What is the link between tectonic activity and the carbon cycle important to?
The regulation of atmospheric CO2 concentrations thus the climate aswell.
What 2 processes does the Global carbon cycle involve? And what type of reactions are there?
Involves processes that occur on land and in the ocean.
Involves both biological and non-biological chemical reactions.
How is CO2 removed from the atmosphere and how is it returned?
Removed during photosynthesis and returned during respiration and decomposition.
How is Methane realesed to the atmosphere?
Methane is realsed from soils from anaerobic metabolism.
What happens to the small amount of terresterial organic carbon that survives respiration and decomposition?
Is buried in sedimantary basins on land or is transported to the sea.
What is phytoplanktons role in the ocean?
Phytoplankton in the ocean produce organic matter that is consumed by zooplankton and gets decomposed by aerobic and anaerobic bacteria.
What happens to the small fraction of organic matter settling through the water column?
It’s not decomposed but isntead buried in the marine sediments.
What happens to organic matter on longer time scales?
Gets buried in the sediments and undergoes lithification. Forming shales!
What can form when sediments that contain high concentration of organic matter gets buried or lithificated.
Fossil fuel
Give an example of the inorganic carbon cycle in:
1. short time scale
2. Long time scale
- Short term: CO2 moves between the atmosphere and the ocean surface.
- Carbon gets locked into rocks, sediments and the deep ocean.
Why does the ocean absorb so much CO2?
When CO₂ enters seawater, it doesn’t just stay as CO₂. It reacts with other elements.
CO₂ + H₂O → carbonic acid
Carbonic acid → bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻)
Bicarbonate → carbonate (CO₃²⁻)
Because CO₂ is constantly being converted into other forms, more CO₂ can keep dissolving from the atmosphere.
On a long time scale (millions of years), what regulates atmospheric CO2?
And what does it do?
Over millions of years, the carbonate-silicate cycle regulates atmospheric CO₂ through a feedback where higher temperatures speed up rock weathering that removes CO₂
WHILE cooler conditions slow it down, allowing CO₂ to build back up.
What processes have important control on atmospheric CO2 on longer time scales?
Geological processes
