By Luis Espinar
10 Things You Should Know About The Carbon Cycle
1) There are six processes that drive the carbon cycle: 1)photosynthesis 2)respiration
3)exchange 4)sedimentation and burial 5)extraction 6)combustion
2) Photosynthesis is when plants take in CO2 & incorporate carbon into their tissues as
well as being returned when organisms respire and organisms die
3) The amount of CO2 released from the ocean into the atmosphere roughly equals the
amount of atmospheric CO2 that diffuses into ocean water.
4) Sedimentation and burial is a slow process that is formed by small amounts of
calcium carbonate sediment formed over millions of years to produce an extremely
large carbon pool
5) Extraction is a relatively new phenomenon that started because of our reliance on
coal, oil, and natural gas for energy resources & does not on its own alter the carbon
cycle.
6) Combustion, fossil fuels or timber in a forest fire, releases carbon into the
atmosphere as CO2 or into the soil as ash
7) Respiration, decomposition, and combustion all cause organic molecules to be
broken down to produce CO2, water, and energy.
8)Respiration & Decomposition-biotic
Combustion- abiotically
9) Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have used the combustion of fossil fuels for
energy and have caused an unbalance between Earth's carbon pools and atmosphere
10) The destruction of forests by cutting and burning increases CO2 in the atmosphere
& without more trees being planted, the carbon balance will remain to be upset
Source: Friedland and Relyea textbook