Carbon Cycle

Introduction

On Earth, the carbon cycle depicts the transportation of carbon in its elemental and mixed phases. Carbon is found in its mixed state as carbonates in rocks and as carbon dioxide gas in the environment. Diamond and graphite are the elemental forms of carbon.

Ecosystem models employ mathematical representations of fundamental activities like photosynthesis and respiration and how these processes respond to external elements like temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, and water movement to predict carbon stocks and fluxes. Top-down atmospheric observations are frequently employed with models to assign reported GHG fluxes to specific land or ocean features or places.

Describe the Carbon Cycle

Carbon and nitrogen atoms can migrate across the world through various natural cycles. In the ocean and lakes, planktons exist, which are small organisms that eat sulfate to conduct photosynthesis. They are floating freely in water but still take enough nutrients through photosynthesis to grow larger. An atom of carbon is taken from seawater and utilised by these tiny organisms to help them flourish. This small carbon atom might become a component of the plankton’s skeleton or a part of the skeleton of the larger animal that feeds it. 

Other large organisms eat these smaller animals and thus incorporate their skeleton into their body structure, making it a skeleton component. When these animals die, their bodies are buried along with other sediments on the Earth’s surface to form sedimentary rocks. Carbon atoms appear as a component of calcium molecules. The important thing about such molecules is that they can easily be dissolved and broken into smaller molecules once again for easy transport around the globe. This is how we can describe the carbon cycle.

The carbon cycle is necessary for life on Earth to exist. Nature tends to maintain carbon balance, which means that the quantity of carbon naturally released from reservoirs equals the amount naturally absorbed by reservoirs. The world can stay friendly to life if this carbon balance is maintained.

The carbon cycle exchanges carbon compounds between the Earth’s hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and pedosphere.

Carbon Cycle Examples and Steps

Following are the major steps involved in the process of the carbon cycle:

1. Plants absorb carbon from the atmosphere during photosynthesis.
2. Animals ingest these plants, and carbon is bio-accumulated in their bodies as a result.
3. When these plants and animals perish, carbon is released back into the atmosphere as they decompose.
4. Carbon which is not discharged back into the atmosphere, is ultimately converted into fossil fuels.
5. Such fossil fuels are subsequently utilised for human activities, which releases even more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Carbon Cycle Examples and Forms

Carbon Cycle on Land

Carbon dioxide is the most common type of carbon in the atmosphere. Carbon enters the atmosphere through both natural and industrial processes, such as the combustion of fossil fuels. Photosynthesis is the absorption of carbon dioxide by plants in order to create carbohydrates. The equation is as follows:

                                                             CO2 + H2O + energy → (CH2O)n +O2

Carbon molecules are transmitted from producers to consumers through the food chain. Through breathing, the body obtains the bulk of its carbon in the form of carbon dioxide. Decomposers are responsible for eating dead organisms and releasing carbon from their bodies into the atmosphere. 

Carbon dioxide is the most common type of carbon in the atmosphere. Carbon enters the atmosphere through both natural and industrial processes, such as the combustion of fossil fuels. Humans are responsible for about 30% of all human-made Carbon Dioxide. When it comes to ppm (parts-per-million), humans produce about 30%.

Oceanic Carbon Cycle

This is essentially the same as the carbon cycle; however, it occurs in the sea. Oceans absorb more carbon than they emit from an ecological standpoint. As a result, it is known as a “carbon sink.” Carbon is converted to calcium carbonate by marine creatures, which provides the basic ingredients for hard shells like those seen in clams and oysters.

When calcium carbonate-shelled creatures die, their bodies disintegrate, leaving hard shells behind. These build upon the bottom, ultimately broken down by the waves and compacted under extreme pressure, resulting in limestone.

When these limestone rocks are exposed to air, the carbon is weathered and released as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Importance of Carbon Cycle

Even though carbon dioxide is found in minute amounts in the atmosphere, it plays an important function in energy balance and traps long-wave radiation from the sun. As a result, it functions as a blanket over the Earth. If the carbon cycle is disrupted, major effects such as climate change and global warming will occur.

Plants and animals, for example, may store carbon in a variety of reservoirs, which is why they are termed carbon living forms. Plants utilize carbon to develop leaves and stems, which are subsequently digested and utilized for cellular growth by animals. Carbon is stored in the atmosphere in gasses like carbon dioxide. It is also stored in the oceans, where various marine animals catch it. Some creatures use carbon to produce shells and skeletons, such as clams and coral. The majority of carbon in the world is buried under the Earth’s surface in rocks, minerals, and other materials.

The quantity of carbon on the globe never varies since Earth is a closed system. However, when carbon travels from one reservoir to another, the quantity of carbon in a given reservoir might alter over time.

Organic, inorganic, and biochemists investigating reaction processes ultimately figured out why direct oxidation of organic compounds by O2 is kinetically unfavourable despite being thermodynamically advantageous. The answer has to do with the spin states of reactants and products, specifically the difference between the spin states of oxygen and most organic compounds.

Conclusion

Carbon is a necessary component of all living things on the planet. Everything has a role to play, from proteins and lipids to our DNA. Furthermore, carbon is the foundation of all known life on Earth. As a result, the carbon and nitrogen cycles and the oxygen cycle are critical to the survival of life on Earth.