Addition of carbon to the atmosphere
Respiration: Through respiration, carbon dioxide can be added to the atmosphere. Living organisms use respiration to turn food into usable energy. Aerobic respiration requires oxygen to take place, and produces carbon dioxide, releasing it into the air and atmosphere. The energy taken from the food molecules following digestion is used to fuel the organism, additionally when mixed with oxygen, releases carbon dioxide when exhaling.
Glucose + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water (+ ATP energy)
Chemical reaction: Carbon can be released into the atmosphere through chemical reaction. Carbon dioxide in the air dissolves in rainwater to form carbonic acid. Carbonic acid partly forms into hydrogen …show more content…
This gas added to calcium hydroxide solution produced carbon dioxide. This experiment proved that carbon dioxide was present in seashells. When shells sink to the ocean floor they are eventually turned into sedimentary rocks and as the ocean gets more acidic and its PH drops, the carbon in the shells dissolves.
Short term storage
Forests: After photosynthesis turns carbon dioxide into organic material carbon gets stored in forests for a varying span of time. Trees can sore carbon in their wood and continue to add carbon as they grow. As the tree respires some of the carbon will be returned to the atmosphere, alternatively, some of the carbon could stay in the tree for hundreds of years until it eventually dies and decomposes.
Phytoplankton: Phytoplankton are at the bottom of the marine life food chain. They absorb dissolved carbon dioxide from the ocean and use it to help build their physical body structure. The carbon dioxide is absorbed into the phytoplankton shells. When they die, the carbon stored in their bodys is transported to the deep ocean to then be turned into sediments, or the phytoplankton are eaten by other creatures and their carbon is transported elsewhere in the