Carbon cycle powerpoints12/8/2023 This is called a biological pump, removing carbon from the ocean and atmosphere systems for long periods of time.Īcknowledgement: National Oceanic Atmospheric. When phytoplankton die, many sink and take their carbon (calcium carbonate shells) to form sediments at the bottom of the ocean. Satellite image of phytoplankton bloom off East coast of NZ, by Jeff Schmaltz, courtesy of NASA and MODIS Rapid Response Team Sinking sediment Phytoplankton and zooplankton images courtesy of NIWA But the other thing that can happen is that, when they die, they can precipitate down into the deep ocean and when that happens because ocean circulation is so slow that carbon can be stored or sequestered in the ocean for a very long period of time.ĭr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) One thing that can happen is they can be recycled back into the biological processes of the surface ocean – so maybe zooplankton eats them, maybe they die and they are returned to their component minerals by natural processes and that carbon is taken up by some other phytoplankton. Now as the phytoplankton mature, there are a couple of different things that can happen. Plants take up CO 2 – they essentially breathe it in and use it to build their physical structures – and phytoplankton are basically teeny tiny microscopic plants that live in the surface of the ocean, so essentially you have in the surface of the ocean these little tiny microscopic plants are taking carbon from the water and using it to build parts of their bodies. So once the CO 2 goes into the ocean then that CO 2 forms carbonic acid, bicarbonate and carbonate ion, and it means that the ocean can take up more CO 2, so at present, there is about 60 times as much carbon in the ocean as there is in the atmosphere.Īcknowledgements: Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) Phytoplankton There is a constant vigorous exchange that is going two ways between the ocean and the atmosphere. As well as making nutrients available for living plants, this process also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.Īcknowledgement: Maria Minor and Alastair Robertson (Massey University) Carbon dioxide exchange In the soil, decomposers (such as microbes and soil animals) break down dead plant material. They use energy from the sun to combine the carbon dioxide and water to form carbohydrates.Īcknowledgement: The University of Waikato. Plants take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. Scrub fire footage, courtesy Scion Photosynthesis So when we cut down forests and burn forests, then we are releasing CO 2 into the atmosphere.Īcknowledgements: Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). BurningĪll the mass of all the trees that you’re seeing around is mostly coming from atmospheric CO 2. Respiration releases energy from carbohydrates, with carbon dioxide as a waste product.Īcknowledgement: The University of Waikato. Plants and animals release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through the process of respiration. And in addition, a number of other byproducts are also produced through inefficiencies in combustion like CO which are atmospheric pollutants.Īcknowledgements: Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) Respiration In fossil fuels, the carbon is stored in long-chain hydrocarbons, and then through combustion with oxygen in our cars or in factories, the carbon is converted to CO 2, which is released to the atmosphere. Most of the carbon entering the ocean ends up in the deep ocean where it can be carried by currents for hundreds of years or be lost in sediments.Īcknowledgement: Public domain. Ocean surfaceĮxchange of carbon dioxide between the ocean and the atmosphere takes place at the surface. This is mostly in calcite and limestone.Īcknowledgement: Bordalier institute. Ocean sediments and the rocks they turn into contain huge amounts of carbon. The carbon cycle overlaps the rock cycle. Coal, oil, gasĬarbon has been locked up in fossil fuels, built up from once-living things, for millions of years.Īcknowledgement: Public domain. Soil contains a lot of carbon in the form of dead plant material and in the many bacteria and other small organisms that live there.Īcknowledgement: Public domain. Land plants take up about a quarter of all carbon dioxide that enters the atmosphere.Īcknowledgement: Public domain. Plants store carbon as carbohydrates made from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing. Carbon in the atmosphere is mostly in the form of carbon dioxide with some methane and hydrofluorocarbons.
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