The Carbon Cycle Explanation

What is the Carbon Cycle?

Did you know that right now you are breathing out Carbon? Carbon is a natural element which is continuously on the move, and you are a crucial part of the process of moving it. Carbon can be found anywhere on Earth, in all living matter: Humans, animals and plants.The atmosphere also contains Carbon in the form of Carbon Dioxide, or CO2. It is also found dissolved in water, fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, and in rocks. there are many stages of the Carbon cycle. Here are some examples.

Respiration

Respiration is the process of breathing. All living matter breathes in some way. Humans, for example, inhale oxygen and exhale Carbon Dioxide, which then rises back into the atmosphere. When sea animals breathe out, the Carbon Dioxide they release dissolves back into the water. However, plants take in Carbon Dioxide and revert it back to oxygen. This process is called photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis

Plants use the Carbon Dioxide we breathe out from the atmosphere and store it as they grow. They then release fresh oxygen for animals and humans to take down. In this way both plants and animals benefit from the fresh clean air they produce for each other. Ocean plants use the dissolved Carbon in the water for photosynthesis and after fish and other marine life eat the plants, they respirate the Carbon back into the water.

Decomposition

When an animal or plant dies and begins to break down and rot, it releases the Carbon it has been storing back into the atmosphere. Similarly, when ocean plants and marine life die, they break down and become part of the sediment. This is called sedimentation. Shellfish use Carbon to make their shells; when the shells rot they release it back into the water. When land plants die, rot or burn, they become part of the soil. After they rot for long enough they compact.

Compaction

Compaction is when living matter dies, break down and compact together. Over an extremely long period of time - millions of years - it transforms into fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal. These are released back into the atmosphere when we use them.

Human Impact

All this Carbon is plenty on it’s own, but we are adding a lot to it. For example, we take out and burn fossil fuels to create fuels for cars and other means of transport. Also, we burn it for electric power. This is called combustion. As you can imagine, this causes a major change in Carbon Dioxide levels. However, that is not all. We also cause a lot of damage by way of deforestation. Deforestation is when we cut down trees to make wood to fuel fires, build houses, make paper, or burnt to make room for farms. As well as impacting the lives of creatures living in the trees, this releases lots of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere. We also don’t get as much fresh oxygen from the trees. Burning fossil fuels, deforestation and hunting to many animals are all letting drastic amounts of excess Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere, leading to global warming, changing the world’s climate and melts the polar ice caps.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Carbon cycle is an essential part of the way the world works. We are letting out to much excess Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere. Therefore, if we reduce the amount of energy we use, we can help reduce the amount of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere and help the environment we’re in.

By Margarita