Carbon Cycle

Carbon Cycle
Made by -
Rahul Keshervani, Anuj Taley, Yash Jakhotiya,
Vaishnavi Kalantri, Shivani Patil
Introduction
All living things are made of carbon. Carbon is also a part of the ocean, air, and even rocks. Because
the Earth is a dynamic place, carbon does not stay still. It is on the move!
The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere,
pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere of the earth.
The major reservoirs of carbon are:
● Atmosphere
● Terrestrial biosphere
● Ocean
● Geosphere
.
CARBON CYCLE
Stages of Carbon Cycle
1. Carbon enters the atmosphere by - respiration in organisms (e.g. animals breathing) - combustion
(e.g. burning of fossil fuels/ wood) - decomposition and decay (microorganisms respiration)
2. Carbon Dioxide is absorbed by producers in photosynthesis. Plants take in CO2 from the
atmosphere in order to produce energy in the form of sugar via photosynthesis using sunlight.
3. Carbon transfer from organism to organism. Animals eat plants consuming the Carbon content and
animals eat other animals transferring carbon from one to another.
4. Animals and plants die, and the organisms are eaten by decomposers. Decomposers then respire to
release CO2 back into the air to be absorbed by producers again.
Case study - Carbon cycles
Carbon mainly exists in two forms in the atmosphere: Carbon dioxide and methane.
Both these gases retain heat in atmosphere and thus responsible for the greenhouse effect and
thereby help in sustaining life on earth.
However,over the past century, the concentration of CO2 has increased in the atmosphere by 30%.
This recent increase is a direct result of humans' use of fossil fuels (oil and coal).
CASE STUDY - AMAZON RAINFOREST
The Amazon is the largest tropical rainforest on Earth. It sits within the Amazon River basin, covers
some 40% of the South American continent.
Tropical forests are very important stores of carbon, and in their untouched state act as carbon sinks.
Untouched Amazon forests take in more carbon dioxide than they put back into the atmosphere. This
shows that the Amazon forests help reduce global warming by lowering the planet's greenhouse gas
levels.
However, in recent years, due to deforestation, the trends have changed.
The rainforest which used to absorb about 2.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide, the dead trees now emit
around 1.9 billion tons of carbon to the atmosphere.
Rates of net increase in above-ground biomass declined by one-third during the past decade compared
to the 1990s.
This means tropical forests are becoming less efficient at trapping carbon.
Humans influencing carbon cycles
Humans cause environmental problems by influencing the carbon cycle in two ways.
Firstly, the removal of forests has caused depletion in plants and trees that absorb carbon dioxide.
Humans cause great carbon emissions to the atmosphere, which take place during industrial
processes, such as coal and oil combustion. These processes serve the generation of energy. As a
result of these effects the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have greatly increased. Between
1870 and 1990 the carbon dioxide emissions to air have increased 25%. The carbon dioxide levels in
air are now so high, that the uptake by plants and oceans is not fast enough.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. This means that increasing carbon dioxide levels in air support
the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a term that is used for climate change on earth,
caused by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can
cause the earth to warm up. This will in time cause all kinds of negative effects, such as melting of
ice from the Arctic causing floods on other continents.
Humans influencing carbon cycles
Secondly, during the industrial revolution humans have used fossil fuels extensively for
energy generation, as has been mentioned before. Because fossil fuels consist of dead
organic matter it takes a very long time to restore the supplies. Because humans have
been burning fossil fuels extensively over the past decades fossil fuel supplies are in
danger of being exhausted.
WAYS TO CLOSE CARBON CYCLE
1. BIOMASS STORAGE
Every growing season, plants transform atmospheric CO2 into biomass. After each growing
season, however, the Earth releases a roughly equal quantity of carbon from plants back into
the atmosphere through decomposing biomass.
Through a variety of mechanisms, CDR practitioners hope to tip the balance of this natural
carbon cycle so that less carbon gets stored in the atmosphere. For example, afforestation —
planting new forests — and grassland management techniques aim to increase the overall
quantity of biomass in the ecosystem. Increasing the amount of carbon trapped in plants, the
theory goes, decreases the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
2. AIR CAPTURE
Direct air capture (DAC) devices operate analogously to "artificial trees" by isolating CO2 from the
air using chemical processes, in the same way that plants do through photosynthesis. Storing the
resulting CO2 in impermeable rock formations in the same way as BECCS, or otherwise preventing
the CO2 from returning to the atmosphere, promises significant CDR potential.
3. GEOLOGIC SEQUESTRATION
Transferring carbon from the atmosphere into rocks is another option for CDR. Some minerals, such
as olivine, precipitate CO2 from the atmosphere when exposed to air.
The resulting carbonates from this reaction have the potential to sequester the formerly
atmospheric carbon in stable rock formations. Mining large quantities of olivine and exposing it to
open air could result in the sequestration of large amounts of atmospheric CO2.
4. MARINE SEQUESTRATION
Marine sequestration, a more controversial category of CDR approaches, attempts to reduce

atmospheric CO2 concentrations by altering the oceans' natural carbon cycles. Fertilizing the ocean
with iron to stimulate phytoplankton blooms, for example, has been proposed as a means of
transferring carbon from the atmosphere to the depths of the ocean, where it would remain for
millennia. The theory goes that phytoplankton blooms would store carbon in both the plankton and
other organisms further up the food chain that flourish because of a plankton bloom. When these
organisms die, they, and the carbon they removed from the air and stored in their bodies, slowly
would sink to the ocean depths.
Conclusion
The carbon cycle is important in ecosystems because it moves carbon, a life-sustaining element,
from the atmosphere and oceans into organisms and back again to the atmosphere and oceans. If
the balance between these latter two reservoirs is upset, serious consequences, such as global
warming and climate disruption, may result. Scientists are currently looking into ways in which
humans can use other, non-carbon containing fuels for energy. Nuclear power, solar power, wind
power, and water power are a few alternative energy sources that are being investigated.
References
https://eo.ucar.edu/kids/green/cycles6.htm
https://serc.carleton.edu/eet/carbon/case_study.html
https://www.lenntech.com/matter-cycles-pollution.htm

Carbon Cycle

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Carbon Cycle

The major reservoirs of carbon are:

However, in recent years, due to deforestation, the trends have changed.

Marine sequestration, a more controversial category of CDR approaches, attempts to reduce

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