The Carbon Cycle

The carbon cycle is a continuous cycle of carbon in our atmosphere and planet.

Human and animal respiration is when we or animals produce cellular energy by reacting sugars and oxygen together. This creates Carbon Dioxide (CO2). However, our body has no need for CO2, so we release it into the atmosphere when we breathe.

Coal is a non-renewable carbon energy source. Coal is made from dead organisms (which have carbon inside them) being buried underground under immense pressure, causing the carbon inside them to form coal. Coal had always kept carbon out of the cycle, but now we are burning it for fuel, it has been reintroduced.

Oil and gas are formed in a similar way to coal, and also take carbon out of the carbon cycle. They were first formed by microscopic plants and animals millions of years ago, dying and sinking to the bottom of the sea. As heat and pressure rose, the carbon inside the organisims became either oil or gas - more heat made gas and lighter oil fractions, less heat made thicker oil fractions. Eventually, some of these escaped, but most remain trapped underground, which we dredge to use as fuel.

Limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO3) is also a storer of carbon. It formed over many millions of years from decaying marine organisms. The essential calcium in their bodies and shells was compacted, and due to shifts in sea and land levels, much of this CaCO3 is embedded in the land. Chemical weathering occurs when acid rain falls on limestone, it, causing carbon to be released into the atmosphere.

Oceanic photosynthesis and respiration is a constant cycle of the plant and animal respiration in the oceans. The plants photosythesise, absorbing carbon; the animals respire, releasing carbon. Each process keeps a balance, however fishing and polluting the seas can upset this balance, leaving an unbalanced population under the sea. Around 70% of photosynthesis occurs in oceanic plankton and algae.

Atmospheric CO2 is where a lot of carbon is stored. The carbon from burning fossil fuels, breathing and many other processes goes into the atmosphere. The CO2 in the atmosphere is the main contributer of the greenhouse effect, essentially blanketing the earth, letting less infared radiation from the sun reflect back into space.

Photosynthesis is a natural reaction that takes place in plants. It uses water and carbon dioxide, reacts them within leaves with sunlight, to create food for the plants. Doing this removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as the plants take this in and release oxygen, so it is stored in plants.

Tom Torgerson 11HYS