The distribution of carbon on Earth. Flashcards
What is carbon? Where can it be found?
A very important element found in organic and inorganic stores in the earth; it can be found in all of earths subsystems in some form.
Carbon in the Lithosphere
Over 99.9% of Earths carbon is located in the Lithosphere in sedimentary rocks like limestone.
About 0.004% of the carbon on earth is located in fossil fuels such as coal and oil in the lithosphere.
Carbon in the atmosphere.
Carbon is stored as CO2 and in smaller quantities as methane (CH4) in the atmosphere.
The earths atmosphere contains about 0.001% of the Earth’s carbon.
Carbon in the hydrosphere
Carbon dioxide is dissolved in the rivers, lakes and oceans.
The oceans are the second largest carbon store on Earth, containing approximately 0.04% of the earths carbon. The majority of carbon here is found deep in the ocean in the form of dissolved inorganic carbon.
- A small amount is found at the ocean surface where it is exchanged with the atmosphere.
Carbon in the biosphere.
Carbon is stored in the tissues of living organisms. It is transferred to the soil when living organisms die and decay.
The biosphere contains approximately 0.004% of the Earths total carbon.
Carbon in the cryosphere
The cryosphere contains less than 0.01% of the Earth’s carbon.
Most of the carbon in the cryosphere is in the soil in areas of permafrost where decomposing plants and animals have frozen into the ground.
What is the carbon cycle?
The process of carbon being stored and transferred.
What type of system is the carbon cycle?
It’s a closed system with inputs and outputs of energy; the amount of carbon in the system remains the same. However some carbon is sequestered in long term stores, if released they are effectively inputs into the system
There are many flows in the carbon cycle, what are they?
Photosynthesis, Respiration, Decomposition, Combustion, ocean uptake and loss, weathering and sequestration.
What is photosynthesis?
Photosynthesis transfers carbon stored in the atmosphere to biomass.
-Plants and phytoplankton use the Suns energy to change CO2 and water into glucose and oxygen, enabling plants to grow.
Carbon is passed through the food chain and released through respiration and decomposition.
What is respiration?
Respiration transfers carbon from living things to the atmosphere.
Plants and animals break down glucose for energy, releasing CO2 and methane in the process.
What is combustion?
Transfers carbon stored in living, dead or decomposed biomass (including peat) to the atmosphere through burning; especially through wildfires.
What is decomposition?
This transfers carbon from dead biomass to the atmosphere and the soil.
After death bacteria and fungi break organisms down, releasing CO2 and Methane.
What is weathering?
Chemical weathering transfers carbon from the atmosphere to the hydrosphere and biosphere.
Atmospheric carbon reacts with water vapour to form acid rain. When this acid rain falls onto rocks, and dissolves rocks through chemical weathering, when washed into the sea, this causes co2 to react with water forming calcium carbonate used by sea creatures to live.
What is Ocean uptake and loss?
CO2 is directly dissolved by the oceans from the atmosphere as CO2 dissolves in water and photosynthesised by water organisms. Also reversed when carbon rich water deep in the ocean rises to the surface and releases CO2.
