ENUGU STATE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY (ESUT)

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

OPTION: INTEGRATED SCIENCE
AN ASSIGNMENT

ON
TOPIC: CARBON IV OXIDE CYCLE

SUBMITTED

BY

NAME: AZIGBO VIVIAN CHINECHEREM-2019030187858

NGWU PHILOMINA MMESOMA-2019030189774

COURSE TITTLE: CYCLE IN NATURE

COURSE CODE: SED 435

LEVEL: 400L

LECTURER: DR. EZEDINMA. F

FEBRUARY, 2023
 Carbon/Carbon Dioxide Cycle

The main carbon source for living organism is carbon dioxide which is present

in the atmosphere or found dissolved in surface water. During the process of

photosynthesis green plaints, algae and blue green bacteria use energy from the

sun to combine with carbon dioxide (c02) from the atmosphere with water

(H20) to form carbohydrates. These carbohydrates store energy. Oxygen (Or) a

byproduct of photosynthesis is released into the atmosphere. The carbohydrate

formed because the building block of others organic molecule in the rant. When

plant is eaten by animals the carbon sources in form of plant protein and

carbohydrates are made available to the animals plants use some of the stored

carbohydrate as an energy sources to carry out their life functions. Consumers

such as animals, fungi and blue green bacteria get their energy from the plant by

taking in oxygen from the atmosphere released by plant cellular respiration

which releases energy the animal while carbon dioxide is given off into the

atmosphere.

In anaerobic environments such as water logged soil or bottom of still water

with poor illustrator decomposition is slow and organic matter, accumulates.

This accumulating peat deposits and organic sediments after a very long time

may generic new fossil fuel deposits. In this form the carbon is no longer

available to living things but remains as reservoir.

In the case of the oceans, carbon dioxide is removed from them through

photosynthesis by phytoplankton and also by carbon dioxide dissolving in the

surface water. Much of the carbon dioxide is quickly released back into the

atmosphere either directly from the water or by respiration. However, some

carbon dioxide is backed away for a long time to form carbonate shells in

marine organisms and carbonate rocks such as limestone. These is another

carbon reservoirs from which carbon can be released through human activities

or weathering.
Carbon Cycle Definition

Carbon cycle is the process where carbon compounds are interchanged

among the biosphere, geosphere, pedosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere

of the earth.

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.

The ocean plays a critical role in carbon storage, as it holds about 50 times more

carbon than the atmosphere. Two-way carbon exchange can occur quickly
between the ocean’s surface waters and the atmosphere, but carbon may be

stored for centuries at the deepest ocean depths.

Carbon Cycle Steps

Following are the major steps involved in the process of the carbon cycle:

1. Carbon present in the atmosphere is absorbed by plants for

photosynthesis.

2. These plants are then consumed by animals and carbon gets

bioaccumulated into their bodies.

3. These animals and plants eventually die, and upon decomposing, carbon

is released back into the atmosphere.

4. Some of the carbon that is not released back into the atmosphere

eventually become fossil fuels.

5. These fossil fuels are then used for man-made activities, which pump

more carbon back into the atmosphere.

Carbon Cycle on Land

Carbon in the atmosphere is present in the form of carbon dioxide. Carbon

enters the atmosphere through natural processes such as respiration and

industrial applications such as burning fossil fuels. The process

of photosynthesis involves the absorption of CO2 by plants to produce

carbohydrates. The equation is as follows:

CO2 + H2O + energy → (CH2O)n +O2

Carbon compounds are passed along the food chain from the producers to

consumers. The majority of the carbon exists in the body in the form of carbon

dioxide through respiration. The role of decomposers is to eat the dead

organism and return the carbon from their body back into the atmosphere. The

equation for this process is:

(CH2O)n +O2 → CO2 + H2O

Oceanic Carbon Cycle

This is essentially a carbon cycle but in the sea. Ecologically, oceans take in

more carbon than it gives out. Hence, it is called a “carbon sink.” Marine

animals convert carbon to calcium carbonate and this forms the raw building

materials require to create hard shells, similar to the ones found in clams and

oysters.

When organisms with calcium carbonate shells die, their body decomposes,

leaving behind their hard shells. These accumulate on the seafloor and are

eventually broken down by the waves and compacted under enormous pressure,

forming limestone.
When these limestone rocks are exposed to air, they get weathered and the

carbon is released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

The role of humans in carbon cycling

Since the late 19th century, humans have extracted fossil carbon to burn for

energy. The release of CO2 into the atmosphere causes an increase in carbon

fluxes from the atmosphere to photosynthetic organisms and the oceans.

Although this limits the overall increase of CO 2 in the atmosphere, the increase

is enough to have contributed to recent significant increases in global

temperature, which affects all life. In addition, dissolution

of excess CO2 acidifies the oceans, which can affect oceanic biosystems.

Anthropogenic influences, for example from agricultural practices, habitat loss,

and climate change mean that approximately 1 million species are now at risk of

extinction globally. We therefore need to drastically limit CO 2 emissions to

mitigate the impacts we are having on our planet via the carbon cycle.

Importance of Carbon Cycle

Even though carbon dioxide is found in small traces in the atmosphere, it plays

a vital role in balancing the energy and traps the long-wave radiations from the

sun. Therefore, it acts like a blanket over the planet. If the carbon cycle is

disturbed it will result in serious consequences such as climatic changes

and global warming.

Carbon is an integral component of every life form on earth. From proteins and

lipids to even our DNA. Furthermore, all known life on earth is based on

carbon. Hence, the carbon cycle, along with the nitrogen cycle and oxygen

cycle, plays a vital role in the existence of life on earth.

Carbon is the chemical backbone of life on Earth. Carbon compounds regulate

the Earth’s temperature, make up the food that sustains us, and provide energy

that fuels our global economy.

Human and Maintenance of Effective Cycling

Human activities such as deforestation (felling trees) have been implicated to

cause accumulation of carbon dioxide in the environment. This has been on the

increase as a result of urbanization and industrialization whereby large areas are

cleared of trees of economic purpose.

Carbon/carbon dioxide comes from volcames, automobile exhausts, factors

power plants and decaying plants and animals. Many animals and plants that

lived millions of years ago because buried in swamps before they could decay.

Ciradualy they because oil, natural gas and coal when we burn those fuels we

rabidly release their carbon as carbon dioxide.

The accumulation of carbon dioxide a green house guse in the atmosphere has

been associated with serious climatic abnormally known as global warming.

The risk on the environment may because alarming if human activities

especially the use of fossil fuel is not cotailed. This threat has lead to efforts by

various governments to replace the use of fossil fuel with alternative sources

such as solar and wind power.

Conclusion

Carbon moves from one storage reservoir to another through a variety of

mechanisms. For example, in the food chain, plants move carbon from the

atmosphere into the biosphere through photosynthesis. They use energy from

the sun to chemically combine carbon dioxide with hydrogen and oxygen from

water to create sugar molecules.

 Reference

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NASA. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 5

April 2018.

Friedlingstein, P., Jones, M., O'Sullivan, M., Andrew, R., Hauck, J., Peters,

G., Peters, W., Pongratz, J., Sitch, S., Le Quéré, C. and 66 others

(2019) "Global carbon budget 2019". Earth System Science

Data, 11(4): 1783–1838. doi:10.5194/essd-11-1783-2019.

Material was copied from this source, which is available under

a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

License Archived 16 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine.

Prentice, I.C. (2001). "The carbon cycle and atmospheric carbon dioxide".

In Houghton, J.T. (ed.). Climate change 2001: the scientific basis:

contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of

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