The carbon cycle What goes around comes around - PowerPoint Presentation

1. The carbon cycleWhat goes around comes around

2. In introduction to CarbonWhat is carbon and why is it important?

3. Carbon Carbon is the 6th element on the periodic table of elements

4. Why is carbon important? Carbon is 4th most abundant element in the universe and has many forms.e.g. CH2O CO2 CH4 H2CO3 Carbon is an essential element for life. Every living organism is made up of carbon (this includes animals, plants, and bacteria).

5. Carbon is the second most common element in our bodies!

6. Biogeochemical Cycles: There are three important biogeochemical cycles that are necessary for Earth to sustain life:Carbon cycleNitrogen cycleWater cycle If one of these cycles were disrupted, the earth would no longer be able to sustain life. Hence it’s called a biogeochemical cycle. Living ThingsEarthChemical reactions

7. Carbon is the ________ most abundant element in the universe Carbon is the _______ most abundant element in the human body What are the three biogeochemical cycles?ANSWERS:FourthSecondCarbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, and water cycleInvestigate what you learned!

8. The carbon cycleNow that you understand what carbon is and why it is important… lets look at the carbon cycle!

9. The carbon cycle:

10. The Movement of Carbon The Carbon Cycle traces the movement of carbon as it changes forms and is exchanged throughout the earth. Carbon is constantly moving from air, to water, to living organisms, to the earth’s crust. The carbon cycle was discovered by Antoine Lavoisier & Joseph Priestley.A.L.J.P.Sup’ bro’sup

11. In the carbon cycle, carbon moves between various places around the earth. The areas where a lot of carbon collects are called storage pools. atmosphere biosphere hydrosphere lithosphereCarbon Storage poolsliving organismsEarth’s crustall the waterall the air

12. Carbon storage Pools As carbon moves through the carbon cycle, it is moved between the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Each place that holds carbon is called a carbon pool. For example, the atmospheric carbon pool is all the carbon in the atmosphere. All the Carbon in the WorldCarbon is constantly being exchanged between the carbon pools.

13. Atmospheric carbon is all the carbon in the atmosphere Carbon exists in two forms in the atmosphere (both are gases!)Carbon dioxide (CO2)Methane (CH4)Atmospheric Carbon PoolCarbon dioxide and methane are both greenhouse gases.

14. Some sunlight is trapped as heat due to greenhouse gases.Some sunlight that hits the earth is reflected off. Greenhouse gases Both carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are called greenhouse gases because they trap heat in the atmosphere. If the gasses didn’t trap the sun’s heat in the atmosphere, the earth would freeze over and be no longer able to support life. Conversely, if there are too many greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, they trap too much heat and the earth’s global temperature would rise, leading to global warming.

15. Plants, both terrestrial (land) and aquatic (water), are living things and part of the biosphere. Plants take in carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and convert the carbon into sugars (called glucose) in a process called photosynthesis. As plants are consumed, the carbon in their sugars are passed to the animal that ate them. This animal is then eaten by another animal, which transfers the carbon again. This moves carbon along the food chain and throughout the biosphere.Atmosphere  Biosphere

16. As precipitation falls through the atmosphere, carbon dioxide gas reacts with water molecules to form carbonic acid.111122331122Carbon dioxideWaterCarbonic acidCarbonic acid in the rain falls into bodies of water moving carbon into the hydrosphere.Atmosphere  hydrosphere

17. Atmosphere  Lithosphere Rocks also absorb carbon from the rain in a process called weathering that moves carbon into the lithosphere. Chemical weathering is initiated when acidic substances (ex. carbonic acid) come into contact with rocks. This process will break down the minerals in rocks into their component ions.

18. Atmosphere Carbon Pool MovementPhotosynthesisPrecipitationWeatheringAtmosphere Carbon PoolLithosphere Carbon PoolBiosphere Carbon PoolHydrosphere Carbon Pool

19. What are the two forms of greenhouse gasses present in the atmosphere? List two of the three ways that carbon can be transferred from the atmosphere into another carbon pool.ANSWERS:Methane and carbon dioxidePrecipitation (hydrosphere), weathering (lithosphere), and photosynthesis (biosphere)Lets Think For a second…

20. Hydrosphere  Atmosphere Carbon dioxide also diffuses from bodies of water, moving carbon into the atmosphere. Diffusion is the process of molecules going from the area of high concentration to the area of low concentration

21. Hydrosphere  Biosphere Marine life turn the carbon that is present in water into calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is used to make shells, coral, and other marine life. This is how the hydrosphere moves carbon into the biosphere.

22. Hydrosphere  Lithosphere As these shellfish die, their shells are discarded on the ocean floor. When tectonic plates overlap, these discarded shells and other calcium marine deposits are taken into the earth’s crust in a process called subduction. This moves carbon into the lithosphere.

23. Hydrosphere Carbon Pool MovementDiffusionShellfishAtmosphere Carbon PoolLithosphere Carbon PoolBiosphere Carbon PoolHydrosphere Carbon PoolSubduction

24. I want YOU to think of two ways that the carbon in the hydrosphere is transferred into another carbon pool! (there are three correct answers)ANSWERS:Evaporation (atmosphere)Shellfish, shells, and coral (biosphere)Subduction (lithosphere)Before we continue…

25. Most of the earth’s carbon is stored in the lithosphere carbon pool and it is the slowest moving part of the carbon cycle.Carbon in the lithosphere can remain there for millions of years before moving to another pool. Carbon moves from the lithosphere to the atmosphere via volcanism or volcano eruption. When volcanos erupt, magma exits the earth’s mantel and lithosphere and trapped carbon dioxide gas is also released out.Lithosphere  AtmosphereMantelLithosphere (crust)

26. When humans extract fossil fuels for energy, we are moving carbon into the atmosphere. Fossil fuels are made up of plants and animals that died during the carboniferous era that were immediately covered by sediment in seas or swamps. Further layers of sediment buried the remains deeper and deeper. After millions of years of pressure and heat, these remains decomposed into usable forms such as coal, petroleum or oil, and natural gas.Lithosphere AtmosphereRemember methane gas from earlier? Natural gas is a form of methane gas!

27. Lithosphere biosphere Plants can also take in carbon from the lithosphere and convert the carbon into sugars (called glucose) in a process called photosynthesis. Remember this from earlier? Plants can get carbon from the soil and the atmosphere! They get the carbon out of the soil with their roots!

28. Lithosphere Carbon Pool MovementAtmosphere Carbon PoolLithosphere Carbon PoolBiosphere Carbon PoolHydrosphere Carbon PoolVolcanism and Burning Fossil FuelsPhotosynthesis

29. What are the two ways that carbon in the lithosphere can be converted into another carbon pool? What molecules are released from each of the two ways?ANSWERS:Volcanism and fossil fuelsCarbon dioxide (volcanism) and methane gas (fossil fuels)Put your thinking cap on!

30. Remember: there were two carbon based gases in the atmosphere: CO2 and CH4. Carbon Dioxide (CO2):With every breath, animals exhale carbon into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide, a waste product of cellular respiration. Methane gas (CH4):Methane is frequently used as fuel, many stovetops use methane gas!Methane gas is also produced by some livestock species as a byproduct of ruminant digestion.Biosphere  atmosphere

31. Biosphere LithosphereCarbon moves from the biosphere to the lithosphere when terrestrial organisms (like plants and animals) are buried or decompose into the soil.Remember fossil fuels? They were once living things a long time ago, when they died they decomposed and became part of the lithosphere!

32. Biosphere Carbon Pool MovementAtmosphere Carbon PoolLithosphere Carbon PoolBiosphere Carbon PoolHydrosphere Carbon PoolCellular Respiration and ruminant digestionDecomposition

33. Lets review… What product do livestock species (like a cow) produce that is released into the atmosphere? Fossil fuels and other decaying things are released into what carbon pool?ANSWERS:Methane gasLithosphere

34. SubductionShellfishAtmosphere Carbon PoolLithosphere Carbon PoolBiosphere Carbon PoolHydrosphere Carbon PoolDecompositionPhotosynthesisPrecipitationWeatheringVolcanism and burning fossil fuelsDiffusionCellular Respiration and ruminant digestionPhotosynthesis

35. One last thing!We learned about the carbon cycle, but now lets see how we (humans) impact this cycle!

36. The natural flow of carbon between the pools is fairly balanced, but human have greatly influenced the cycle in the past two centuries. The most significant change has been in the atmospheric storage pool, through:Burning fossil fuelsDeforestation “In the next 24 hours, deforestation will release as much CO2 into the atmosphere as 8 million people flying from London to New York.”Human impact on the carbon cycle:

37. Global Temperature FluctuationsIncreased amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere allows more heat to be trapped from the sun, raising the Earth’s temperatureThe rate at which we are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is much faster than the rate at which the other pools can remove itThis is seen by measuring the amount of carbon dioxide trapped in bubbles frozen in ice cores. As scientists drill deeper down into ice shelves, they are able to measure older sections of iceThis method can detect carbon dioxide levels up to 400,000 years ago!Scientists have seen an increase in the levels of carbon in the ice cores, indicating that more CO2 is in the atmosphere today than in the past.

38. Global warming Global warming is the product of high carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere This leads to melting of the ice caps in the artic, leaving less habitat for the animals that live there

39. United States with no ice caps left!

40. Temperature and CO2 Levels for the Last 400,000 YearsThis graph shows the temperature and CO2 for the past 400,000 years. Looking at the red line, we see the Earth’s temperature, cycling through hot and coldThe blue line is the level of CO2 present, which corresponds with the temperature fluctuationsHuman influences have caused the CO2 level to sharply rise towards the right of the timelineThe amount of CO2 present in the atmosphere is now higher than it has ever been before.What can we expect to happen to the Earth’s temperature with this rise in CO2 ?

41. The carbon cycle: the big picture