This fairly basic carbon cycle diagram shows how carbon atoms 'flow' between various 'reservoirs' in the
Earth system. This depiction of the carbon cycle focusses on the terrestrial (land-based) part of the
cycle; there are also exchanges with the ocean which are only hinted at here. Note that carbon atoms
are incorporated into various molecules as they flow around the cycle; for example, photosynthesis in
plants captures carbon atoms in sugar molecules and atmospheric carbon is contained in molecules such
as carbon dioxide and methane.
The element carbon is a part of seawater, the atmosphere, rocks such as limestone and coal, soils, as
well as all living things. On our dynamic planet, carbon is able to move from one of these realms to
another as a part of the carbon cycle.
Carbon moves from the atmosphere to plants. In the atmosphere, carbon is attached to oxygen in a gas
called carbon dioxide (CO2). Through the process of photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is pulled from the
air to produce food made from carbon for plant growth.
Carbon moves from plants to animals. Through food chains, the carbon that is in plants moves to the
animals that eat them. Animals that eat other animals get the carbon from their food too.
Carbon moves from plants and animals to soils. When plants and animals die, their bodies, wood and
leaves decays bringing the carbon into the ground. Some is buried and will become fossil fuels in millions
and millions of years.
Carbon moves from living things to the atmosphere. Each time you exhale, you are releasing carbon
dioxide gas (CO2) into the atmosphere. Animals and plants need to get rid of carbon dioxide gas through
a process called respiration.
Carbon moves from fossil fuels to the atmosphere when fuels are burned. When humans burn fossil
fuels to power factories, power plants, cars and trucks, most of the carbon quickly enters the
atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas. Each year, five and a half billion tons of carbon is released by burning
fossil fuels. Of this massive amount, 3.3 billion tons stays in the atmosphere. Most of the remainder
becomes dissolved in seawater.
Carbon moves from the atmosphere to the oceans. The oceans, and other bodies of water, absorb some
carbon from the atmosphere. The carbon is dissolved into the water.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and traps heat in the atmosphere. Without it and other greenhouse
gases, Earth would be a frozen world. But since the start of the Industrial Revolution about 150 years
ago humans have burned so much fuel and released so much carbon dioxide into the air that global
climate has risen over one degree Fahrenheit. The atmosphere has not held this much carbon for at
least 420,000 years according to data from ice cores. The recent increase in amounts of greenhouse
gases such as carbon dioxide is having a significant impact on the warming of our planet.
Carbon moves through our planet over longer time scales as well. For example, over millions of years
weathering of rocks on land can add carbon to surface water which eventually runs off to the ocean.
Over long time scales, carbon is removed from seawater when the shells and bones of marine animals
and plankton collect on the sea floor. These shells and bones are made of limestone, which contains
carbon. When they are deposited on the sea floor, carbon is stored from the rest of the carbon cycle for
some amount of time. The amount of limestone deposited in the ocean depends somewhat on the
amount of warm, tropical, shallow oceans on the planet because this is where prolific limestone-
producing organisms such as corals live. The carbon can be released back to the atmosphere if the
limestone melts or is metamorphosed in a subduction zone.
water cycle, also called hydrologic cycle, cycle that involves
the continuous circulation of water in the Earth-atmosphere system. Of the
many processes involved in the water cycle, the most important
are evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, and runoff.
Although the total amount of water within the cycle remains essentially
constant, its distribution among the various processes is continually
changing.
A brief treatment of the water cycle follows.
Evaporation, one of the major processes in the cycle, is the transfer
of water from the surface of the Earth to the atmosphere. By
evaporation, water in the liquid state is transferred to the gaseous,
or vapour, state. This transfer occurs when some molecules in
a water mass have attained sufficient kinetic energy to eject
themselves from the water surface. The main factors affecting
evaporation are temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar
radiation.
The direct measurement of evaporation, though desirable, is
difficult and possible only at point locations. The principal source of
water vapour is the oceans, but evaporation also occurs
in soils, snow, and ice. Evaporation from snow and ice, the direct
conversion from solid to vapour, is known as
sublimation. Transpiration is the evaporation of water through
minute pores, or stomata, in the leaves of plants. For practical
purposes, transpiration and the evaporation from all water, soils,
snow, ice, vegetation, and other surfaces are lumped together and
called evapotranspiration, or total evaporation.
Water vapour is the primary form of atmospheric moisture.
Although its storage in the atmosphere is comparatively small,
water vapour is extremely important in forming the moisture supply
for dew, frost, fog, clouds, and precipitation. Practically all water
vapour in the atmosphere is confined to the troposphere (the region
below 6 to 8 miles [10 to 13 km] altitude).
The transition process from the vapour state to the liquid state is
called condensation. Condensation may take place as soon as
the air contains more water vapour than it can receive from a free
water surface through evaporation at the prevailing temperature.
This condition occurs as the consequence of either cooling or the
mixing of air masses of different temperatures. By condensation,
water vapour in the atmosphere is released to form precipitation.
The transition process from the vapour state to the liquid state is
called condensation. Condensation may take place as soon as
the air contains more water vapour than it can receive from a free water
surface through evaporation at the prevailing temperature. This condition
occurs as the consequence of either cooling or the mixing of air masses of
different temperatures. By condensation, water vapour in the atmosphere is
released to form precipitation.
Precipitation that falls to the Earth is distributed in four main ways: some is
returned to the atmosphere by evaporation, some may be intercepted by
vegetation and then evaporated from the surface of leaves,
some percolates into the soil by infiltration, and the remainder flows
directly as surface runoff into the sea. Some of the infiltrated precipitation
may later percolate into streams as groundwater runoff. Direct
measurement of runoff is made by stream gauges and plotted against time
on hydrographs.
Most groundwater is derived from precipitation that has percolated through
the soil. Groundwater flow rates, compared with those of surface water, are
very slow and variable, ranging from a few millimetres to a few metres a
day. Groundwater movement is studied by tracer techniques and remote
sensing. Ice also plays a role in the water cycle. Ice and snow on the Earth’s
surface occur in various forms such as frost, sea ice, and glacier ice. When
soil moisture freezes, ice also occurs beneath the Earth’s surface,
forming permafrost in tundra climates. About 18,000 years ago glaciers and
ice caps covered approximately one-third of the Earth’s land surface. Today
about 12 percent of the land surface remains covered by ice masses
