File:Diagram showing a simplified representation of the Earth's annual carbon cycle (US DOE).png

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Summary

This diagram shows a simplified representation of the contemporary global <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/carbon_cycle" class="extiw" title="en:carbon cycle">carbon cycle</a>. Changes are measured in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gigaton" class="extiw" title="en:gigaton">gigatons</a> or carbon per year (GtC/y). Numbers in parentheses refer to stored carbon pools. Red indicates <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/carbon" class="extiw" title="en:carbon">carbon</a> from human emissions. Humans contribute a net increase of 4 GtC/y to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/carbon_dioxide_in_Earth%27s_atmosphere" class="extiw" title="en:carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere">atmospheric carbon</a>.

Summary of diagram

Description is based on the cited public-domain source (US DOE, 2008): Values in parentheses are estimates of the main carbon reservoirs in gigatons (Gt) as reported in Houghton (2007). The natural flux between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere is about 120 Gt of carbon per year, and that between the oceans and atmosphere is about 90 Gt per year (Denman et al., 2007). The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_atmosphere" class="extiw" title="en:Earth's atmosphere">atmosphere</a> is a carbon pool of 800 Gt.

In the terrestrial <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/biosphere" class="extiw" title="en:biosphere">biosphere</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis" class="extiw" title="en:Photosynthesis">photosynthesis</a> removes about 120 Gt of carbon from the atmosphere. Some of the carbon from photosynthesis flows to:

Decomposition of biological material and respiration from plants and soil microbes return 120 Gt/y of carbon to the atmosphere:

The soil is a carbon pool of 2300 Gt. There is a fossil pool of 10,000 Gt in the Earth's crust.

In the oceans, the marine biosphere does not take up CO2 directly from the atmosphere. Each year the oceans absorb and release about 90 Gt of carbon largely via diffusion across the air-ocean interface.

The surface <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/world_ocean" class="extiw" title="en:world ocean">ocean</a> is a carbon pool of 1000 Gt.

The physical processes controlling the sinking of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/carbon_dioxide" class="extiw" title="en:carbon dioxide">carbon dioxide</a> (CO2) into colder, deeper waters (where CO2 is more soluble) and the mixing of ocean water at intermediate depths are known collectively as the “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solubility_pump" class="extiw" title="en:Solubility pump">solubility pump</a>.” <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/phytoplankton" class="extiw" title="en:phytoplankton">Phytoplankton</a> photosynthesis converts CO2 into organic carbon that is largely returned to ocean water as CO2 via microbial respiration and decomposition. The “biological pump” refers to the small fraction of organic carbon that forms into degradation-resistant clumps and sinks to the ocean floor. Together the solubility and biological pumps control the amount of carbon transported to ocean depths and the exchange of CO2 between ocean and atmosphere.

The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/deep_ocean" class="extiw" title="en:deep ocean">deep ocean</a> is a carbon pool of 37,000 Gt. Reactive <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sediment" class="extiw" title="en:sediment">sediments</a> at the bottom of the ocean are a carbon pool of 6000 Gt.

Human activities (primarily <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fossil_fuel" class="extiw" title="en:fossil fuel">fossil fuel</a> use) emit about 9 Gt of carbon each year. About 4 Gt of this human-contributed carbon remain in the atmosphere; 3 Gt are taken up by natural terrestrial processes, and another 2 Gt are removed by the ocean (Canadell et al. 2007).

References

  • Canadell, J.G., et al. (20 November 2007), “Contributions to Accelerating Atmospheric CO2 Growth from Economic Activity, Carbon Intensity, and Efficiency of Natural Sinks”, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/104/47/18866.abstract">[1]</a>, volume 104, issue 47, pages 18866–18870. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0702737104
  • Denman, K.L., et al. (2007), “Ch. 7: Couplings Between Changes in the Climate System and Biogeochemistry. Frequently Asked Question 7.1: Are the Increases in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Other Greenhouse Gases During the Industrial Era Caused by Human Activities?”, in Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Solomon, S., et al., (eds.))<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/faq-7-1.html">[2]</a>, Cambridge University Press, p.512.
  • Houghton, R.A. (2007), “Balancing the Global Carbon Budget”, in Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences<a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.earth.35.031306.140057">[3]</a>, volume 35, pages 313-47. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.earth.35.031306.140057. This publication can be <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.whrc.org/resources/publications/pdf/HoughtonAnnRevEarthPlanet.07.pdf">freely downloaded</a> from the Woods Hole Research Center.

Licensing

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File history

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Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current10:23, 5 January 2017Thumbnail for version as of 10:23, 5 January 20172,600 × 2,192 (5.89 MB)127.0.0.1 (talk)This diagram shows a simplified representation of the contemporary global <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/carbon_cycle" class="extiw" title="en:carbon cycle">carbon cycle</a>. Changes are measured in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gigaton" class="extiw" title="en:gigaton">gigatons</a> or carbon per year (GtC/y). Numbers in parentheses refer to stored carbon pools. Red indicates <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/carbon" class="extiw" title="en:carbon">carbon</a> from human emissions. Humans contribute a net increase of 4 GtC/y to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/carbon_dioxide_in_Earth%27s_atmosphere" class="extiw" title="en:carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere">atmospheric carbon</a>. <p><i>Summary of diagram</i> </p> <p>Description is based on the cited public-domain source (US DOE, 2008): Values in parentheses are estimates of the main carbon reservoirs in gigatons (Gt) as reported in Houghton (2007). The natural flux between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere is about 120 Gt of carbon per year, and that between the oceans and atmosphere is about 90 Gt per year (Denman <i>et al.</i>, 2007). The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_atmosphere" class="extiw" title="en:Earth's atmosphere">atmosphere</a> is a carbon pool of 800 Gt. </p> <p>In the terrestrial <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/biosphere" class="extiw" title="en:biosphere">biosphere</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis" class="extiw" title="en:Photosynthesis">photosynthesis</a> removes about 120 Gt of carbon from the atmosphere. Some of the carbon from photosynthesis flows to: </p> <ul> <li>plant <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/biomass" class="extiw" title="en:biomass">biomass</a>, which is a carbon pool of 550 Gt;</li> <li> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/soil" class="extiw" title="en:soil">soil</a> carbon.</li> </ul> <p>Decomposition of biological material and respiration from plants and soil microbes return 120 Gt/y of carbon to the atmosphere: </p> <ul> <li>60 Gt/y due to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/plant_respiration" class="extiw" title="en:plant respiration">plant respiration</a>,</li> <li>60 Gt/y due to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/microbial" class="extiw" title="en:microbial">microbial</a> respiration and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/decomposition" class="extiw" title="en:decomposition">decomposition</a>,</li> </ul> <p>The soil is a carbon pool of 2300 Gt. There is a fossil pool of 10,000 Gt in the Earth's crust. </p> <p>In the oceans, the marine biosphere does not take up CO<sub>2</sub> directly from the atmosphere. Each year the oceans absorb and release about 90 Gt of carbon largely via diffusion across the air-ocean interface. </p> <p>The surface <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/world_ocean" class="extiw" title="en:world ocean">ocean</a> is a carbon pool of 1000 Gt. </p> <p>The physical processes controlling the sinking of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/carbon_dioxide" class="extiw" title="en:carbon dioxide">carbon dioxide</a> (CO<sub>2</sub>) into colder, deeper waters (where CO<sub>2</sub> is more soluble) and the mixing of ocean water at intermediate depths are known collectively as the “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solubility_pump" class="extiw" title="en:Solubility pump">solubility pump</a>.” <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/phytoplankton" class="extiw" title="en:phytoplankton">Phytoplankton</a> photosynthesis converts CO<sub>2</sub> into organic carbon that is largely returned to ocean water as CO<sub>2</sub> via microbial respiration and decomposition. The “biological pump” refers to the small fraction of organic carbon that forms into degradation-resistant clumps and sinks to the ocean floor. Together the solubility and biological pumps control the amount of carbon transported to ocean depths and the exchange of CO<sub>2</sub> between ocean and atmosphere. </p> <p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/deep_ocean" class="extiw" title="en:deep ocean">deep ocean</a> is a carbon pool of 37,000 Gt. Reactive <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sediment" class="extiw" title="en:sediment">sediments</a> at the bottom of the ocean are a carbon pool of 6000 Gt. </p> <p>Human activities (primarily <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fossil_fuel" class="extiw" title="en:fossil fuel">fossil fuel</a> use) emit about 9 Gt of carbon each year. About 4 Gt of this human-contributed carbon remain in the atmosphere; 3 Gt are taken up by natural terrestrial processes, and another 2 Gt are removed by the ocean (Canadell <i>et al.</i> 2007). </p> <p><i>References</i> </p> <ul> <li>Canadell, J.G., <i>et al.</i> (<span class="mw-formatted-date" title="2007-11-20">20 November 2007</span>), “Contributions to Accelerating Atmospheric CO2 Growth from Economic Activity, Carbon Intensity, and Efficiency of Natural Sinks”, in <cite>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America</cite><sup><a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/104/47/18866.abstract">[1]</a></sup>, volume 104, issue 47, pages 18866–18870. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0702737104</li> <li>Denman, K.L., <i>et al.</i> (2007), “Ch. 7: Couplings Between Changes in the Climate System and Biogeochemistry. Frequently Asked Question 7.1: Are the Increases in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Other Greenhouse Gases During the Industrial Era Caused by Human Activities?”, in <cite>Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Solomon, S., <i>et al.</i>, (eds.))</cite><sup><a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/faq-7-1.html">[2]</a></sup>, Cambridge University Press, p.512.</li> <li>Houghton, R.A. (2007), “Balancing the Global Carbon Budget”, in <cite>Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences</cite><sup><a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.earth.35.031306.140057">[3]</a></sup>, volume 35, pages 313-47. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.earth.35.031306.140057. This publication can be <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.whrc.org/resources/publications/pdf/HoughtonAnnRevEarthPlanet.07.pdf">freely downloaded</a> from the Woods Hole Research Center.</li> </ul>
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