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Science Notes

Carbon Cycle

Addition-

Combustion: Carbon can be released through the burning of organic materials, which creates carbon

dioxide. Things like oil, coal and natural gas are burnt for energy and release carbon that has been

stored for millions of years.

Coal is formed from a massive gathering of dead vegetation; usually coal is formed in places close to

the sea such as rivers or lagoons. Coal is transformed from the organic matter it is made up of, which

is called peat, over millions of years. It loses its moisture as the peat is merged under the increasing

temperature and pressure; this makes the percentage of carbon in the coal higher. The older coal is,

the more amount of carbon they have in it, the oldest ones are made up of 90-95 % carbon and have

been around for over 300 million years. New Zealand coal is valuable as it has only been around 30-

70 million years therefore can do things that other counties coal cant, and as it is also made with a

more evolved type of vegetation it contains less carbon. Even though the more ancient coal burns

hotter, New Zealand coal contains properties like low ash or low sulphur levels which means it can

be used for specific things world wide that more generic coal cant be used for. Coal mines can be

found all over New Zealand but the largest deposits are found in the West Coast, Waikato and

Tarinaki areas.

Burning coal has contributed hugely to the rising level or carbon in our atmosphere that is causing

global warming. We burn fossil fuels to create energy for the worlds civilization, but the earths

ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere cant keep up with the massive amount we are

pumping into the world. This is creating the greenhouse effect as the carbon cannot escape the

atmosphere and begins to heat up our world.

Volcanic Activity: Volcanos, whether erupting or not, release carbon into the atmosphere. Of course

erupting volcanos are going to release more carbon than a sleeping volcano though, although the

amount of carbon that volcanoes release is tiny in comparison to man made carbon emissions.

Respiration, excretion, decay:

Plant roots release CO2 into the atmosphere through respiration. Microbial respiration and faunal

respiration are part of this, this is called soil respiration. Plants use respiration, like most other livingorganisms, to carry out life processes and obtain energy. They use oxygen to burn the glucose they

have taken and the result of this is water, energy and of course CO2, therefore releasing carbon into

the atmosphere. This is called photo synthesis.

Humans excrete carbon into the atmosphere, volcanoes also do, especially during eruption. Forest

fires also excrete large amounts of carbon. During dry seasons, especially in hot countries this can

have a huge impact.

When plants or animals die and rot the carbon they hold is released back into the carbon cycle as

the plant or animal decays. Half the weight of a tree is carbon, and there is a high percentage or

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carbon in animals to. These things are known as short term storage as they store carbon but are

released at a maximum of 2000 years later.

Removal-

Photosynthesis: Photosynthesis can also be used to remove carbon from the atmosphere