CARBON CYCLE

Biogeochemical Cycles- Life Earth Chemistry Important cycles include Water, Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus Cycles because there is no “start” or “finish” Because matter is not created or destroyed but changes forms – “conservation of matter” (there is also “conservation of energy”)

Carbon= “element of life” When it comes from living sources it is called “organic”. There are also in-organic forms. Carbon in an ecosystem resides in a variety of “pools” It moves between pools and changes forms through various processes Pools include: atmosphere, ocean, soil, living organisms, dead material and waste, fossil fuels Forms include: Carbon dioxide, Bicarbonate, Carbohydrates, Organic structures, Fossil Fuels Processes include: photosynthesis, respiration, combustion, decomposition, pressurization, absorption

ATMOSPHERE In the atmosphere carbon exists mainly as carbon dioxide (CO2) It can be absorbed by the ocean and converted to bicarbonate It is taken in by plants during photosynthesis and converted to carbohydrates

OCEAN In the ocean carbon exists as bicarbonate and carbonic acid It is absorbed from the atmosphere and can make the ocean more acidic It can be deposited as sediment

Living organisms In living organisms carbon exists as carbohydrate or organic structure Carbohydrate may be used for energy and converted back to CO2 during cellular respiration Carbohydrate may also stored as organic structures

SOIL Carbon can be deposited in soil from decomposition of dead organic matter Pressurization and millennia of time deep in the earth creates Fossil Fuels

FOSSIL FUELS Combustion of Fossil Fuels releases CO2 back into the atmosphere CO2 is a Greenhouse gas!