For the thermonuclear reaction involving carbon that powers some stars, see CNO cycle. For organic chemical ring-shaped structures, see Cyclic compound. For the geochemical cycle, see Carbonate–silicate cycle.
Fast carbon cycle 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 the slow (or deep) carbon cycle, such as volcanic and tectonic activity are not included.[1]
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The carbon cycle is that part of the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of Earth. Other major biogeochemical cycles include the nitrogen cycle and the water cycle. Carbon is the main component of biological compounds as well as a major component of many minerals such as limestone. 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 of carbon sequestration (storage) to and release from carbon sinks.
To describe the dynamics of the carbon cycle, a distinction can be made between the fast and slow carbon cycle. The fast carbon cycle is also referred to as the biological carbon cycle. Fast carbon cycles can complete within years, moving substances from atmosphere to biosphere, then back to the atmosphere. Slow or geological cycles (also called deep carbon cycle) can take millions of years to complete, moving substances through the Earth's crust between rocks, soil, ocean and atmosphere.[2]
Humans have disturbed the carbon cycle for many centuries. They have done so by modifying land use and by mining and burning carbon from ancient organic remains (coal, petroleum and gas).[1] Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased nearly 52% over pre-industrial levels by 2020, resulting in global warming.[3] The increased carbon dioxide has also caused a reduction in the ocean's pH value and is fundamentally altering marine chemistry.[4]
^ abRiebeek, Holli (16 June 2011). "The Carbon Cycle". Earth Observatory. NASA. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
^Libes, Susan M. (2015). Blue planet: The role of the oceans in nutrient cycling, maintain the atmosphere system, and modulating climate change Archived 8 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine In: Routledge Handbook of Ocean Resources and Management, Routledge, pages 89–107. ISBN 9781136294822.
^"The NOAA Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI) - An Introduction". NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory/Earth System Research Laboratories. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
^"What is Ocean Acidification?". National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
The carboncycle is that part of the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere...
The CNO cycle (for carbon–nitrogen–oxygen; sometimes called Bethe–Weizsäcker cycle after Hans Albrecht Bethe and Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker) is one...
biogeochemical cycles include the carboncycle, the nitrogen cycle and the water cycle. In each cycle, the chemical element or molecule is transformed and cycled by...
The Calvin cycle, light-independent reactions, bio synthetic phase, dark reactions, or photosynthetic carbon reduction (PCR) cycle of photosynthesis is...
The oceanic carboncycle (or marine carboncycle) is composed of processes that exchange carbon between various pools within the ocean as well as between...
The atmospheric carboncycle accounts for the exchange of gaseous carbon compounds, primarily carbon dioxide (CO2), between Earth's atmosphere, the oceans...
C4 carbon fixation or the Hatch–Slack pathway is one of three known photosynthetic processes of carbon fixation in plants. It owes the names to the 1960s...
biosequestration) and geologic. Biologic carbon sequestration is a naturally occurring process as part of the carboncycle. Humans can enhance it through deliberate...
compounds form the basis of all known life on Earth, and the carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle provides a small portion of the energy produced by the Sun, and...
bacteria often use the Calvin cycle or the reductive citric acid cycle. The primary form of inorganic carbon that is fixed is carbon dioxide (CO2). It is estimated...
positive feedback is the loss of reflective snow and ice cover. Positive carboncycle feedbacks occur when organic matter burns or decays, releasing CO2 back...
source of available carbon in the carboncycle, atmospheric CO2 is the primary carbon source for life on Earth. In the air, carbon dioxide is transparent...
nutrients is cyclic. Mineral cycles include the carboncycle, sulfur cycle, nitrogen cycle, water cycle, phosphorus cycle, oxygen cycle, among others that continually...
carboncycle (or slow carboncycle) is geochemical cycle (movement) of carbon through the Earth's mantle and core. It forms part of the carboncycle and...
The water cycle (or hydrologic cycle or hydrological cycle), is a biogeochemical cycle that involves the continuous movement of water on, above and below...
biological component. It is the part of the broader oceanic carboncycle responsible for the cycling of organic matter formed mainly by phytoplankton during...
reactions to complete the cycle. The cycle consumes acetate (in the form of acetyl-CoA) and water, reduces NAD+ to NADH, releasing carbon dioxide. The NADH generated...
change. Carbon dioxide is causing about three-quarters of global warming and can take thousands of years to be fully absorbed by the carboncycle. Methane...
an important part of the natural carboncycle. An overarching term is carbon pool, which is all the places where carbon on Earth can be, i.e. the atmosphere...
The carboncycle is an essential part of life on Earth. About half the dry weight of most living organisms is carbon.[citation needed] It plays an important...
to the soil capacity in our ecosystem. Soil carbon is a carbon sink in regard to the global carboncycle, playing a role in biogeochemistry, climate change...
The phosphorus cycle is the biogeochemical cycle that involves the movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Unlike...
biogeochemical cycles for the elements calcium, carbon, hydrogen, mercury, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, selenium, and sulfur; molecular cycles for water and...
silica cycle has significant overlap with the carboncycle (see carbonate–silicate cycle) and plays an important role in the sequestration of carbon through...
This analysis includes life cycle analysis and "monitoring, reporting, and verification" (MRV) of the entire process. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) are...
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