The+Carbon+Cycle+(By+Ava,+Chelsea,+and+Lidiya)

The Carbon Cycle

// Table of Contents // **I. The Carbon Cycle** a.Sinks and Sources a. carbon atoms are necessary to life b. without the carbon cycle, they wouldn't get recycled c. the cycle is necessary because it is a closed system.
 * II. The Carbon Cycle and Climate Change**           a. carbon is a closed system         b. it is a biogeochemical cycle
 * III. The Carbon Cycle and Us**        a. fossil fuel burning         b. changing land use (deforestation)         c. scientists are trying to balance the cycle         **IV. Summary**

**  The Carbon Cycle [|Let’s start with the carbon in the atmosphere.ppt]     Sinks and Sources   **  Carbon dioxide sinks are mechanisms that remove CO2 from the atmosphere, whereas carbon dioxide sources add CO2 to the atmosphere. both are equally important to the balance of the cycle. Some CO2 sinks are: PLANTS- plants use photosynthesis to remove CO2 from the atmoshphere. Through this chemical formula:  CO   2     + H   2   O+ energy ->C   6   H   12   O   6   (Glucose)   + O   2  , we see that the carbon is used to create sugars for the plant to live off of.

DIFFUSION INTO THE OCEAN- Carbon dioxide is most soluble at low temperatures and high pressure so cold oceans extract carbon dioxide from the atmoshphere through the process of diffusion.

RUNOFF- raindrops falling through the atmosphere absorb some of the CO2. That creates a very dilute carbonic acid. When it hits a carbonate rock, such as limestone, it dissolves the rock, which is then carried into a larger source of water and eventually into the ocean. This process of runoff removes CO2 from the atmosphere.

Some CO2 sources: RESPIRATION- plants and animals alike combine oxygen with sugar to produce energy, water and carbon dioxide which they exhale back into the atmosphere.

DECAY- dead plants that get burried in the ground go through a chemical process in which they breakdown and let out CO2 into the atmosphere.

CEMENT PRODUCTION- Through the crushing and baking of carbonate rocks, such as limestone and chalk, more CO2 is released into the atmosphere.

The Carbon Cycle and Climate Change The carbon cycle is one of the biogeochemical cycles. Although oceans, vegetation, and soils work to consume carbon released from human activities, it is not enough to stop carbon dioxide from accumulating in the atmosphere. The carbon cycle is a closed system. This means that there is a limited supply of carbon atoms. Because of this, they need to be recycled. If the carbon cycle is unbalanced, the system will not work. Carbon is necessary to life, working to maintain global temperature within certain limits. It is the basis of most organic matter. The Carbon Cycle and Us      Fossil Fuels    Coal, oil, natural gas, and gasoline are all used in industry, cars, and power plants in the process of fossil fuel burning. When these fossil fuels are burned they release organic carbon into the atmosphere. Because fossil fuel consumption has greatly increased in the last century there are high levels of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. These increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are of great concern because they may be associated with global warming and climactic disruptions.    It is known that there is a fixed amout of carbon in the world and that it is somewhere. Scientists are working very hard to see if there is in fact a balancing of the carbon cycle. The investigations that scientists have been doing, indicate that most likely the forests of the Northern Hemisphere are removing carbon from the atmosphere, rather than increasing it.    It has taken a long time for the greenhouse gases to affect the balance of the carbon cycle, therefore it will also take decades for the people of the world to reverse the very threatening effects of global warming. However, this will only happen if every individual makes a conscious effort to reverse the effects of fossil fuels on the carbon cycle, otherwise the carbon cycle will continue to deteriorate, causing serious geographical and climactic diruption.    Some effective ways of reversing the inbalance of the carbon cycle is by using renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and water.
 * Scientists Trying to balance the Carbon Cycle **
 * What Now??? **

Summary media type="youtube" key="U3SZKJVKRxQ" height="344" width="425" http://www.seed.slb.com/en/scictr/watch/climate_change/carbon.htm and http://carboncycle.biz/   http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/carbon/efcarbon.html  http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Carbon_Cycle_Steps    __http://www.usembassy.at/en/download/pdf/carbon_cycle.pdf__