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carbon cycle
carbon cycle
carbon cycle The movement of carbon through the surface, interior, and atmosphere of the Earth. Carbon exists in atmospheric gases, in dissolved ions in the
hydrosphere, and in solids as a major component of organic matter and sedimentary rocks, and is widely distributed. Inorganic exchange is mainly between the atmosphere and hydrosphere. The major movement of carbon results from
photosynthesis and respiration, with exchange between the
biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. Rates of exchange are very small, but over geologic time they have concentrated large amounts of carbon in the
lithosphere, mainly as limestones and
fossil fuels. This carbon was probably present as CO
2 in the primordial atmosphere. The burning of fossil fuels and the release of CO
2 from soil air through the clearance of tropical forests may eventually change the balance of the carbon cycle, although the climatic effects may be partly mitigated by the buffering action of the oceans; it is estimated that about 200 billion tonnes of CO
2 have been added to the atmosphere in this way since 1850. See
‘greenhouse effect’.
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Why can't we balance the globe's carbon budget? (calculations require that biogeochemical cycle in the ocean be taken into account)(includes related articles)
Magazine article from: BioScience; 7/1/1991; ; 700+ words
; ...photosynthetic flurry that turns carbon dioxide and water into...the global ocean carbon cycle and creating models to...Why study oceans and carbon cycles? "In many ways, the...understanding ocean carbon cycles is important because...
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Studying Rivers For Clues To Global Carbon Cycle.
Magazine article from: Space Daily; 2/11/2008; 700+ words
; ...debate continues over how carbon in the atmosphere is affecting...change. Studying just how carbon cycles throughout the Earth is...understand how carbon cycles around the globe -- through...Microorganisms like algae take carbon out of the atmosphere...
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CARBON CYCLE IN THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC SEAS
Magazine article from: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society; 10/1/2004; ; 353 words
; CARBON CYCLE IN THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC SEAS A. A. Vetrov...attempts to generalize the data in the carbon cycles of the Barents, White, Kara, Laptev...account regarding their participation in the carbon cycle, quantitative characteristics of carbon...
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Monsoon drives long-term carbon cycles in the global ocean.
News Wire article from: Asian News International; 5/10/2009; 700+ words
; ...long-term cyclicity of the carbon reservoir in the global ocean...covaries with various geological cycles including those caused by the...20,000-year precessional cycle of the global monsoon, for...found that the long-term cycles in the oceanic carbon reservoir...monsoon drives oceanic ...
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Fish to play more imp role in marine carbon cycle: study.
News Wire article from: PTI - The Press Trust of India Ltd.; 1/18/2009; 700+ words
; ...to play more imp role in marine carbon cycle: study New York, Jan 18 (PTI...important role in the marine carbon cycle than previously thought, a new...carbonate production by fish to global carbon cycles," Rod Wilson, a fish physiologist...
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Box Diagrams to Assess Students' Systems Thinking about the Rock, Water and Carbon Cycles
Magazine article from: Journal of Geoscience Education; 3/1/2007; ; 700+ words
; ...the rock, water and carbon cycles were used in a general...diagram models of the water cycle demonstrates that they...included in the water cycle. Phase change is important...understanding the water cycle and students show evidence...water, rock and carbon cycles. At more ...
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Climate conundrum.(analysis of carbon cycles provides information for debate about where carbon dioxide is processed through photosynthesis)(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: U.S. News & World Report; 11/16/1998; 700+ words
; ...clue to the mystery of the world's carbon cycles As officials from 170 nations wrangle...unsolved mystery is where all the carbon dioxide (CO2) pumped into the atmosphere...identified North America as an enormous carbon "sink." The study has drawn a...
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The carbon cycle response to ENSO: A coupled climate-carbon cycle model study
Magazine article from: Journal of Climate; 11/1/2001; ; 700+ words
; ...the important responses of the carbon cycle to ENSO. We subsequently use the...linking ENSO and the response of the carbon cycle. Similar studies of the ocean...Hence an understanding of how the carbon cycle responds to ENSO forcing may provide...
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THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE: INTEGRATING HUMANS, CLIMATE, AND THE NATURAL WORLD
Magazine article from: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society; 3/1/2006; ; 700+ words
; THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE: INTEGRATING HUMANS, CLIMATE, AND...excellent overview of the state of carbon cycle science, focusing on the long-term...feedbacks between climate change and the carbon cycle, an area in which a new generation...
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Climate-Carbon Cycle Feedback Analysis: Results from the C^sup 4^MIP Model Intercomparison
Magazine article from: Journal of Climate; 7/15/2006; ; 700+ words
; ...ABSTRACT Eleven coupled climate-carbon cycle models used a common protocol to...using relatively simple offline carbon cycle models. Although these carbon cycle models may account for the carbon cycle response to climate change (e...
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carbon cycles
Book article from: The Oxford Companion to the Earth
carbon cycles Carbon is one of the fundamental building...to an emphasis on understanding the carbon cycle. To quantify this cycle requires an...long residence times. Climate and the carbon cycle have undergone huge, seemingly contemporaneous...
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Carbon Cycle
Book article from: Plant Sciences
Carbon Cycle All life on Earth is based on carbon...would have ended up in rocks, and the carbon cycle would have stopped long ago. Fortunately...small, but it is enough to have kept the carbon cycle turning for billions of years. Following...
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The Carbon Cycle
Book article from: Science of Everyday Things
THE CARBON CYCLE CONCEPT If a person...Hence, the carbon cycle, by which the element...complex of biogeochemical cycles. HOW IT WORKS Geochemistry...systems and biogeochemical cycles are discussed in greater...Systems and Biogeochemical Cycles). Likewise, the nitrogen ...
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Carbon Cycle in Microorganisms
Book article from: World of Microbiology and Immunology
Carbon cycle in microorganisms The carbon cycle in...Much of the carbon that enters the carbon cycle of microorganisms is carbon dioxide...anaerobic environments, microorganisms can cycle the carbon compounds to yield energy in a process...
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Carbon cycle
Encyclopedia entry from: The Gale Encyclopedia of Science
Carbon cycle The carbon cycle describes the movement of carbon in the atmosphere, where...this way, photosynthesis and cellular respiration are linked in the carbon cycle. Photosynthesis requires atmospheric carbon, while cellular respiration...
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