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All content following this page was uploaded by A. Balasubramanian on 11 August 2017.
By
Prof. A. Balasubramanian,
Centre for Advanced Studies in Earth
Science,
University of Mysore, Mysore
The Topic of discussion today is about
Carbon cycle. It is one of the units in
environmental studies and ecology.
Biogeochemical cycles:
biogeochemical cycles have both an
organic and an inorganic components.
They are extremely important.
How efficiently the nutrients move through
the organic component back to the
inorganic reservoirs determines how much
is available to organisms over the short
term.
The major reservoirs for all metabolically
important elements are found either in the
atmosphere, lithosphere (mainly rock, soil
and other weathered sediments) or
hydrosphere.
Flow in the inorganic phase generally tends
to be slower than in the organic phase.
Fossil fuels
If we see carefully, all fossil fuels are
carbon-based; coal, petroleum, and natural
gas are all hydrocarbons.
They are used for combustion.
The byproducts of combustion of fossil
fuels are carbon monoxide and carbon
dioxide.
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas, while
carbon dioxide is necessary for plant life.
Carbon dioxide also contributes to the
greenhouse effect. It is well-known that the
increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 is
linked to global warming.
The movement of carbon, in its many
forms, between the biosphere, atmosphere,
oceans, and geosphere is described as the
carbon cycle.
The carbon cycle is one of the integral part
of the biogeochemical cycles.
In this cycle, there are various sinks, or
stores, of carbon and processes by which
the various sinks exchange carbon.
THE CARBON CYCLE
Scientists consider 99.9% of all organisms
on the planet to be carbon based life.
Those organisms need carbon to survive.
Whether the carbon is in the form of a
sugar or carbon dioxide gas, we all need it.
Unlike energy, carbon is continuously
cycled and reused. The Earth only has a
fixed amount of carbon. The carbon cycle
is the ultimate form of recycling.
The carbon cycle is a four fold mechanism
as:
The movement of carbon between
lithosphere and hydrosphere, involving the
process of sedimentation and weathering of
rocks.
Movement of carbon-di-oxide between
atmosphere and hydrosphere through rain
and evaporation.
Movement of carbon compounds between
hydrosphere and biosphere through
respiration, decay and photosynthesis.
Movement of carbon between biosphere
and atmosphere through combustion,
photosynthesis, anaerobic decay and
oxidation.
The global carbon cycle
can be divided into two categories:
the geological carbon cycle, which operates
over large time scales (millions of years),
and the biological/physical carbon cycle,
which operates at shorter time scales (days
to thousands of years).
All the carbon that cycles through the
Earth’s systems today was present at the
birth of the solar system 4.5 billion years
ago.
Since those times, carbonic acid (a weak
acid derived from the reaction between
atmospheric carbon dioxide [CO2] and
water) has slowly but continuously
combined with calcium and magnesium in
the Earth’s crust to form insoluble
carbonates (carbon-containing chemical
compounds) through a process called
weathering.
Then, through the process of erosion, the
carbonates are washed into the ocean and
eventually settle to the bottom.
Respiration
Plants and animals effectively “burn” these
carbohydrates (and other products derived
from them) through the process of
respiration, the reverse of photosynthesis.
Respiration releases the energy contained
in sugars for use in metabolism and renders
the carbohydrate“fuel” back to carbon
dioxide.
Biological pump
Another process, called "the biological
pump," transfers CO2 from the ocean's
surface to its depths.
Warm waters at the surface can hold much
less CO2 than can cold waters in the deep.
Atmosphere
Atmosphere contains about 5000 million
tones of gases. These gases are distributed
in an order depending upon their active
role in the world. The major part is
occupied by Nitrogen amounting to 78%,
followed by oxygen to 21%, carbon-di-
oxide to 0.33% and argon to 0.93%. Other
gases include argon, water vapour, carbon
dioxide, neon, helium, krypton, hydrogen,
xenon, and ozone.
The CO2:
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and
traps heat in the atmosphere.
Without it and other greenhouse gases,
Earth would be a frozen world.
But humans have burned so much fuel that
there is about 30% more carbon dioxide in
the air today than there was about 150
years ago, and Earth is becoming a warmer
place.
Carbon dioxide is used as a refrigerant, in
fire extinguishers, for inflating life rafts
and life jackets, blasting coal, foaming
rubber and plastics, promoting the growth
of plants in greenhouses, immobilizing
animals before slaughter, and in carbonated
beverages.
At ordinary temperatures, carbon dioxide is
quite un-reactive; above 1,700 deg C
(3,100 F) it partially decomposes into
carbon monoxide and oxygen.
Hydrogen or carbon also convert it to
carbon monoxide at high temperatures.
Ammonia reacts with carbon dioxide
under pressure to form ammonium
carbamate, then urea, an important
component of fertilizers and plastics.
Carbon dioxide is slightly soluble in water.