Carbon cycle

Encyclopedia : C : CA : CAR : Carbon cycle

See CNO cycle for the thermonuclear reaction involving carbon that helps power stars.

The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged between the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere of the Earth. Other bodies may have carbon cycles, but little is known about them. All of these components are reservoirs of carbon. The cycle is usually thought of as four main reservoirs of carbon interconnected by pathways of exchange. The reservoirs are the atmosphere, terrestrial biosphere (usually includes freshwater systems), oceans, and sediments (includes fossil fuels). The annual movements of carbon, the carbon exchanges between reservoirs, occur because of various chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes. The ocean contains the largest pool of carbon near the surface of the Earth, but most of that pool is not involved with rapid exchange with the atmosphere.

The global carbon budget is the balance of the exchanges (incomes and losses) of carbon between the carbon reservoirs or between one specific loop (e.g., atmosphere - biosphere) of the carbon cycle. An examination of the carbon budget of a pool or reservoir can provide information about whether the pool or reservoir is functioning as a source or sink for carbon dioxide.

Contents

1 Carbon in the atmosphere
2 Carbon in the biosphere
3 Carbon in the Oceans
4 Carbon cycle modelling
5 See also
6 External links
7 References

Carbon in the atmosphere

Diagram of the carbon cycle. The black numbers indicate how much carbon is stored in various reservoirs, in billions of tons ("GtC" stands for GigaTons of Carbon). The blue numbers indicate how much carbon moves between reservoirs each year.

Carbon exists in Earth's atmosphere primarily as the gas carbon dioxide (CO₂). Although it is a very small part of the atmosphere overall (approximately 0.04%, though rising), it plays an important role in supporting life. Other gases containing carbon in the atmosphere are methane and chlorofluorocarbons (the latter are entirely artificial). These are all greenhouse gases whose concentration in the atmosphere has been increasing in recent decades, contributing to global warming.

Carbon is taken from the atmosphere in two ways:

When the sun is shining, plants perform photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide into carbohydrates, releasing oxygen in the process. This process is most prolific in relatively new forests where tree growth is still rapid.
At the surface of the oceans near the poles, where the water becomes cooler and able to dissolve more carbon dioxide (see the entries on the solubility and biological pumps).

Carbon can be released back into the atmosphere in many different ways.

Through the respiration performed by plants and animals. This is an exothermic reaction and it involves the breaking down of glucose (or other organic molecules) into carbon dioxide and water.
Through the decay of animal and plant matter. Fungi and bacteria break down the carbon compounds in dead animals and plants and convert the carbon to carbon dioxide if oxygen is present, or methane if not.
Through combustion of organic material which oxidizes the carbon it contains, producing carbon dioxide (as well as other things, like smoke). Burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum products, and natural gas releases carbon that has been stored in the geosphere for millions of years. This is a major reason for rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
Through reactions of limestone. Limestone, marble and chalk are composed mainly of calcium carbonate. As deposits of these rocks are eroded by water, the calcium carbonate is broken down to eventually form, among other things, carbon dioxide and carbonic acid. Production of cement and lime is done by heating limestone, which produces a substantial amount of carbon dioxide.
At the surface of the oceans where the water becomes warmer, dissolved carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere
Volcanic eruptions release gases into the atmosphere. These gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide.

Carbon in the biosphere

Carbon is an essential part of life on the Earth. It plays an important role in the structure, biochemistry, and nutrition of all living cells. And life plays an important role in the carbon cycle:

Autotrophs are organisms that produce their own organic compounds using carbon dioxide from the air or water in which they live. To do this they require an external source of energy. Almost all autotrophs use solar radiation to provide this, and their production process is called photosynthesis. A small number of autotrophs exploit chemical energy sources, chemosynthesis. The most important autotrophs for the carbon cycle are trees in forests on land and phytoplankton in the Earth's oceans.
Carbon is transferred within the biosphere as heterotrophs feed on other organisms or their parts (e.g., fruits). This includes the uptake of dead organic material (detritus) by fungi and bacteria for fermentation or decay.
Most carbon leaves the biosphere through respiration. When oxygen is present, aerobic respiration occurs, which releases carbon dioxide into the surrounding air or water. Otherwise, anaerobic respiration occurs and releases methane into the surrounding environment, which eventually makes its way into the atmosphere or hydrosphere (e.g., as marsh gas or flatulence).
Burning of biomass (e.g. forest fires, wood used for heating) can also transfer substantial amounts of carbon to the atmosphere
Carbon may also leave the biosphere when dead organic matter (such as peat) becomes incorporated in the geosphere. Animal shells of calcium carbonate, in particular, may eventually become limestone through the process of sedimentation.
Much remains to be learned about the cycling of carbon in the deep ocean. For example, a recent discovery is that larvacean mucus houses (commonly known as "sinkers") are created in such large numbers that they can deliver as much carbon to the deep ocean as has been previously detected by sediment traps [link]. Because of their size and composition, these houses are rarely collected in such traps, so most biogeochemical analyses have erroneously ignored them.

Carbon storage in the biosphere is influenced by a number of processes on different time-scales: while Net primary productivity follows a and seasonal cycle, carbon can be stored up to several hundreds of years in trees and up to thousands of years in soils. Changes in those long term carbon pools (e.g. through de- or afforestation or through temperature-related changes in soil respiration) will thus directly affect global warmnig.

Carbon in the Oceans

Inorganic carbon, that is carbon compounds with no carbon-carbon or carbon-hydrogen bonds, is important in its reactions within water. This carbon exchange becomes important in controlling pH in the ocean and can also vary as a source or sink for carbon. Carbon is readily exchanged between the atmosphere and ocean. In regions of oceanic upwelling, carbon is released to the atmosphere. Conversely, regions of downwelling transfer carbon (CO₂) from the atmosphere to the ocean. When CO₂ enters the ocean, carbonic acid is formed:

:CO₂ + H₂O ⇌ H₂CO₃

This reaction has a forward and reverse rate, that is it achieves a chemical equilibrium. Another reaction important in controlling oceanic pH levels is the release of hydrogen ions and bicarbonate. This reaction controls large changes in pH:

:H₂CO₃ ⇌ H⁺ + HCO₃

Carbon cycle modelling

Models of the carbon cycle can be incorporated into global climate models, so that the interactive response of the oceans and biosphere on future CO₂ levels can be modelled. There are considerable uncertainties in this, both in the physical and biogeochemical submodels (especially the latter). Such models typically show that there is a positive feedback between temperature and CO₂. For example, Zeng et al. (GRL, 2004 [link]) find that in their model, including a coupled carbon cycle increases atmospheric CO₂ by about 90 ppmv at 2100 (over that predicted in models with non-interactive carbon cycles), leading to an extra 0.6°C of warming (which, in turn, may lead to even greater atmospheric CO₂).

External links

[Carbon Cycle Science Program] - an interagency partnership.
[NASA Earth Observatory site] describing the carbon cycle
[NOAA's Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gases Group]
[UNEP - The present carbon cycle - Climate Change] carbon levels and flows
Appenzeller, T. (2004), [‘The case of the missing carbon’], National Geographic Magazine - article about the missing carbon sink

References

SCOPE 13 The Global Carbon Cycle [link]
Janzen, H. H. (2004). Carbon cycling in earth systems—a soil science perspective. In Agriculture, ecosystems and environment, 104, 399 – 417.
Houghton, R. A. (2005). The contemporary carbon cycle. Pages 473-513 in W. H. Schlesinger, editor. Biogeochemistry. Elsevier Science.

Biogeochemical cycles
Carbon cycle - Hydrogen cycle - Nitrogen cycle
Oxygen cycle - Phosphorus cycle - Sulfur cycle - Water cycle

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