Carbon cycle Flashcards
What is a sink
A store of carbon
How much carbon is stored in Oceans
Sea floor sediments
Fossil fuels
38700 billion tonnes
6000 billion tonnes
4130 billion tonnes
What is the slow carbon cycle
Carbon that is stored in sediments fossil fuels and rocks that is locked away for millions of years
Describe the slow carbon cycle
CO2 diffuses from the atmosphere into the oceans were marine organisms such as clams make their shells with calcium carbonate the clams then die and sink to ocean floor where they are converted by heat and pressure to sedimentary rocks typical time spent on these forms is 150 million years. Then chemical weather releases the CO2 into the atmosphere
Describe the fast carbon cycle
Phyto plankton synthesis by absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere and combine it with water to make glucose Then decomposition of dead animal matter returns CO2 to the atmosphere. Through this process carbon is stored in the oceans for 350 years
What are fluxes
Carbon exchanges
What are the main 6 fluxes of the carbon cycle
Precipitation
photosynthesis
weathering
respiration
decomposition
combustion
How does precipitation contribute to the carbon cycle
Atmospheric CO2 dissolves in rain water
How does weathering impact the carbon cycle
Chemical weathering carbonation releases carbon from limestones to streams rivers oceans and the atmosphere happens best when soil is covering the rocks as the soil makes the water very acidic. Freeze thaw weathering and biological weathering like chelation also contribute to the breakdown of rocks.
What is the physical pump
This is the mixing of surface and deep water ocean waters by vertical currents. For example the water is carried by hot currents like the gulf stream to the poles where it cools becomes more dense and sinks this process is known as downwelling
Biological pump
Carbon is exchanged between the ocean and atmosphere by marine organisms like phytoplankton and the decomposition of animals and vegetation
