Blue Carbon
Blue carbon is the term for carbon captured by the world's ocean and coastal ecosystems. Sea grasses, mangroves, salt marshes, and other systems along our coast are very efficient in storing CO2. These areas also absorb and store carbon at a much faster rate than other areas, such as forests, and can continue to do so for millions of years. The carbon found in coastal soil is often thousands of years old. When these systems are damaged or disrupted by human activity, an enormous amount of carbon is emitted back into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.
Carbon is the foundation of all life on Earth, required to form complex molecules like proteins and DNA. This element is also found in our atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon helps to regulate the Earth’s temperature, makes all life possible, is a key ingredient in the food that sustains us, and provides a major source of the energy to fuel our global economy.
The carbon cycle describes the process in which carbon atoms continually travel from the atmosphere to the Earth and then back into the atmosphere. Since our planet and its atmosphere form a closed environment, the amount of carbon in this system does not change. Where the carbon is located — in the atmosphere or on Earth — is constantly in flux.
On Earth, most carbon is stored in rocks and sediments, while the rest is located in the ocean, atmosphere, and in living organisms. These are the reservoirs, or sinks, through which carbon cycles.
Carbon is released back into the atmosphere when organisms die, volcanoes erupt, fires blaze, fossil fuels are burned, and through a variety of other mechanisms.
In the case of the ocean, carbon is continually exchanged between the ocean’s surface waters and the atmosphere, or is stored for long periods of time in the ocean depths.
Humans play a major role in the carbon cycle through activities such as the burning of fossil fuels or land development. As a result, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rapidly rising; it is already considerably greater than at any time in the last 3.6 million years.
Video Transcript
What is the carbon cycle? Carbon is the chemical backbone of all life on Earth. All of the carbon we currently have on Earth is the same amount we have always had. When new life is formed, carbon forms key molecules like protein and DNA. It's also found in our atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide or CO2. The carbon cycle is nature's way of reusing carbon atoms, which travel from the atmosphere into organisms in the Earth and then back into the atmosphere over and over again. Most carbon is stored in rocks and sediments, while the rest is stored in the ocean, atmosphere, and living organisms. These are the reservoirs, or sinks, through which carbon cycles. The ocean is a giant carbon sink that absorbs carbon. Marine organisms from marsh plants to fish, from seaweed to birds, also produce carbon through living and dying. Over millions of years, dead organisms can become fossil fuels. When humans burn these fuels for energy, vast amounts of carbon dioxide are released back into the atmosphere. This excess carbon dioxide changes our climate — increasing global temperatures, causing ocean acidification, and disrupting the planet’s ecosystems.
FAQs
The carbon cycle is nature's way of reusing carbon atoms, which travel from the atmosphere into organisms in the Earth and then back into the atmosphere over and over again. Most carbon is stored in rocks and sediments, while the rest is stored in the ocean, atmosphere, and living organisms.
What is the short answer to carbon cycle? ›
The carbon cycle is the process that moves carbon between plants, animals, and microbes; minerals in the earth; and the atmosphere. Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe. With its ability to form complex molecules such as DNA and proteins, carbon makes life on Earth possible.
What are the 4 main parts of the carbon cycle? ›
Photosynthesis, Decomposition, Respiration and Combustion. Carbon cycles from the atmosphere into plants and living things.
What is the carbon cycle in a short sentence? ›
The carbon cycle is the process by which carbon travels between the atmosphere, land, the oceans and the sediments below ground (where fossil fuels are stored).
How do you explain carbon cycle to a child? ›
During photosynthesis, plants use the carbon from the carbon dioxide in the air to create sugars to fuel their metabolism. Animals, in turn, eat plants to get the energy they need. Then, when the bodies of both plants and animals decompose, they release carbon into the atmosphere.
What are the three main stages of carbon cycle? ›
Respiration, excretion, and decomposition release the carbon back into the atmosphere or soil, continuing the cycle. The ocean plays a critical role in carbon storage, as it holds about 50 times more carbon than the atmosphere.
How to teach the carbon cycle? ›
5 Creative Ways to Teach The Carbon Cycle to Keep Students Interested
- Engage Students with Interactive Models. ...
- Make the Topic Fun with Games and Activities. ...
- Infuse Technology into Lessons. ...
- Inspire Students Through Career Exploration. ...
- Connect Topic to Real-World Applications.
Examples of carbon in a Sentence
a carbon of the document this new digital camera is a carbon of a well-known model costing almost twice as much. Recent Examples on the Web Shipping accounts for 3% of global carbon emissions each year.
Is the carbon cycle long or short? ›
Through a series of chemical reactions and tectonic activity, carbon takes between 100-200 million years to move between rocks, soil, ocean, and atmosphere in the slow carbon cycle.
What is life cycle carbon? ›
Whole Life-Cycle Carbon (WLC) emissions are the carbon emissions resulting from the materials, construction and the use of a building over its entire life, including its demolition and disposal.
Carbon is a chemical element that naturally occurs in all organic compounds and is found in all forms of life. There are 118 elements (pure substances which can't be changed) and carbon is one of them. Each element is comprised of atoms.
What is the carbon cycle simple model? ›
A simple model is presented for the global carbon cycle. The model has three main reservoirs, i.e. the atmosphere, biosphere and oceans; it includes a description of CO2-exchange processes between the reservoirs, disregarding the interior transfer processes within the biosphere and the oceans.
How do humans interfere with the carbon cycle? ›
Burning fossil fuels, changing land use, and using limestone to make concrete all transfer significant quantities of carbon into the atmosphere. As a result, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rapidly rising; it is already greater than at any time in the last 3.6 million years.
What is the carbon oxygen cycle simplified? ›
When they're exposed to light, green plants use carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to manufacture living matter and release oxygen into the air. This process is called photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is produced through the respiration of animals and plants, which consume oxygen and release carbon dioxide.
