1. The Carbon Cycle BC Science Probe 10 Section 4.2

2. The Carbon Cycle The diagram of the carbon cycle looks very complicated, but you only need to understand how it works. You don’t need to memorize it!

4. The Carbon Cycle The way the carbon cycle works is really quite easy to understand as it is mostly common sense. You only really need to know the meanings of some basic terms:

5. The Carbon Cycle Carbon source: Any source of carbon that releases more carbon than it stores. i.e. – Burning fossil fuels – coal, oil, natural gas – Burning trees/wood – Erupting volcanoes

7. The Carbon Cycle Carbon reservoir: – Any place where carbon is stored and not released. i.e. – Living trees – the carbon is stored as carbohydrates. – Oceans – dissolved carbon from the atmosphere. – Shells of marine organisms as CaCo 3. – Limestone as CaCo 3.

9. The Carbon Cycle Carbon sink: – A place where more carbon is stored than is released (the opposite of a carbon source). i.e. – Forests – Oceans – Soil – in organic matter.

11. The Carbon Cycle Atmospheric carbon: – Carbon found in the form of CO 2 gas in the atmosphere after being released by a carbon source. i.e. – Combustion – Volcanoes – Cellular respiration

13. How the Carbon Cycle Works How does carbon from the earth become atmospheric carbon dioxide? – From: Factories Cars Cellular respiration Burning wood

15. How the Carbon Cycle Works How is some of this atmospheric carbon returned back to the earth? – By: Some dissolves in oceans, lakes and rivers. Some used by plants for photosynthesis.

17. How the Carbon Cycle Works How is some of this atmospheric carbon returned to the oceans? – By: Weathering of rocks like limestone. Dissolves as CO 2.

18. How the Carbon Cycle Works How does some of this carbon on the surface of the earth become buried deep beneath the earth? – By: Dead plants and animals decompose and become covered in layers of earth. Carbon compounds are compacted and turned into fossil fuels.

19. How the Carbon Cycle Works How does the carbon stored in the depths of oceans and lakes become buried deep beneath these bodies of water? – By: Aquatic plants and animals die and fall to the bottom to be buried in sediments (sedimentation).

21. How the Carbon Cycle Works How might this buried carbon be returned back to the surface of the earth? – By: Geological events: – Earthquakes – Volcanoes Drilling and mining of fossil fuels.

22. The Greenhouse Effect