Download Carbon Oxygen Cycle 2

Carbon/Oxygen
Cycle
By Ethan Hempel, Jess Meyers, Hannah Park, and Kelly Chan
Background
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When animals breathe, they take in oxygen
and exhale carbon dioxide.
Plants use carbon dioxide (along with water
and sunlight to create food) and release
oxygen as a byproduct.
Plants use the carbon dioxide released from
animals.
Animals use the oxygen released from
plants.
This constant cycle is known as the
Carbon/Oxygen Cycle.
Original Diagram
The Full Cycle
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Plants and producers use carbon dioxide in photosynthesis
As a waste product, the plants release oxygen
This oxygen is used in cellular respiration
Carbon dioxide moves from the air into the leaves of the plants,
and oxygen moves from the leaves and into the air
The Full Cycle continued
● All living things get energy from cellular respiration,
● Carbon dioxide is produced as a waste product
● This carbon dioxide produced in cellular respiration is
used in photosynthesis
● The rate at which a plant or organism is decomposed
affects the speed of the carbon/oxygen cycle
Photosynthesis
● First Step of the Cycle
● The process used by plants to
convert solar energy into chemical
energy
● Plants take in carbon dioxide and
water using the chlorophyll in their
leaves
● They release oxygen, sugar, and
water vapor as a result
Respiration
● Essentially the opposite of
photosynthesis
● Animals take in sugars and oxygen and
release carbon dioxide, water, and
energy
● The process of converting molecules
into energy through oxidization
● Two types
○ aerobic - requires oxygen
○ anaerobic - does not require oxygen
Decomposition
● Small part in the water cycle
● Organic matter breaks down
chemically
● When animals die, they release
carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and
water.
● These elements return to the soil
and the environment
● The matter is then broken down
by decomposers (ex. worms,
fungi, bacteria)
Carbon
Oxygen
Nitrogen
Water
Combustion
● This is the process of burning materials and fossil fuels
● Natural combustion (ex. volcanic eruptions)
● This burning/combustion causes CO2 to be released into the atmosphere
Eutrophication
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Process of increased productivity of a lake
Over enrichment of water with nutrients such as
nitrogen and phosphorus
This causes a negative impact on marine life and
coastal environment
○ Ex. algal blooms, increased growth of macroalgae,
and increased sedimentation and oxygen
consumption
Over enrichment of nutrients causes problems in the
structure, function, and stability of an aquatic
ecosystem
○ Changes ratio of dissolved nitrogen and
phosphorus
“eu” = well/good; “trope” = nourishment
Carbon Sinks
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Carbon sink - anything that takes in more carbon than it gives off
Examples: forests, soil and the ocean.
The most important sinks are fossil fuel deposits
Carbon is separated from the cycle and enters the atmosphere naturally
Carbonates
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Carbon dioxide can be removed from the atmosphere by dissolving into
water and turning into carbonic acid
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This weathers rocks
Calcium Carbonates are a combination of calcium and bicarbonates
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Come from marine life
The Problem
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The fertilizer could have killed off the decomposers in the lake, causing algae to grow
exponentially
○ Large population of algae takes in oxygen that the fish need during the nighttime,
causing them to die
○ The decomposer was a keystone species keeping the ecosystem in balance
The fertilizer could have gotten into the lake and infect the Zooplankton
○ Through biomagnification, the toxin travels through the trophic levels and kills the
fish
Solution #1
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If the amount of Sunlight received by the lake is
reduced/controlled this will help stop the
growth of Algae in the lake
During the day, when there is a lot of sunlight,
the algae produce a lot of oxygen
When it is nighttime, the algae consume oxygen
instead of producing it
○ This kills off the fish because the large
population of algae is consuming the
oxygen that the fish need
○ Reducing the algae population will help to
keep the fish from dying
Solution #2
● Another solution to the issue is to place a special bacteria that is
good for the lake
○ With a large supply of this bacteria, the algae population will
decrease and cause the fish to stop dying
Human Impact On the Cycle
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Deforestation: clearing of trees, transforming a forest into cleared land
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This releases more carbon dioxide into the air and gets rid of plants that produce
oxygen
Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
Both of these factors increase the carbon dioxide emissions and climate
change