Carbon stores

Question 1

Overview

Answer 1

Carbon stores: Represent a natural reservoir of carbon before it is transferred into another chemical or physical environment.

Carbon stores can be classed as:
Carbon sink- if more carbon enters a store than leaves it.

Carbon source- if more carbon leaves a store than enters it.

Question 2

Changes in carbon stores

Answer 2

The size of the Earth’s carbon stores change over time because of carbon flows taking place within and between all spheres of the planet.

Some change rapidly as a result of relatively fast input and output flows, this is known as the fast carbon cycle (relatively rapid transfers of carbon compounds ranging from hours, decades or a million years).

Others show long-term stability as they are subject to transfers over a timescale measured in millions of years- slow carbon cycles.