Skip to main content
Engineering LibreTexts

5.1: Background

  • Page ID
    28681
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    A major player in changing climate is carbon in its various forms. This is in large part because of how increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are impacting the energy budget of the earth’s climate. Key to understanding this impact is understanding how carbon moves through the climate system via a process known as the carbon cycle.

    The carbon cycle is the continuous exchange of carbon between living organisms, the oceans, atmosphere, and the earth’s crust. During this exchange various carbon compounds are continuously created, destroyed, and stored. Chief among these compounds are carbon dioxide (\(CO_{2}\)), methane (\(CH_{4}\)), calcium carbonate (\(CaCO_{3}\)), and hydrocarbons (\(H_{x}C_{y}\)). The chief mechanisms by which this happens include…

    • Respiration of animals, plants, and microbial life
    • Production of methane via digestion and decomposition
    • Photosynthesis by plants and microbial life
    • Atmosphere-ocean exchanges
    • Combustion of fossil fuels and vegetation
    • Volcanic eruption
    • Weathering of rock at the earth’s surface

    Figure 5.1.1 is a diagram of this cycle that you will use for activity A. The diagram shows principle carbon flows and storages. One of your tasks in this activity will be to identify these exchanges and major carbon reservoirs. Your task in Activity B will be to investigate how we influence this cycle and the consequences of that influence.

    Screenshot 2020-07-03 at 00.01.00.png
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Global Carbon Cycle Diagram: Refer to the following table for the legend to this figure

    Figure 5.1.1 is a diagram of the global carbon cycle showing principal flows and storage of carbon in its various forms. The diagram is divided into three “spheres”, the atmosphere, ocean, and geosphere (earth’s crust). The yellow arrows show the flow of carbon compounds between these three spheres, initials identify the principle mechanisms by which these exchanges take place, and chemical formulas identify principle forms of carbon. Additional information is available in the legend below.

    Table 5.1.1

    Legend for Diagram 1

    L1 – Principal forms of carbon shown in the diagram

    • Carbon dioxide (\(CO_{2}\))
    • Methane (\(CH_{4}\)) – Principal component of natural gas, also a byproduct of digestion and decomposition.
    • Hydrocarbons (\(H_{x}C_{y}\))- Principal components of living organisms, detritus (organic waste and dead organisms) and many fossil fuels (principally oil and coal).
    • Calcium carbonate (\(CaCO_{3}\)) – Principal component of limestone and some seafloor sediment

    L2 – Principal natural carbon flows

    • Ocean/atmosphere exchanges (oe) of carbon-based gasses between ocean water and the atmosphere. This also includes gas exchange between shallow and deep ocean as seawater mixes.
    • Respiration (rp) of plants, animals, and microbial life
    • Runoff carrying weathered rock and sediment (ro) in the form of dissolved calcium that combines with carbonate ions in seawater to form \(CaCO_{3}\).
    • Volcanic eruptions (ve) expelling large amounts of \(CO_{2}\)
    • Weathering (wt) of surface rock and sediment

    L3 – Principal human related carbon flows

    • Burning of fossil and bio fuels. The latter includes wood, ethanol, biogas, syngas, and biodiesel.
    • Construction – Principally from the use of concrete since \(CaCO_{3}\) is a key component in the cement used in concrete. \(CaCO_{3}\) releases \(CO_{2}\) into that atmosphere as it solidifies.
    • Agriculture – Principally \(CH_{4}\) from raising animals and crops such as rice.
    • Deforestation – Reducing the amount of \(CO_{2}\) removed from the atmosphere by logging forests for wood products, land for agriculture and development, and getting access to fossil fuels and mineral resources.

    L4 – Principal carbon reservoirs

    Capacity of these reservoirs in GT or gigatons where 1 GT = 10 billion tonnes values from UNEP/GRID-Arendal Carbon Cycle Diagram

    <https://www.grida.no/resources/5050>

    Oceans

    • Surface waters – 1020 GT
    • Deep ocean – 38,000 GT

    Atmosphere – 750 GT

    Geosphere (the earth’s crust)

    • Seafloor sediment and sedimentary rock – 66,000 to 100,000,000 GT
    • Oil and gas – 300 GT
    • Coal – 3000 GT
    • Soil and organic matter (principally detritus) – 1580GT

    Biosphere (the total living community of the planet) – 540 to 610 GT

    L5 – Principal carbon flows

    These flows are in GT/yr or gigatonnes per year. These values are derived from UNEP/GRID-Arendal Carbon Cycle Diagram <https://www.grida.no/resources/5050>

    • Between the ocean and the atmosphere (oe) – 92 GT/yr to the ocean / 90 GT/yr to the atmosphere
    • Between the shallow and deep ocean – 92 GT/yr to deep ocean / 100 GT/yr to shallow ocean
    • Between the ocean and seafloor sediment – 150 GT / yr in both directions
    • Between the soil and the atmosphere resulting from changes in soil use associated with deforestation and agriculture – 0.5 GT/yr to the soil / 1.5 GT/yr to the atmosphere
    • Between industries, mining, agriculture, and cities in the form of fossil fuel burning – 6 to 8 GT/yr to the atmosphere
    • Due to plant growth and decomposition – 121 GT/yr to the biosphere / 60 GT/yr to the atmosphere

    Table \(\PageIndex{1}\)

    Residence time – In the case of the carbon cycle, this is the average length of time that carbon compounds remain in the various reservoirs listed in L4. Understanding how major greenhouse gasses influence the climatic energy balance of our planet is largely a matter of looking at the warming potential of these gasses and their abundance in the atmosphere. In turn, atmospheric abundance of these gasses is dependent on their atmospheric residence time.

    The table below (Table 5.1.2) lists five key greenhouse gasses. In addition to showing their approximate abundance in the atmosphere and their contribution to the greenhouse effect, it also shows their Global Warming Potential (GWP) and their atmospheric residence time. The latter is a measure of the warming potential of each gas relative to an equal mass of \(CO_{2}\). For instance, a kilogram of \(CH_{4}\) has 28 times the warming potential of a kilogram of \(CO_{2}\). However, \(CO_{2}\) contributes more to the greenhouse effect because of its higher abundance. Something that is strongly influenced by its longer residence time.

    Table 5.1.2

    Key characteristics of principal Greenhouse Gasses. From Kiehl and Trenberth (1997) and Blasing T.J (2016) <https://cdiac.ess-dive.lbl.gov/pns/current_ghg.html>

    Gas Abundance in the atmosphere (%) Atmospheric residence time GWP Greenhouse Effect Contribution (%)
    Water vapor (\(H_{2}O\)) 1 to 3 Hours – days n/a 36 – 72
    Carbon dioxide (\(CO_{2}\)) ~ 0.038 100 – 300 years 1 9 – 26
    Methane (\(NH_{4}\)) ~ 0.00018 12 years 28 4 – 9
    Nitrous oxide (\(N_{2}O\)) ~ 0.0006 121 years 265 n/a
    Ozone (\(O_{3}\)) ~ 0.0006 Hours – days n/a 3 -7

    Table \(\PageIndex{2}\)


    This page titled 5.1: Background is shared under a CC BY-NC license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Frank Granshaw (PDXOpen: Open Educational Resources) .

    • Was this article helpful?