoplankton that pulls $CO_2$ from the atmosphere and converts it to glucose, serving as a carbon sink.

Cellular Respiration

A process performed by all living organisms that uses oxygen to break down glucose for cellular energy, releasing $CO_2$ gas into the atmosphere as a carbon source.

Short-Term Balance

A fast, balanced cycle formed by photosynthesis and cellular respiration resulting in no net increase in atmospheric carbon.