For the thermonuclear reaction involving carbon that powers some stars, seeCNO cycle. For organic chemical ring-shaped structures, seeCyclic compound. For the geochemical cycle, seeCarbonate–silicate cycle.
Carbon cycle schematic showing the movement of carbon between land, atmosphere, and oceans in billions of tons (gigatons) per year. Yellow numbers are natural fluxes, red are human contributions, and white are stored carbon. The effects of theslow (or deep) carbon cycle, such as volcanic and tectonic activity are not included.[1]
Thecarbon cycle is a part of thebiogeochemical cycle wherecarbon is exchanged among thebiosphere,pedosphere,geosphere,hydrosphere, andatmosphere of Earth. Other major biogeochemical cycles include thenitrogen cycle and thewater cycle. Carbon is the main component of biological compounds as well as a major component of many rocks such aslimestone. The carbon cycle comprises a sequence of events that are key to making Earth capable of sustaining life. It describes the movement of carbon as it is recycled and reused throughout the biosphere, as well as long-term processes ofcarbon sequestration (storage) to and release fromcarbon sinks. At 422.7 parts per million (ppm), the global average carbon dioxide has set a new record high in 2024.[2]
To describe the dynamics of the carbon cycle, a distinction can be made between thefast andslow carbon cycle. The fast cycle is also referred to as thebiological carbon cycle. Fast cycles can complete within years, moving substances from atmosphere to biosphere, then back to the atmosphere. Slow or geological cycles (also calleddeep carbon cycle) can take millions of years to complete, moving substances through the Earth'scrust between rocks, soil, ocean and atmosphere.[3]
Humans have disturbed the carbon cycle for many centuries. They have done so bymodifying land use and by mining and burning carbon from ancient organic remains (coal,petroleum andgas).[1]Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased nearly 52% over pre-industrial levels by 2020, resulting inglobal warming.[4] The increased carbon dioxide has also caused areduction in the ocean's pH value and is fundamentally alteringmarine chemistry.[5] Carbon dioxide is critical for photosynthesis.
The carbon cycle was first described byAntoine Lavoisier andJoseph Priestley, and popularised byHumphry Davy.[6] The global carbon cycle is now usually divided into the following majorreservoirs of carbon (also calledcarbon pools) interconnected by pathways of exchange:[7]
Sediments, includingfossil fuels, freshwater systems, and non-living organic material.
Earth's interior (mantle andcrust). These carbon stores interact with the other components through geological processes.
The carbon exchanges between reservoirs occur as the result of various chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes. The ocean contains the largest active pool of carbon near the surface of the Earth.[8]The natural flows of carbon between the atmosphere, ocean, terrestrial ecosystems, and sediments are fairly balanced; so carbon levels would be roughly stable without human influence.[9][10]
Computer model showing a year in the life of atmospheric carbon dioxide and how it travels around the globe [11]
Carbon in the Earth's atmosphere exists in two main forms:carbon dioxide andmethane. Both of these gases absorb and retain heat in the atmosphere and are partially responsible for thegreenhouse effect.[8] Methane produces a larger greenhouse effect per volume as compared to carbon dioxide, but it exists in much lower concentrations and is more short-lived than carbon dioxide. Thus, carbon dioxide contributes more to the global greenhouse effect than methane.[12]
Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere primarily throughphotosynthesis and enters the terrestrial and oceanic biospheres. Carbon dioxide also dissolves directly from the atmosphere into bodies of water (ocean, lakes, etc.), as well as dissolving in precipitation as raindrops fall through the atmosphere. When dissolved in water, carbon dioxide reacts with water molecules and formscarbonic acid, which contributes to ocean acidity. It can then be absorbed by rocks through weathering. It also can acidify other surfaces it touches or be washed into the ocean.[13]
CO2 concentrations over the last 800,000 years as measured from ice cores (blue/green) and directly (black)
Human activities over the past two centuries have increased the amount of carbon in the atmosphere by nearly 50% as of year 2020, mainly in the form of carbon dioxide, both by modifying ecosystems' ability to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and by emitting it directly, e.g., by burning fossil fuels and manufacturing concrete.[4][8]
In the far future (2 to 3 billion years), the rate at which carbon dioxide is absorbed into the soil via thecarbonate–silicate cycle will likely increase due toexpected changes in the sun as it ages. The expected increased luminosity of the Sun will likely speed up the rate of surface weathering.[14] This will eventually cause most of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to be squelched into the Earth's crust as carbonate.[15][16][17] Once the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere falls below approximately 50 parts per million (tolerances vary among species),C3 photosynthesis will no longer be possible.[16] This has been predicted to occur 600 million years from the present, though models vary.[18]
Once the oceans on the Earth evaporate in about 1.1 billion years from now,[14] plate tectonics will very likely stop due to the lack of water to lubricate them. The lack of volcanoes pumping out carbon dioxide will cause the carbon cycle to end between 1 billion and 2 billion years into the future.[19]
The terrestrial biosphere includes the organic carbon in all land-living organisms, both alive and dead, as well as carbon stored insoils. About 500 gigatons of carbon are stored above ground in plants and other living organisms,[9] while soil holds approximately 1,500 gigatons of carbon.[21] Most carbon in the terrestrial biosphere is organic carbon,[22] while about a third ofsoil carbon is stored in inorganic forms, such ascalcium carbonate.[23] Organic carbon is a major component of all organisms living on Earth.Autotrophs extract it from the air in the form of carbon dioxide, converting it to organic carbon, whileheterotrophs receive carbon by consuming other organisms.
Because carbon uptake in the terrestrial biosphere is dependent on biotic factors, it follows a diurnal and seasonal cycle. In CO2 measurements, this feature is apparent in theKeeling curve. It is strongest in the northernhemisphere because this hemisphere has more land mass than the southern hemisphere and thus more room for ecosystems to absorb and emit carbon.
A portable soil respiration system measuring soil CO2 flux.
Carbon leaves the terrestrial biosphere in several ways and on different time scales. Thecombustion orrespiration of organic carbon releases it rapidly into the atmosphere. It can also be exported into the ocean through rivers or remain sequestered in soils in the form of inert carbon.[24] Carbon stored in soil can remain there for up to thousands of years before being washed into rivers byerosion or released into the atmosphere throughsoil respiration. Between 1989 and 2008 soil respiration increased by about 0.1% per year.[25] In 2008, the global total of CO2 released by soil respiration was roughly 98 billion tonnes[citation needed], about 3 times more carbon than humans are now putting into the atmosphere each year by burning fossil fuel (this does not represent a net transfer of carbon from soil to atmosphere, as the respiration is largely offset by inputs to soil carbon).[citation needed] There are a few plausible explanations for this trend, but the most likely explanation is that increasing temperatures have increased rates of decomposition ofsoil organic matter, which has increased the flow of CO2. The length of carbon sequestering in soil is dependent on local climatic conditions and thus changes in the course ofclimate change.[26]
Size of major carbon pools on the Earth (year 2000 estimates)[8]
The ocean can be conceptually divided into asurface layer within which water makes frequent (daily to annual) contact with the atmosphere, and a deep layer below the typicalmixed layer depth of a few hundred meters or less, within which the time between consecutive contacts may be centuries. Thedissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the surface layer is exchanged rapidly with the atmosphere, maintaining equilibrium. Partly because its concentration of DIC is about 15% higher[27] but mainly due to its larger volume, the deep ocean contains far more carbon—it is the largest pool of actively cycled carbon in the world, containing 50 times more than the atmosphere[8]—but the timescale to reach equilibrium with the atmosphere is hundreds of years: the exchange of carbon between the two layers, driven bythermohaline circulation, is slow.[8]
Carbon enters the ocean mainly through the dissolution of atmospheric carbon dioxide, a small fraction of which is converted intocarbonate. It can also enter the ocean through rivers asdissolved organic carbon. It is converted by organisms into organic carbon throughphotosynthesis and can either be exchanged throughout the food chain or precipitated into the oceans' deeper, more carbon-rich layers as dead soft tissue or in shells ascalcium carbonate. It circulates in this layer for long periods of time before either being deposited as sediment or, eventually, returned to the surface waters through thermohaline circulation.[9]
Oceans are basic (with a currentpH value of 8.1 to 8.2). The increase in atmospheric CO2 shifts the pH of the ocean towards neutral in a process calledocean acidification. Oceanic absorption of CO2 is one of the most important forms ofcarbon sequestering. The projected rate of pH reduction could slow the biological precipitation ofcalcium carbonates, thus decreasing the ocean's capacity to absorb CO2.[28][29]
Diagram showing relative sizes (in gigatonnes) of the main storage pools of carbon on Earth. Cumulative changes (thru year 2014) from land use and emissions of fossil carbon are included for comparison.[20]
The geologic component of the carbon cycle operates slowly in comparison to the other parts of the global carbon cycle. It is one of the most important determinants of the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, and thus of global temperatures.[30]
Most of the Earth's carbon is stored inertly in the Earth'slithosphere.[8] Much of the carbon stored in the Earth's mantle was stored there when the Earth formed.[31] Some of it was deposited in the form of organic carbon from the biosphere.[32] Of the carbon stored in the geosphere, about 80% islimestone and its derivatives, which form from the sedimentation ofcalcium carbonate stored in the shells of marine organisms. The remaining 20% is stored askerogens formed through the sedimentation and burial of terrestrial organisms under high heat and pressure. Organic carbon stored in the geosphere can remain there for millions of years.[30]
Carbon can leave the geosphere in several ways. Carbon dioxide is released during themetamorphism of carbonate rocks when they aresubducted into the Earth's mantle. This carbon dioxide can be released into the atmosphere and ocean throughvolcanoes andhotspots.[31] It can also be removed by humans through the direct extraction of kerogens in the form offossil fuels. After extraction, fossil fuels are burned to release energy and emit the carbon they store into the atmosphere.
The slow (or deep) carbon cycle operates through rocks The fast carbon cycle operates through the biosphere, see diagram atstart of article ↑
There is a fast and a slow carbon cycle. The fast cycle operates in thebiosphere and the slow cycle operates inrocks. The fast or biological cycle can complete within years, moving carbon from atmosphere to biosphere, then back to the atmosphere. The slow or geological cycle may extend deep into the mantle and can take millions of years to complete, moving carbon through the Earth'scrust between rocks, soil, ocean and atmosphere.[3]
The fast carbon cycle involves relatively short-termbiogeochemical processes between the environment and living organisms in the biosphere (see diagram atstart of article). It includes movements of carbon between the atmosphere and terrestrial and marine ecosystems, as well as soils and seafloor sediments. The fast cycle includes annual cycles involving photosynthesis and decadal cycles involving vegetative growth and decomposition. The reactions of the fast carbon cycle to human activities will determine many of the more immediate impacts of climate change.[33][34][35][36][37]
The slow (or deep) carbon cycle involves medium to long-termgeochemical processes belonging to therock cycle (see diagram on the right). The exchange between the ocean and atmosphere can take centuries, and the weathering of rocks can take millions of years. Carbon in the ocean precipitates to the ocean floor where it can formsedimentary rock and besubducted into theEarth's mantle.Mountain building processes result in the return of this geologic carbon to the Earth's surface. There the rocks are weathered and carbon is returned to the atmosphere bydegassing and to the ocean by rivers. Other geologic carbon returns to the ocean through thehydrothermal emission of calcium ions. In a given year between 10 and 100 million tonnes of carbon moves around this slow cycle. This includes volcanoes returning geologic carbon directly to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. However, this is less than one percent of the carbon dioxide put into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels.[3][33][38]
Terrestrial plants fix atmospheric CO2 throughphotosynthesis, returning a fraction back to the atmosphere throughrespiration.[46]Lignin andcelluloses represent as much as 80% of the organic carbon in forests and 60% in pastures.[47][48]
Litterfall and root organic carbon mix with sedimentary material to form organic soils where plant-derived and petrogenic organic carbon is both stored and transformed by microbial and fungal activity.[49][50][51]
Water absorbs plant and settled aerosol-deriveddissolved organic carbon (DOC) anddissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) as it passes over forest canopies (i.e.throughfall) and along plant trunks/stems (i.e.stemflow).[52] Biogeochemical transformations take place as water soaks into soil solution and groundwater reservoirs[53][54] andoverland flow occurs when soils are completely saturated,[55] or rainfall occurs more rapidly than saturation into soils.[56]
Organic carbon derived from the terrestrial biosphere andin situprimary production is decomposed by microbial communities in rivers and streams along with physical decomposition (i.e.photo-oxidation), resulting in a flux of CO2 from rivers to the atmosphere that are the same order of magnitude as the amount of carbon sequestered annually by the terrestrial biosphere.[57][58][59] Terrestrially-derived macromolecules such as lignin [60] andblack carbon[61] are decomposed into smaller components andmonomers, ultimately being converted to CO2, metabolic intermediates, orbiomass.
Lakes, reservoirs, andfloodplains typically store large amounts of organic carbon and sediments, but also experience netheterotrophy in the water column, resulting in a net flux of CO2 to the atmosphere that is roughly one order of magnitude less than rivers.[62][59] Methane production is also typically high in theanoxic sediments of floodplains, lakes, and reservoirs.[63]
Primary production is typically enhanced inriver plumes due to the export offluvial nutrients.[64][65] Nevertheless,estuarine waters are a source of CO2 to the atmosphere, globally.[66]
Carbon dioxide exchange, photosynthetic production and respiration of terrestrial vegetation, rock weathering, and sedimentation occur in terrestrial ecosystems. Carbon transports to the ocean through the land-river-estuary continuum in the form of organic carbon and inorganic carbon. Carbon exchange at the air-water interface, transportation, transformation and sedimentation occur in oceanic ecosystems..[72]
Terrestrial and marine ecosystems are chiefly connected throughriverine transport, which acts as the main channel through which erosive terrestrially derived substances enter into oceanic systems. Material and energy exchanges between the terrestrialbiosphere and thelithosphere as well asorganic carbon fixation and oxidation processes together regulate ecosystem carbon anddioxygen (O2) pools.[72]
Riverine transport, being the main connective channel of these pools, will act to transportnet primary productivity (primarily in the form ofdissolved organic carbon (DOC) andparticulate organic carbon (POC)) from terrestrial to oceanic systems.[73] During transport, part of DOC will rapidly return to the atmosphere throughredox reactions, causing "carbon degassing" to occur between land-atmosphere storage layers.[74][75] The remaining DOC anddissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) are also exported to the ocean.[76][77][78] In 2015, inorganic and organic carbon export fluxes from global rivers were assessed as 0.50–0.70Pg C y−1 and 0.15–0.35 Pg C y−1 respectively.[77] On the other hand, POC can remain buried in sediment over an extensive period, and the annual global terrestrial to oceanic POC flux has been estimated at 0.20 (+0.13,-0.07)Gg C y−1.[79][72]
The oceanbiological pump is the ocean's biologically driven sequestration ofcarbon from the atmosphere and land runoff to the deep ocean interior andseafloor sediments.[80] The biological pump is not so much the result of a single process, but rather the sum of a number of processes each of which can influence biological pumping. The pump transfers about 11 billion tonnes of carbon every year into the ocean's interior. An ocean without the biological pump would result in atmospheric CO2 levels about 400ppm higher than the present day.[81][82][83]
Most carbon incorporated in organic and inorganic biological matter is formed at the sea surface where it can then start sinking to the ocean floor. The deep ocean gets most of its nutrients from the higherwater column when they sink down in the form ofmarine snow. This is made up of dead or dying animals and microbes, fecal matter, sand and other inorganic material.[84]
The biological pump is responsible for transformingdissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) into organic biomass and pumping it inparticulate or dissolved form into the deep ocean. Inorganic nutrients and carbon dioxide are fixed during photosynthesis by phytoplankton, which both releasedissolved organic matter (DOM) and are consumed by herbivorous zooplankton. Larger zooplankton - such ascopepods,egestfecal pellets - which can be reingested, and sink or collect with other organic detritus into larger, more-rapidly-sinking aggregates. DOM is partially consumed by bacteria and respired; the remainingrefractory DOM isadvected and mixed into the deep sea. DOM and aggregates exported into the deep water are consumed and respired, thus returning organic carbon into the enormous deep ocean reservoir of DIC.[85]
A single phytoplankton cell has a sinking rate around one metre per day. Given that the average depth of the ocean is about four kilometres, it can take over ten years for these cells to reach the ocean floor. However, through processes such as coagulation and expulsion in predator fecal pellets, these cells form aggregates. These aggregates have sinking rates orders of magnitude greater than individual cells and complete their journey to the deep in a matter of days.[86]
About 1% of the particles leaving the surface ocean reach the seabed and are consumed, respired, or buried in the sediments. The net effect of these processes is to remove carbon in organic form from the surface and return it to DIC at greater depths, maintaining a surface-to-deep ocean gradient of DIC.Thermohaline circulation returns deep-ocean DIC to the atmosphere on millennial timescales. The carbon buried in the sediments can besubducted into theearth's mantle and stored for millions of years as part of the slow carbon cycle (see next section).[85]
Viruses act as "regulators" of the fast carbon cycle because they impact the material cycles and energy flows offood webs and themicrobial loop. The average contribution of viruses to the Earth ecosystem carbon cycle is 8.6%, of which its contribution to marine ecosystems (1.4%) is less than its contribution to terrestrial (6.7%) and freshwater (17.8%) ecosystems. Over the past 2,000 years, anthropogenic activities and climate change have gradually altered the regulatory role of viruses in ecosystem carbon cycling processes. This has been particularly conspicuous over the past 200 years due to rapid industrialization and the attendant population growth.[72]
Comparison of how virus regulate the carbon cycle in terrestrial ecosystems (left) and in marine ecosystems (right). Arrows show the roles viruses play in the traditional food web, the microbial loop and the carbon cycle. Light green arrows represent the traditional food web, white arrows represent the microbial loop, and white dotted arrows represent the contribution rate of carbon produced byviral lysing of bacteria to the ecosystemdissolved organic carbon (DOC) pool. Freshwater ecosystems are regulated in a manner similar to marine ecosystems, and are not shown separately. The microbial loop is an important supplement to the classic food chain, wherein dissolved organic matter is ingested byheterotrophic "planktonic" bacteria duringsecondary production. These bacteria are then consumed byprotozoa,copepods and other organisms, and eventually returned to the classical food chain.[72]
Slow ordeep carbon cycling is an important process, though it is not as well-understood as the relatively fast carbon movement through the atmosphere, terrestrial biosphere, ocean, and geosphere.[87] The deep carbon cycle is intimately connected to the movement of carbon in the Earth's surface and atmosphere. If the process did not exist, carbon would remain in the atmosphere, where it would accumulate to extremely high levels over long periods of time.[88] Therefore, by allowing carbon to return to the Earth, the deep carbon cycle plays a critical role in maintaining the terrestrial conditions necessary for life to exist.
Furthermore, the process is also significant simply due to the massive quantities of carbon it transports through the planet. In fact, studying the composition of basalticmagma and measuring carbon dioxide flux out of volcanoes reveals that the amount of carbon in themantle is actually greater than that on the Earth's surface by a factor of one thousand.[89] Drilling down and physically observing deep-Earth carbon processes is evidently extremely difficult, as the lower mantle andcore extend from 660 to 2,891 km and 2,891 to 6,371 km deep into the Earth respectively. Accordingly, not much is conclusively known regarding the role of carbon in the deep Earth. Nonetheless, several pieces of evidence—many of which come from laboratory simulations of deep Earth conditions—have indicated mechanisms for the element's movement down into the lower mantle, as well as the forms that carbon takes at the extreme temperatures and pressures of said layer. Furthermore, techniques likeseismology have led to a greater understanding of the potential presence of carbon in the Earth's core.
Carbon principally enters the mantle in the form ofcarbonate-rich sediments ontectonic plates of ocean crust, which pull the carbon into the mantle upon undergoingsubduction. Not much is known about carbon circulation in the mantle, especially in the deep Earth, but many studies have attempted to augment our understanding of the element's movement and forms within the region. For instance, a 2011 study demonstrated that carbon cycling extends all the way to thelower mantle. The study analyzed rare, super-deepdiamonds at a site inJuina, Brazil, determining that the bulk composition of some of the diamonds' inclusions matched the expected result of basalt melting andcrystallisation under lower mantle temperatures and pressures.[91] Thus, the investigation's findings indicate that pieces of basaltic oceanic lithosphere act as the principle transport mechanism for carbon to Earth's deep interior. These subducted carbonates can interact with lower mantlesilicates, eventually forming super-deep diamonds like the one found.[92]
However, carbonates descending to the lower mantle encounter other fates in addition to forming diamonds. In 2011, carbonates were subjected to an environment similar to that of 1800 km deep into the Earth, well within the lower mantle. Doing so resulted in the formations ofmagnesite,siderite, and numerous varieties ofgraphite.[93] Other experiments—as well aspetrologic observations—support this claim, indicating that magnesite is actually the most stable carbonate phase in most part of the mantle. This is largely a result of its higher melting temperature.[94] Consequently, scientists have concluded that carbonates undergoreduction as they descend into the mantle before being stabilised at depth by low oxygen fugacity environments.[95] Magnesium, iron, and other metallic compounds act as buffers throughout the process.[96] The presence of reduced, elemental forms of carbon like graphite would indicate that carbon compounds are reduced as they descend into the mantle.
Carbon is tetrahedrally bonded to oxygen
Polymorphism alters carbonate compounds' stability at different depths within the Earth. To illustrate, laboratory simulations anddensity functional theory calculations suggest thattetrahedrally coordinated carbonates are most stable at depths approaching thecore–mantle boundary.[97][93] A 2015 study indicates that the lower mantle's high pressure causes carbon bonds to transition from sp2 to sp3hybridised orbitals, resulting in carbon tetrahedrally bonding to oxygen.[98] CO3 trigonal groups cannot form polymerisable networks, while tetrahedral CO4 can, signifying an increase in carbon'scoordination number, and therefore drastic changes in carbonate compounds' properties in the lower mantle. As an example, preliminary theoretical studies suggest that high pressure causes carbonate melt viscosity to increase; the melts' lower mobility as a result of its increased viscosity causes large deposits of carbon deep into the mantle.[99]
Accordingly, carbon can remain in the lower mantle for long periods of time, but large concentrations of carbon frequently find their way back to the lithosphere. This process, called carbon outgassing, is the result of carbonated mantle undergoing decompression melting, as well asmantle plumes carrying carbon compounds up towards the crust.[100] Carbon is oxidised upon its ascent towards volcanic hotspots, where it is then released as CO2. This occurs so that the carbon atom matches the oxidation state of the basalts erupting in such areas.[101]
Knowledge about carbon in the core can be gained by analysing shear wave velocities
Although the presence of carbon in the Earth's core is well-constrained, recent studies suggest large inventories of carbon could be stored in this region.[clarification needed]Shear (S) waves moving through the inner core travel at about fifty percent of the velocity expected for most iron-rich alloys.[102] Because the core's composition is believed to be an alloy of crystalline iron and a small amount of nickel, this seismic anomaly indicates the presence of light elements, including carbon, in the core. In fact, studies usingdiamond anvil cells to replicate the conditions in the Earth's core indicate thatiron carbide (Fe7C3) matches the inner core's wave speed and density. Therefore, the iron carbide model could serve as an evidence that the core holds as much as 67% of the Earth's carbon.[103] Furthermore, another study found that in the pressure and temperature condition of the Earth's inner core, carbon dissolved in iron and formed a stable phase with the same Fe7C3 composition—albeit with a different structure from the one previously mentioned.[104] In summary, although the amount of carbon potentially stored in the Earth's core is not known, recent studies indicate that the presence of iron carbides can explain some of the geophysical observations.[105]
Emissions of CO2 have been caused by different sources ramping up one after the other (Global Carbon Project)
Partitioning of CO2 emissions show that most emissions are being absorbed by carbon sinks, including plant growth, soil uptake, and ocean uptake (Global Carbon Project)
Schematic representation of the overall perturbation of the global carbon cycle caused by anthropogenic activities, averaged from 2010 to 2019.
Since theIndustrial Revolution, and especially since the end ofWWII, human activity has substantially disturbed the global carbon cycle by redistributing massive amounts of carbon from the geosphere.[1] Humans have also continued to shift the natural component functions of the terrestrial biosphere with changes to vegetation and other land use.[8] Man-made (synthetic) carbon compounds have been designed and mass-manufactured that will persist for decades to millennia in air, water, and sediments as pollutants.[106][107] Climate change is amplifying and forcing further indirect human changes to the carbon cycle as a consequence of various positive and negativefeedbacks.[26]
Climate–carbon cycle feedbacks and state variables as represented in a stylised model
Carbon stored on land in vegetation and soils is aggregated into a single stock ct. Ocean mixed layer carbon, cm, is the only explicitly modelled ocean stock of carbon; though to estimate carbon cycle feedbacks the total ocean carbon is also calculated.[108]
Current trends in climate change lead to higher ocean temperatures andacidity, thus modifying marine ecosystems.[109] Also, acid rain and polluted runoff from agriculture and industry change the ocean's chemical composition. Such changes can have dramatic effects on highly sensitive ecosystems such ascoral reefs,[110] thus limiting the ocean's ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere on a regional scale and reducing oceanic biodiversity globally.
The exchanges of carbon between the atmosphere and other components of the Earth system, collectively known as the carbon cycle, currently constitute important negative (dampening) feedbacks on the effect of anthropogenic carbon emissions on climate change. Carbon sinks in the land and the ocean each currently take up about one-quarter of anthropogenic carbon emissions each year.[111][108]
These feedbacks are expected to weaken in the future, amplifying the effect of anthropogenic carbon emissions on climate change.[112] The degree to which they will weaken, however, is highly uncertain, with Earth system models predicting a wide range of land and ocean carbon uptakes even under identical atmospheric concentration or emission scenarios.[113][108][114]Arctic methane emissions indirectly caused by anthropogenic global warming also affect the carbon cycle and contribute to further warming.
Detail of anthropogenic carbon flows, showing cumulative mass in gigatons during years 1850–2018 (left) and the annual mass average during 2009–2018 (right).[115]
The largest and one of the fastest growing human impacts on the carbon cycle and biosphere is the extraction and burning offossil fuels, which directly transfer carbon from the geosphere into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is also produced and released during thecalcination oflimestone forclinker production.[116] Clinker is an industrialprecursor ofcement.
As of 2020[update], about 450 gigatons of fossil carbon have been extracted in total; an amount approaching the carbon contained in all of Earth's living terrestrial biomass.[115] Recent rates of global emissions directly into the atmosphere have exceeded the uptake by vegetation and the oceans.[117][118][119][120] Thesesinks have been expected and observed to remove about half of the added atmospheric carbon within about a century.[115][121][122] Nevertheless, sinks like the ocean have evolvingsaturation properties, and a substantial fraction (20–35%, based oncoupled models) of the added carbon is projected to remain in the atmosphere for centuries to millennia.[123][124]
Halocarbons are less prolific compounds developed for diverse uses throughout industry; for example assolvents andrefrigerants. Nevertheless, the buildup of relatively small concentrations (parts per trillion) ofchlorofluorocarbon,hydrofluorocarbon, andperfluorocarbon gases in the atmosphere is responsible for about 10% of the total directradiative forcing from all long-lived greenhouse gases (year 2019); which includes forcing from the much larger concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane.[125] Chlorofluorocarbons also cause stratosphericozone depletion. International efforts are ongoing under theMontreal Protocol andKyoto Protocol to control rapid growth in the industrial manufacturing and use of these environmentally potent gases. For some applications more benign alternatives such ashydrofluoroolefins have been developed and are being gradually introduced.[126]
Since the invention of agriculture, humans have directly and gradually influenced the carbon cycle over century-long timescales by modifying the mixture of vegetation in the terrestrial biosphere.[121] Over the past several centuries, direct and indirect human-causedland use and land cover change (LUCC) has led to theloss of biodiversity, which lowers ecosystems' resilience to environmental stresses and decreases their ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere. More directly, it often leads to the release of carbon from terrestrial ecosystems into the atmosphere.
Deforestation for agricultural purposes removes forests, which hold large amounts of carbon, and replaces them, generally with agricultural or urban areas. Both of these replacement land cover types store comparatively small amounts of carbon so that the net result of the transition is that more carbon stays in the atmosphere. However, the effects on the atmosphere and overall carbon cycle can be intentionally and/or naturally reversed withreforestation.[citation needed]
^Holmes, Richard (2008).The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science. Pantheon Books.ISBN978-0-375-42222-5.[page needed]
^Archer, David (2010).The Global Carbon Cycle. Princeton University Press. pp. 5–6.ISBN978-1-4008-3707-6.
^abcdefghFalkowski, P.; Scholes, R. J.; Boyle, E.; Canadell, J.; Canfield, D.; Elser, J.; Gruber, N.; Hibbard, K.; Högberg, P.; Linder, S.; MacKenzie, F. T.; Moore, III, B.; Pedersen, T.; Rosenthal, Y.; Seitzinger, S.; Smetacek, V.; Steffen, W. (2000). "The Global Carbon Cycle: A Test of Our Knowledge of Earth as a System".Science.290 (5490):291–296.Bibcode:2000Sci...290..291F.doi:10.1126/science.290.5490.291.PMID11030643.
^abcPrentice, 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 the Intergouvernmental Panel on Climate Change.hdl:10067/381670151162165141.
^Forster, P.; Ramawamy, V.; Artaxo, P.; Berntsen, T.; Betts, R.; Fahey, D.W.; Haywood, J.;Lean, J.; Lowe, D.C.; Myhre, G.; Nganga, J.; Prinn, R.; Raga, G.; Schulz, M.; Van Dorland, R. (2007). "Changes in atmospheric constituents and in radiative forcing".Climate Change 2007: The Physical Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
^Walker, James C. G.; Hays, P. B.; Kasting, J. F. (20 October 1981). "A negative feedback mechanism for the long-term stabilization of Earth's surface temperature".Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans.86 (C10):9776–9782.Bibcode:1981JGR....86.9776W.doi:10.1029/JC086iC10p09776.
^abHeath, Martin J.; Doyle, Laurance R. (2009). Circumstellar Habitable Zones to Ecodynamic Domains: A Preliminary Review and Suggested Future Directions (Preprint).arXiv:0912.2482.
^abJanowiak, M.; Connelly, W.J.; Dante-Wood, K.; Domke, G.M.; Giardina, C.; Kayler, Z.; Marcinkowski, K.; Ontl, T.; Rodriguez-Franco, C.; Swanston, C.; Woodall, C.W.; Buford, M. (2017). Considering Forest and Grassland Carbon in Land Management (Report). United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.doi:10.2737/WO-GTR-95.
^Sarmiento, Jorge L.; Gruber, Nicolas (2006).Ocean Biogeochemical Dynamics. Princeton University Press.ISBN978-0-691-01707-5.[page needed]
^Kleypas, J. A.; Buddemeier, R. W.; Archer, D.; Gattuso, J. P.; Langdon, C.; Opdyke, B. N. (1999). "Geochemical Consequences of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide on Coral Reefs".Science.284 (5411):118–120.Bibcode:1999Sci...284..118K.doi:10.1126/science.284.5411.118.PMID10102806.
^NASA Earth Observatory (16 June 2011). "The Fast Carbon Cycle".Archive. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
^NASA Earth Observatory (16 June 2011). "The Slow Carbon Cycle".Archive. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
^Waterloo, Maarten J.; Oliveira, Sylvia M.; Drucker, Debora P.; Nobre, Antonio D.; Cuartas, Luz A.; Hodnett, Martin G.; Langedijk, Ivar; Jans, Wilma W. P.; Tomasella, Javier; de Araújo, Alessandro C.; Pimentel, Tania P.; Múnera Estrada, Juan C. (15 August 2006). "Export of organic carbon in run-off from an Amazonian rainforest blackwater catchment".Hydrological Processes.20 (12):2581–2597.Bibcode:2006HyPr...20.2581W.doi:10.1002/hyp.6217.
^Myers-Pigg, Allison N.; Griffin, Robert J.; Louchouarn, Patrick; Norwood, Matthew J.; Sterne, Amanda; Cevik, Basak Karakurt (6 September 2016). "Signatures of Biomass Burning Aerosols in the Plume of a Saltmarsh Wildfire in South Texas".Environmental Science & Technology.50 (17):9308–9314.Bibcode:2016EnST...50.9308M.doi:10.1021/acs.est.6b02132.PMID27462728.
^Qualls, Robert G.; Haines, Bruce L. (March 1992). "Biodegradability of Dissolved Organic Matter in Forest Throughfall, Soil Solution, and Stream Water".Soil Science Society of America Journal.56 (2):578–586.Bibcode:1992SSASJ..56..578Q.doi:10.2136/sssaj1992.03615995005600020038x.
^Grøn, Christian; Tørsløv, Jens; Albrechtsen, Hans-Jørgen; Jensen, Hanne Møller (May 1992). "Biodegradability of dissolved organic carbon in groundwater from an unconfined aquifer".Science of the Total Environment.117–118:241–251.Bibcode:1992ScTEn.117..241G.doi:10.1016/0048-9697(92)90091-6.
^Pabich, Wendy J.; Valiela, Ivan; Hemond, Harold F. (2001). "Relationship between DOC concentration and vadose zone thickness and depth below water table in groundwater of Cape Cod, U.S.A.".Biogeochemistry.55 (3):247–268.Bibcode:2001Biogc..55..247P.doi:10.1023/A:1011842918260.
^Linsley, Ray K. (1975).Solutions Manual to Accompany Hydrology for Engineers. McGraw-Hill.OCLC24765393.[page needed]
^Richey, Jeffrey E.; Melack, John M.; Aufdenkampe, Anthony K.; Ballester, Victoria M.; Hess, Laura L. (April 2002). "Outgassing from Amazonian rivers and wetlands as a large tropical source of atmospheric CO2".Nature.416 (6881):617–620.doi:10.1038/416617a.PMID11948346.
^Cole, J. J.; Prairie, Y. T.; Caraco, N. F.; McDowell, W. H.; Tranvik, L. J.; Striegl, R. G.; Duarte, C. M.; Kortelainen, P.; Downing, J. A.; Middelburg, J. J.; Melack, J. (February 2007). "Plumbing the Global Carbon Cycle: Integrating Inland Waters into the Terrestrial Carbon Budget".Ecosystems.10 (1):172–185.Bibcode:2007Ecosy..10..172C.doi:10.1007/s10021-006-9013-8.
^Ward, Nicholas D.; Keil, Richard G.; Medeiros, Patricia M.; Brito, Daimio C.; Cunha, Alan C.; Dittmar, Thorsten; Yager, Patricia L.; Krusche, Alex V.; Richey, Jeffrey E. (July 2013). "Degradation of terrestrially derived macromolecules in the Amazon River".Nature Geoscience.6 (7):530–533.Bibcode:2013NatGe...6..530W.doi:10.1038/ngeo1817.
^Tranvik, Lars J.; Downing, John A.; Cotner, James B.; Loiselle, Steven A.; Striegl, Robert G.; Ballatore, Thomas J.; Dillon, Peter; Finlay, Kerri; Fortino, Kenneth; Knoll, Lesley B.; Kortelainen, Pirkko L.; Kutser, Tiit; Larsen, Soren.; Laurion, Isabelle; Leech, Dina M.; McCallister, S. Leigh; McKnight, Diane M.; Melack, John M.; Overholt, Erin; Porter, Jason A.; Prairie, Yves; Renwick, William H.; Roland, Fabio; Sherman, Bradford S.; Schindler, David W.; Sobek, Sebastian; Tremblay, Alain; Vanni, Michael J.; Verschoor, Antonie M.; von Wachenfeldt, Eddie; Weyhenmeyer, Gesa A. (November 2009). "Lakes and reservoirs as regulators of carbon cycling and climate".Limnology and Oceanography.54 (6part2):2298–2314.Bibcode:2009LimOc..54.2298T.doi:10.4319/lo.2009.54.6_part_2.2298.
^Bastviken, David; Cole, Jonathan; Pace, Michael; Tranvik, Lars (December 2004). "Methane emissions from lakes: Dependence of lake characteristics, two regional assessments, and a global estimate".Global Biogeochemical Cycles.18 (4) 2004GB002238.Bibcode:2004GBioC..18.4009B.doi:10.1029/2004GB002238.
^Cooley, S. R.; Coles, V. J.; Subramaniam, A.; Yager, P. L. (September 2007). "Seasonal variations in the Amazon plume-related atmospheric carbon sink".Global Biogeochemical Cycles.21 (3) 2006GB002831.Bibcode:2007GBioC..21.3014C.doi:10.1029/2006GB002831.
^Dittmar, Thorsten; Lara, Rubén José; Kattner, Gerhard (March 2001). "River or mangrove? Tracing major organic matter sources in tropical Brazilian coastal waters".Marine Chemistry.73 (3–4):253–271.Bibcode:2001MarCh..73..253D.doi:10.1016/s0304-4203(00)00110-9.
^Moore, W.S.; Beck, M.; Riedel, T.; Rutgers van der Loeff, M.; Dellwig, O.; Shaw, T.J.; Schnetger, B.; Brumsack, H.-J. (November 2011). "Radium-based pore water fluxes of silica, alkalinity, manganese, DOC, and uranium: A decade of studies in the German Wadden Sea".Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.75 (21):6535–6555.Bibcode:2011GeCoA..75.6535M.doi:10.1016/j.gca.2011.08.037.
^Wehrli, Bernhard (November 2013). "Conduits of the carbon cycle".Nature.503 (7476):346–347.doi:10.1038/503346a.PMID24256800.
^Moran, Mary Ann; Kujawinski, Elizabeth B.; Stubbins, Aron; Fatland, Rob; Aluwihare, Lihini I.; Buchan, Alison; Crump, Byron C.; Dorrestein, Pieter C.; Dyhrman, Sonya T.; Hess, Nancy J.; Howe, Bill; Longnecker, Krista; Medeiros, Patricia M.; Niggemann, Jutta; Obernosterer, Ingrid; Repeta, Daniel J.; Waldbauer, Jacob R. (22 March 2016)."Deciphering ocean carbon in a changing world".Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.113 (12):3143–3151.Bibcode:2016PNAS..113.3143M.doi:10.1073/pnas.1514645113.PMC4812754.PMID26951682.
^Schlünz, B.; Schneider, R. R. (22 March 2000). "Transport of terrestrial organic carbon to the oceans by rivers: re-estimating flux- and burial rates".International Journal of Earth Sciences.88 (4). Springer Science and Business Media LLC:599–606.Bibcode:2000IJEaS..88..599S.doi:10.1007/s005310050290.S2CID128411658.
^Blair, Neal E.; Leithold, Elana L.; Aller, Robert C. (2004). "From bedrock to burial: The evolution of particulate organic carbon across coupled watershed-continental margin systems".Marine Chemistry.92 (1–4):141–156.Bibcode:2004MarCh..92..141B.doi:10.1016/j.marchem.2004.06.023.
^Bouchez, Julien; Beyssac, Olivier; Galy, Valier; Gaillardet, Jérôme; France-Lanord, Christian; Maurice, Laurence; Moreira-Turcq, Patricia (2010). "Oxidation of petrogenic organic carbon in the Amazon floodplain as a source of atmospheric CO2".Geology.38 (3). Geological Society of America:255–258.Bibcode:2010Geo....38..255B.doi:10.1130/g30608.1.S2CID53512466.
^Regnier, Pierre; Friedlingstein, Pierre; Ciais, Philippe; Mackenzie, Fred T.; Gruber, Nicolas; Janssens, Ivan A.; Laruelle, Goulven G.; Lauerwald, Ronny; Luyssaert, Sebastiaan; Andersson, Andreas J.; Arndt, Sandra; Arnosti, Carol; Borges, Alberto V.; Dale, Andrew W.; Gallego-Sala, Angela; Goddéris, Yves; Goossens, Nicolas; Hartmann, Jens; Heinze, Christoph; Ilyina, Tatiana; Joos, Fortunat; LaRowe, Douglas E.; Leifeld, Jens; Meysman, Filip J. R.; Munhoven, Guy; Raymond, Peter A.; Spahni, Renato; Suntharalingam, Parvadha; Thullner, Martin (August 2013)."Anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon fluxes from land to ocean"(PDF).Nature Geoscience.6 (8):597–607.Bibcode:2013NatGe...6..597R.doi:10.1038/ngeo1830.hdl:10871/18939.
^Sanders, Richard; Henson, Stephanie A.; Koski, Marja; De La Rocha, Christina L.; Painter, Stuart C.; Poulton, Alex J.; Riley, Jennifer; Salihoglu, Baris; Visser, Andre; Yool, Andrew; Bellerby, Richard; Martin, Adrian P. (December 2014). "The Biological Carbon Pump in the North Atlantic".Progress in Oceanography.129:200–218.Bibcode:2014PrOce.129..200S.doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2014.05.005.hdl:11511/31027.
^Steinberg, Deborah K; Goldthwait, Sarah A; Hansell, Dennis A (August 2002). "Zooplankton vertical migration and the active transport of dissolved organic and inorganic nitrogen in the Sargasso Sea".Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers.49 (8):1445–1461.Bibcode:2002DSRI...49.1445S.doi:10.1016/S0967-0637(02)00037-7.
^Stagno, V.; Frost, D. J.; McCammon, C. A.; Mohseni, H.; Fei, Y. (February 2015). "The oxygen fugacity at which graphite or diamond forms from carbonate-bearing melts in eclogitic rocks".Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology.169 (2): 16.Bibcode:2015CoMP..169...16S.doi:10.1007/s00410-015-1111-1.
^Dasgupta, Rajdeep; Hirschmann, Marc M. (September 2010). "The deep carbon cycle and melting in Earth's interior".Earth and Planetary Science Letters.298 (1–2):1–13.Bibcode:2010E&PSL.298....1D.doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2010.06.039.
^Takahashi, Taro; Sutherland, Stewart C.; Sweeney, Colm; Poisson, Alain; Metzl, Nicolas; Tilbrook, Bronte; Bates, Nicolas; Wanninkhof, Rik; Feely, Richard A.; Sabine, Christopher; Olafsson, Jon; Nojiri, Yukihiro (2002). "Global sea–air CO2 flux based on climatological surface ocean pCO2, and seasonal biological and temperature effects".Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography.49 (9–10):1601–1622.Bibcode:2002DSRII..49.1601T.doi:10.1016/S0967-0645(02)00003-6.
^abMorse, John W.; Mackenzie, Fred T., eds. (1990). "The Current Carbon Cycle and Human Impact".Geochemistry of Sedimentary Carbonates. Developments in Sedimentology. Vol. 48. pp. 447–510.doi:10.1016/S0070-4571(08)70338-8.ISBN978-0-444-87391-0.
^"Figure 8.SM.4"(PDF).Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report. p. 8SM-16.Archived(PDF) from the original on 13 March 2019.
.png)
