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SJSU METR 112 - The Carbon Cycle

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Slide 1Slide 2An Earth System PerspectiveSlide 4The Carbon CycleSlide 6Slide 7Slide 8Carbon: what is it?Carbon: where is it?Carbon: where is it?Carbon conservationCarbon conservationSlide 15Slide 16Slide 17Slide 18Slide 19Slide 20Slide 21Slide 22Slide 23Slide 24Slide 25Slide 26Slide 27Slide 28Slide 29Short Term Carbon CycleCarbon exchange (short term)Slide 33Long Term Carbon CycleThe Long-Term Carbon Cycle (Diagram)Where is most of the carbon today?Granite (A Silicate Rock)Limestone (A Carbonate Rock)Slide 40Slide 42The Carbon CycleMET 112 Global Climate ChangeProfessor Menglin JinSan Jose State University, Department of MeteorologyVideo Show on Carbon Cyclehttp://www.met.sjsu.edu/metr112-videos/MET%20112%20Video%20Library-MP4/carbon%20cycle/Carbon Cycle-1.mp4An Earth System Perspective•Earth composed of:–Atmosphere–Hydrosphere –Cryosphere–Land Surfaces–Biosphere•These ‘Machines’ run the Earth•Holistic view of planet…The movement of carbon, in its many forms, between the atmosphere, oceans, biosphere, and geosphereis described by the carbon cycle This cycle consists of several storage pools of carbon (black text) and the processes by which the various pools exchange carbon (purple arrows and numbers) net carbon sink: more carbon enters a pool than leaves it net carbon source: more carbon leaves a pool than enters it Definition of Carbon CycleThe Carbon CycleThe complex series of reactions by which carbon passes through the Earth's –Atmosphere –Land (biosphere and Earth’s crust)–Oceans Carbon is exchanged in the earth system at all time scales-Long term cycle (hundreds to millions of years)-Short term cycle (from seconds to a few years)The carbon cycle has different speeds!Short Term Carbon CycleLong Term Carbon CycleA cartoon of the global carbon cycle. Pools (in black) are gigatons (1Gt = 1x109 Tons) of carbon, and fluxes (in purple) are Gt carbon per year. Illustration courtesy NASA Earth Science Enterprise.Carbon: what is it?Carbon (C), the fourth most abundant element in the Universe, Building block of life. –from fossil fuels and DNA –Carbon cycles through the land (bioshpere), ocean, atmosphere, and the Earth’s interiorCarbon found–in all living things, –in the atmosphere, –in the layers of limestone sediment on the ocean floor,–in fossil fuels like coal.Carbon: where is it?Exists:– Atmosphere:–Living biota (plants/animals)–Carbon–Soils and Detritus–Carbon–Oceans–Most carbon in the deep oceanCarbon: where is it?Exists:– Atmosphere:–CO2 and CH4 (to lesser extent)–Living biota (plants/animals)–Carbon–Soils and Detritus–Carbon–Methane–Oceans–Dissolved CO2–Most carbon in the deep oceanCarbon conservationInitial carbon present during Earth’s formationCarbon is exchanged between different components of Earth System.Carbon conservationInitial carbon present during Earth’s formationCarbon doesn’t increase or decrease globallyCarbon is exchanged between different components of Earth System.The geological carbon cycle operates on a time scale of millions of years, whereas the biological carbon cycle operates on a time scale of days to thousands of years. Biology plays an important role in the movement of carbon between land, ocean, and atmosphere through the processes of photosynthesis and respiration. Respiration:C6H12O6 (organic matter) + 6O2 6CO2 + 6 H2O + energy Photosynthesis:energy (sunlight) + 6CO2 + H2O C6H12O6 + 6O2 Plants take in carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere during photosynthesis, and release CO2 back into the atmosphere during respiration through the above chemical reactions: Biosphere vs. CO2CO2 increases the atmosphere’s ability to hold heat, it has been called a “greenhouse gas.” Many attribute the observed 0.6 degree C increase in global average temperature over the past century mainly to increases in atmospheric CO2. Without substantive changes in global patterns of fossil fuel consumption and deforestation, warming trends are likely to continue. Why CO2 is important?Through photosynthesis, green plants use solar energy to turn atmospheric carbon dioxide into carbohydrates (sugars). Plants and animals use these carbohydrates (and other products derived from them) through a process called respiration, the reverse of photosynthesis. Respiration releases the energy contained in sugars for use in metabolism and changes carbohydrate “fuel” back into carbon dioxide, which is in turn released to back to the atmosphere. The amount of carbon taken up by photosynthesis and released back to the atmosphere by respiration each year is about 1,000 times greater than the amount of carbon that moves through the geological cycle on an annual basis.The “Keeling curve,” a long-term record of atmospheric CO2 concentration measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory (Keeling et al.). Although the annual oscillations represent natural, seasonal variations, the long-term increase means that concentrations are higher than they have been in 400,000 years (see text and Figure 3). Graphic courtesy of NASA’s Earth Observatory.On land, the major exchange of carbon with the atmosphere results from __________and ______________. Seasonality and Diurnal Variation related to CO2 Daytime: During daytime in the growing season, leaves absorb sunlight and take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Nighttime: At the same time plants, animals, and soil microbes consume the carbon in organic matter and return carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Photosynthesis stops at night when the sun cannot provide the driving energy for the reaction, though respiration continues. This kind of imbalance between these two processes is reflected in diurnal changes in the atmospheric CO2 concentrations.Photosynthesis stops at night when the sun cannot provide the driving energy for the reaction, though respiration continues. This kind of imbalance between these two processes is reflected in seasonal changes in the atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Seasonality and Diurnal Variation related to CO2 During winter in the northern hemisphere, photosynthesis ceases when many plants lose their leaves, but respiration continues. This condition leads to an increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations during the northern hemisphere winter. With the onset of spring, however, photosynthesis resumes and atmospheric CO2 concentrations are reduced.New Science Paper Says Carbon Emissions


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SJSU METR 112 - The Carbon Cycle

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