Carbon Cycle

Alba & ConnorPd. 7

09/21/12

Photosynthesis stores energy in complex organic molecules, while respiration releases it.

Photosynthesis & Respiration

Burning of fossil fuels (Transportation) Power generation (Heating) Volcanic eruptions Productions of cement (Limestone) Through the decay of plant and animal

matter

5 Ways carbon is released in the Atmosphere

The amount of carbon dioxide there is in the atmosphere .0387 %.

Percent of the atmosphere is CO2

Fact: With out green house gases like Carbon Dioxide trapping heat into the atmosphere, the earth would be frozen.

natural or artificial reservoir that accumulates and stores some carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period

Ocean - Largest active carbon sink Forests Regenerative agriculture Soils - Short to long term carbon storage

4 Carbon Sinks

Photosythesis - Plants store and use as food and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen

Consumption - Animals consume the plants Respiration - Released back into the air  Decomposition - over time becomes fossil

fuels (humans, by burning, transportation, ect.)

Chemical Reactions Involved

Short term organic - Plants and animals Long term organic - Fossil Fuels Long term inorganic - Limestone

(Carbon reservoirs are implications of global warning)

Inorganic and Organic Reservoirs

Deforestation, clearing trees and plants that absorb CO2 by photosynthesis

Burning fossil fuels and wood add large amounts of CO2

Human impact

Pathway