Carbon exchange

Photosynthesis

Respiration

Decay

Soil Organic Matter

Vegetation

Weathering & Runoff

Rock Formation

Sedimentary Rock

Coal, Oil and Gas

Phytoplankton

Ocean surface

Deep circulation

Sinking Sediments

Burning / of Fossil fuels

Deep ocean

Origin Reservoir & FLuxes

Geological C-Cycle

Biomarker/Isotopes

Recent Research

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis C-Cycle

Photosynthesis

Available oxygen

Aerobic Respiration

Anaerobic Respiration

C-Cycle

Outgassing of Primordial CO2At mid ocean ridges

Metamorphosis Of subducted carbonate And outgassing of volcanic arcs

Respiration Photosynthesis Weathering

Burial of organiccarbon

Storage inCarbonate rock

Erosion andExposure of

Carbon bearing

sediments

C-Cycle

C-Cycle

CO2(g) + H2O H2CO3

H2CO3 +H2O H3O+ + HCO3-

HCO3- +H2O H3O+ + (CO3)2-

Ca2+ + (CO3)2- CaCO3(s)CaCO3 + H2CO3 Ca2+ + 2HCO3

-

Primary Silicates + CO2 Clay + Dissolved metals +H4SiO4 + HCO3-

2KAlSi3O8 (Kspar) + 2H+ + 9H2O Al2Si2O5(OH)4 (kaolinite) + 4H4SiO4(aq) + 2K+

2KAlSi3O8 (Kspar) + 2CO2 + 11H2O Al2Si2O5(OH)4 (kaolinite) + 4H4SiO4(aq) +2K+ + 2HCO3-

Basaltic Oceanic Crust + HCO3 CaCO3 + Altered Oceanic Crust.

• CO2 absorption by surface ocean ~1 yr• Mixing to deep ocean ~300 yr• Carbonate dissolution ~6000 yr• Silicate-rock weathering ~300,000 yr

C-Cycle

Global estimates of land area, net primary productivity (NPP), and carbon stocks in living plants and soil organic matter for ecosystems of the world

Soil C values are for the top 1 m of soil only, except for peatlands, in which case they account for the total depth of peat. Pg = Petagram = Gigatonne.

Amthor, J.S. and 21 others. 1998. Terrestrial ecosystem responses to global change: a research strategy. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, ORNL/TM-1998/27.

Components of Soil Organic Matter Components of soil organic matter and their functions

C-Cycle

Global carbon cycle (units are PgC.

Role of organisms and contribution of organic inputs to soil organic matter and soil biota

C-Cycle5

Carbon sequestration by mineral carbonation or Mineral sequestration

2.1 tonnes serpentine is formed per tonne of CO2 sequestered

Source http://sequestration.mit.edu/pdf/carbonates.pdf

C-Cycle

Assuming that coal is 7% carbon

Burial of organic carbon

Location of sediment

carbon sink

Area of carbon

sink (x1012

 m2)

OC burial rate

(g/m2/yr)

Amount of OC buried

(x1012

 g/yr)LAKES

Large 1.18  5 6 Small 0.32  72 23 

Inland seas

1.00  5    5 

Total 2.5 2.5 34

3.3 3.3 29 96

6.33 415

Margins 42Basins 320

Total 362 362 60-130

PEATLANDS (present)

TOTAL "LAND"

OCEANS

C-Cycle

Levels (proved reserves) •Coal: 905 billion metric tonnes •Oil: 1,119 billion barrels (177.9 km3) to 1,317 billion barrels (209.4 km3)•Natural gas: 6,183–6,381 trillion cubic feet (175–181 trillion cubic metres)

Flows (daily production) during 2006•Coal: 16,761,260 metric tonnes•Oil: 84,000,000 barrels per day •Natural gas: 104,435 billion cubic feet (2,963 billion cubic metres),

http://www.grantowngrammar.highland.sch.ukC-Cycle

Atmospheric CO2

Dissolved CO2

Carbonic Acid

(H2CO3)

CO3--H2O

H+

HCO3-

Less Acidic More Acidic

C-Cycle

http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/file/CO2+Flux+Map

C-Cycle

Carbon Emission Estimate

C-Cycle

http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/globalwarmA4.html

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v488/n7409/full/nature11299.html?WT.ec_id=NATURE-20120802

http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/glo.html

http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/global_warming/impact_ocean_acidification.html

C-Cycle

C-Cyclehttp://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Phytoplankton

Geological timescale with important biological events, and observations of well-preservedPrecambrian biomarkers (gray) and crude oil (black

Elsevier' Treatise on Geochemistry

C-Cycle

720 gT

2000 gT

72000000 gT

38 000 gT

GaseousExchange

DecompositionPhotosynthesis

Sedimentation& Erosion

Foss

il Fu

el B

urni

ng

78 gT

0.2 gT

65 gT

5 gT

Global carbon system main reservoirs and fluxes. Units are gigatons C for amounts, and gigatons C per year for fluxes. Steady state assumed.

C-Cyclehttp://www.scopenvironment.org/downloadpubs/scope35/chapter15.html

Atmosphere. LithosphereHydrosphere, Biosphere

Mantle

BPOC, BCH4 DPOC

WPOC

APOC

EPOC,

Inorg. C

Org. C

DM

AOC

WC

DC

BBC + BAC

AC

EC,

Conti.. C

OceaN C

SPOCBC

C-CycleNext

C-CycleNextPrevious

Atmosphere. LithosphereHydrosphere

DM

DC

DPOC

BBC BAC BCH4 BPOC

WPOC

wC-Sil

WC-SIL

WC

Sink of Carbon Wc+ W C-SIL + W O-SIL + B POC + BAC +BCH4

Source of CarbonDM + D C + DPOC + W

POC + BACPrevious C-Cycle

-34

-32

-30

-28

-26

-24

-22

-20

-18

-16

-14

-12

-10

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Corg/NTot

δ13C

(‰)

C4Terrestrial plants

Fresh water POC

Marine POC

Algae

Pichavaram mangrove

Vellar estuary

Coleroon estuary

C3Terrestrial plants

-34

-32

-30

-28

-26

-24

-22

-20

-18

-16

-14

-12

-10

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Corg/NTot

δ13C

(‰)

C4Terrestrial plants

Fresh water POC

Marine POC

Algae

Pichavaram mangrove

Vellar estuary

Coleroon estuary

C3Terrestrial plants

Typical δ13Corg and C/Ntot ranges for organic inputs to coastal environments

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304420311000594C-Cycle

C-CycleNext

NextPrevious C-Cycle