Questions tagged [carbon-cycle]
Questions about the absorption and release of carbon due to natural biogeochemical processes, and human interactions with the carbon cycle.
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What are the state-of-art techniques in capturing carbon dioxide and/or converting it to oxygen and their challenges?
It seems there are multiple chemical reactions (from this question and internet in general) where $CO_2$ can be converted to $O_2$. If this is the case, can someone please explain the challenges (...
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What caused the Carbon Dioxide Variations observed in the 800,000-year polar ice record?
I have seen several graphs showing the prehistoric temperatures and CO2 concentrations derived from ice-core data. My understanding is that CO2 and temperature correlate. I assume that Milankovich ...
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What would Earth's atmosphere be like today if life had never existed on it?
I'm also interested in understanding the mechanisms that affect what happens to the various gases in the atmosphere over time. That is, do they get locked away in minerals, stay in the atmosphere, or ...
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What is the difference between a carbon sink and a carbon reservoir?
I am trying to figure out the difference between a carbon sink and a carbon reservoir.
The definition for a carbon sink from Wikipedia is
carbon sink is a natural or artificial reservoir that ...
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How much of the petroleum ever formed has made it into reservoir rocks?
I am aware that it's a bit general a question, and petroleum geology (or petrology ;-)) has never been a field of interest to me. A superficial search using related keywords brings up only economic ...
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Why does decreasing surface alkalinity increase surface pCO2?
According to Takahashi et al. (1993), pCO2 (partial pressure of CO2) in the surface ocean changes due to 4 surface variables: temperature, salinity, total carbon (dissolved inorganic carbon, DIC) and ...
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Pre-Phanerozoic CO2 levels and pluricell life influence in C Earth's cycle
This graph presents an estimate of Phanerozoic CO2 levels on Earth.
From the onset of the graph, it appears that CO2 levels are rising. However, I've come across papers, such as this one, suggesting ...
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Interpretation of Phanerozoic CO2 levels graph
I used to talk with a family friend who often sent me links to Nobel Prize winners, claiming that climate change is a myth.
Last week, we had a disagreement over a link referencing a Nobel Prize ...
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Since the upwelling of calcium carbonate reduces surface pCO2, why is its dissolution in the CCD below the lysocline of concern?
Why is so much of the literature I run across regarding global warming concerned with precipitating $\ce{CaCO3}$ to the ocean floor?
In areas of relatively lower pH, such as the eastern equatorial ...
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Forest fuel biochar burial
Record fires are blazing in the west coast, huge even compared to California's notorious summers.
Dead plants and debris are crucial to get a fire started. This debris could be collected, carbonized, ...
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Could we sequester CO$_2$ by dumping forests in deep oceans?
We know that trees are the most efficient "tool" we have to get CO$_2$ out of the air, but the problem is that most of their fixated CO$_2$ will naturally reenter the carbon cycle through ...
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Can $\ce{CaCO3}$ shells contribute to $\ce{CO2}$ emissions in volcanoes within subduction zones?
CaCO3 dissolves below the Carbonate Compensation Depth (CCD).
However, this paper suggests that some CaCO3 can exist below the CCD.
My question arises from a discussion in this answer.
The question is ...
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How could oxygen levels have ever been higher if there is so little carbon dioxide present?
Assumptions: Essentially all oxygen that's ever been present in the atmosphere originated from oxygenic photosynthesis. The production of an oxygen molecule during photosynthesis leads to the ...
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Is $\ce{CO_2}$ in photosynthesis the only way for carbon to become organic?
According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_cycle, organic carbon has a cycle. My question is how does carbon enter the cycle in first place? As far as I can say, inorganic carbon enters the ...
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Carbon "sequestration" or "drawdown" and Henry's Law
If gigatons of carbon dioxide were taken out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis into long-term soil carbon or tree carbon, or captured from the atmosphere and stored using some kind of ...
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Does the heating of the oceans due to greenhouse effect negate the acidification due to increased CO2 levels?
As I understand, the dissolving of carbon dioxide leads to increased acidification of the oceans, and thus increased atmospheric CO2 levels would lead to more dissolution in the oceans and thus ...
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How much carbon dioxide does war release?
I'm wondering how much damage the Russian invasion of Ukraine has done to the climate, in particular how many tons of carbon has been released into the atmosphere. I'd be surprised if it isn't ...
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Why doesn't Earth absorb our carbon emissions?
If we look at the carbon cycle, we see that man-made carbon emission only account for a tiny fraction of all $\text{CO}_2$ emissions.
However, we see a steady rise in atmospheric $\text{CO}_2$-levels....
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How is it possible that natural gas fields are so deep?
How is it possible that gas is stored kilometers deep? Where does all the material on top come from? If new plankton would create more gas, would the new gas be at similar depth in a few 100 million ...
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Can anyone explain the reason why CO$_2$ increases global temperatures (not the simplistic greenhouse analogy provided for public consumption)?
The greenhouse effect analogy of global warming is that atmospheric carbon dioxide CO$_2$ absorbs some of the infrared radiation emitted by the Earth, and redirects a portion of that radiation back ...
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What exactly does point-of-no-return for carbon emissions mean?
I think I have heard that if the carbon emission raises a small amount above the current, it would be "point of no return". I heard it a long time ago, so I just searched Google and the top ...
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If planting trees is ineffective to tackle climate change, why do people plant them?
I've read answers that outline how if we afforested large (continental-scale) masses of land, it would do little in the way of tackling climate change. While it would sequester $\small\mathsf{CO_2}$ ...
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If radiative forcing will remain the same when 'net-zero' is achieved, why do some experts think the climate will not warm after this?
As argued in this Nature letter [1] by Matthews and Weaver, when we achieve net-zero emissions further warming will cease. The authors cite numerous models, and say that future emissions are a leading ...
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Looking for details on data presented in IPCC AR6 WG1 report
I am working on a table of data from a chart that appears in the IPCC AR6 WG1 report, Global Carbon and Other Biogeochemical Cycles and Feedbacks-Chapter 5, Figure 5.12 | ...
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Are natural or artificial pools of water (like ponds) carbon positive, negative or neutral?
Are natural or artificial pools of water (like ponds) carbon positive, negative or neutral? They store carbon, but anaerobes release methane, don't they?
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Is it possible to reliably infer the anthropogenic contribution to the post-industrial rise in $\ce{CO2}$ from $^{14}\ce{C}$ observations?
There have been several papers [failures of the review process] that have argued that the post-industrial rise in atmospheric $\ce{CO2}$ is primarily a natural phenomenon, or have sought to minimise ...
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When is the carbon stored in fossil fuels released back to the atmosphere under natural conditions?
On which time scale is the carbon stored in petroleum and black coal released back to the atmosphere under natural conditions? Exploiting fossil fuels and burning them releases the carbon today, but ...
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How does carbon dioxide accumulate in the upper atmosphere if it is heavier than air [duplicate]
I am not a scientist but how does carbon dioxide make its way to the upper atmosphere form fossil fuel burning if it is heavier than oxygen (air), especially as the air is thinner in the upper as you ...
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Alternative natural explanations for rise in atmospheric CO2? [duplicate]
I am in no way a climate-change skeptic, nor a denier. Motivated by this question and some articles I read online:
Are there any known natural processes beside human activities that are able to ...
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Does vegetation contribute to long-term carbon sequestration?
We know that vegetation sequesters CO2 in its leaves. Much of this carbon sequestration is temporary, since when the plant dies, much of it is released back into the atmosphere as CO2. If it dies in a ...
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Atmospheric $\ce{CO2}$ fell at a Pleistocene interglacial-glacial transition. Ocean absorption vs biosphere absorption
CO2 levels fell during the last interglacial-glacial transition until the Last Glacial Maximum in the Pleistocene.
I can think of two causes for the reduction of CO2:
Ocean absorption. The ...
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Can Hydrocarbons be beneficial? [duplicate]
Do these “fossil fuels” underground help maintain homeostasis in microbial ecosystem or aid in the growth of flora etc?
Or are these substances: coal, animal remains and natural gas detrimental even ...
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How were we able to measure carbon dioxide levels in earlier climates?
It is said that carbon dioxide levels were much higher during the Cretaceous and Eocene periods: which proxies are used to determine paleo-pCO2?
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What are the risks of developing geoengineering?
Wikipedia page for geoengineering entry list a lot of proposals to decrease global temperature:
Solar radiation management methods[5] may include:
Surface-based: for example, surface-based mirror ...
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Carbon's role in ocean acidification
This might seem like a basic question, but I'm a little confused about the effects on ocean acidification of different carbon compounds.
I have heard that increased levels of carbon dioxide in the ...
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When would the earth run out of carbon dioxide without man made climate change?
One of my friends told me quite seriously that Gaia had evolved humans to burn the fossil fuels and thus stop the earth running out of CO2.
Leaving aside the obvious nonsense it did raise an ...
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How did plants adapt to $\small\sf{CO_2}$ levels past 400k years? Why won't they do it again?
(Description from climate.nasa.gov: This graph, based on the comparison of atmospheric samples contained in ice cores and more recent direct measurements, provides evidence that atmospheric $\small\sf{...
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Is it possible to convert carbon dioxide into a solid at low cost?
Is it possible to reduce the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere by converting it into a solid, thus reducing the level of greenhouse gases?
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For a tree over its entire existence, does it actually have a net negative effect on atmospheric CO2?
A tree while alive converts CO2 + water -> carbohydrates + O2. However, once the tree dies, it decays, releasing CO2 back into the atmosphere. My question is, over an individual tree's overall ...
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How is carbon distributed among the atmosphere, the oceans, the biomass and the unburnt fossil fuels?
In relation to my other question about carbon cycle and climate change, i would like to know some estimates of the carbon distribution among the atmosphere, the oceans, the biomass and the unburnt ...
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Can CO2 / greenhouse gas levels override the effects of milankovich cycles?
I understand that we are, in all likelihood, towards the end of an interglacial period (the holocene). What I'd like to know is, what has a stronger effect on global temperatures - the low point of ...
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How many trees would I have to plant to solve Global Warming?
According to NASA, causes of the Earth's greenhouse effect include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and CFCs. Carbon dioxide gets the most press, and NASA's page says:
Carbon ...
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Are rainbows a reaction from earths natural release of gas after a rain? [closed]
In my studies, Ive dropped a limestone or porous stone into water, with salt and sugar.
The results where an impressive light show of color flashes.
With the Earths natural release of gas, these ...
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How does the act of producing animal feed from the leftovers of a process result in a negative carbon footprint? [closed]
According to this source, it is claimed that (emphasis is mine)
At Arbikie Distillery in Angus, scientists claim to have developed the world's first "climate positive" gin. By using garden ...
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What is the evidence it is feasible to reverse ocean acidification by adding large quantities of a base (bicarb soda)?
A commenter made the following reflection:
Ocean acidification is different than sea level rise and global warming, however. With ocean acidification, we're making an excursion unlike anything the ...
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CO2 probe measuring at temperatures up to 150 °C [closed]
I'm looking for a $CO_2$ measuring probe (analog current output, digital out: RS232/485 - probe will be connected and transferring real time data to the data logger) that would operate up to 150 °C (...
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How will increased $\ce{CO2}$ affect forests and other vegetative areas?
Some researchers contend that increases in atmospheric CO2 (e.g., from anthropogenic emissions) will enhance plant growth in general.
What is the level of that enhancement?
Does the associated ...
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Is the net amount of CO2 sequestered by trees from the atmosphere simply related to the mass of new growth?
My simplistic model for the carbon cycle was that plants (or trees in particular) photosynthesise and transpire. The former takes up $\small\mathsf{CO_2}$ and $\small\mathsf{H_2O}$ and the latter does ...
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Carbon dioxide and ocean acidification based on temperature
For our assignment, we are required to analyse and compare the $\ce{CO2}$ level (in both ocean and air) of two different sites. Theoretically, shouldn't the $\ce{CO2}$ level of a colder region (e.g., ...
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The effect of CO2 concentration on the pH of the ocean
I'm confused about how increased $\ce{CO2}$ concentration in the atmosphere affects the pH of the ocean.
The increase in $\ce{CO2}$ concentration means the pH of the ocean will decrease (by several ...
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