Geography- Carbon cycle

The Carbon Cycle

the exchange of carbon between the atmosphere, terestrial biomes, oceans and sediments

Carbon stores

Responsible for storing and removing carbon from the atmosphere (sink)

Examples of carbon stores

Atmosphere, Coal, oil, gas, sedimentry rocks, surface and deep ocean, plants and soil

Carbon Fluxes

Movements of carbon from pne store to another; provide the motion in the carbon cycle (processes)

Examples of Carbon fluxes

-Photosynthesis

-errupting volcanoe

-Respiration

-Decomposition

-Diffusion

-Lithification

-Combustion

-Fossilization

-Feeding

-A single carbon pool can often have several fluxes both adding and removing carbon simultaneously.

Slow carbon cycle

Carbon held in sediment on the floor of the oceans can be stored for an extremely long time.

Fast Carbon Cycle

The terrestrial part of the carbon cycle involves photosynthesis, respiration and decomposition of plant matter

Carbon is measured in

Pentagrams

The Geological Carbon Cycle

Carbon that moves between rocks and minerals, seawater, and the atmosphere can create rock formations such as limestone and chalk

Examples

- Acid rain dissolves rocks rich in carbon, causing chemical weathering and releasing bicarbonates.

- Carbon sediments are transported to the oceans via rivers. They are then deposited.

- Carbon in organic matter (plants, animal shells and skeletons) sinks to the ocean floor, building up layers of chalk and limestone.

- Heating along subduction boundaries alters sedimentary rocks, creating metamorphic rocks. This releases CO2 from rocks which are carbon rich.

- Rocks containing carbon get subducted at boundaries and re-emerge in volcanic eruptions.

- Terrestrial carbon is released through volcanic eruptions as CO2 - this is called out-gassing.

The Bio-geochemical carbon cycle

This is carbon cycliing through the process of photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, and combustion. Here, carbon is stored in oil, coal and natural gas. The amount of carbon released pr stored is determined by these biological and chemical processes.

Carbon Sequestration

an approach to stabilizing greenhouse gases by removing CO2 from the atmosphere

Terrestrial Sequestering

Terrestrial primary producers sequester carbon during photosynthesis; some of this carbon is returned to the atmosphere during respiration by consumer organisms.

Oceanic Sequestration

The storing of CO2 dissolved in seawater. Mostly stored in marine algae

The Biological Pump

This is the ocean's biologically driven sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere to the ocean interior and seafloor sediments. It is the part of the oceanic carbon cycle responsible for the cycling of organic matter formed mainly by phytoplankton during photosynthesis, as well as the cycling of calcium carbonate formed into shells by certain organisms such as plankton.

The Thermohaline condition

This is a giant ocean conveyor belt that keeps the carbonate pump working. This moves carbon compounds to different parts of the ocean in downwelling and upwelling currents. Downwelling occurs in ocean areas where the cold, dense water sinks. As the cold deep ocean water begins to increase in temperature, it upwells to the ocean surface, some of the dissolved carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere.

Long-term or slow carbon cycle

The movement of carbon between the atmospheric, oceanic and lithospheric stores. The atmosphere, oceans and land are linked together transferring carbon in a giant slow-moving system which takes between 100 and 200 million years for carbon to flow through it

Short-term or fast

The movement of carbon from living things to the atmosphere and oceans. The short-term or fast cycle through the biosphere moves up to a thousand times more carbon in a shorter space of tim

biological pump

• Involves the transfer of carbon from the atmosphere to the deep ocean via biological processes.

• How it works: Phytoplankton at the ocean’s surface absorb atmospheric CO₂ through photosynthesis. When these organisms die, their remains sink to the ocean floor, where the carbon is stored as organic matter or eventually forms sedimentary rock.

Physical Pump

• Refers to the movement of carbon through ocean circulation.

• How it works: Cold water at high latitudes absorbs CO₂ from the atmosphere (because colder water can hold more CO₂). As this water sinks, it transports the carbon to the deep ocean. This carbon can be stored for hundreds to thousands of years before resurfacing.

Carbonate Pump

• Involves the formation of calcium carbonate shells by marine organisms like shellfish and corals.

• How it works: These organisms use carbonate ions and calcium from seawater to form their shells. When they die, their shells sink to the ocean floor, contributing to long-term carbon storage in sedimentary rocks like limestone.