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The Importance of Carbon
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Carbon is the building block of life.
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It is part of all living things
It is the backbone of DNA in plants and animals
It is part of 10 million known compounds,
including sugars which are the basis of energy
It is part of energy in the form of fossil fuels
IT IS ESSENTIAL TO LIFE ON EARTH!
Where Do We Find Carbon on Earth?
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In all parts: the lithosphere, atmosphere,
hyrdosphere and biosphere
Carbon pools are places where carbon is
accumulated and released.
We can organize all the carbon on earth into
five main pools, listed in order of the size of
the pool:
1. The Lithosphere
Lithosphere: the Earth's crust
Carbon can be found here in the form of:
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This is far and away the largest carbon pool on
earth at 66 to 100 million gigatons
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Fossil fuels like coal and oil
Rock deposits, such as limestone, dolomite, and chalk
A gigaton is one million metric tons
Of this amount, only 4,000 gigatons consists of
fossil fuels.
2. The Hydrosphere
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Ocean waters contain:
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Dissolved carbon dioxide (remember our
aquatic plants?)
Calcium carbonate shells in marine organisms
Amount of carbon in the Earth’s oceans:
38,000 to 40,000 gigatons.
3. Soil Organic Matter
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Soil organic matter includes the carbon
from decomposed plants and animals
Amount of carbon in the Earth’s soils:
1,500 to 1,600 gigatons.
4: Atmosphere
Our atmosphere consists of carbon primarily in
the forms of:
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Carbon dioxide
Carbon monoxide
Methane
The amount of carbon in the atmosphere has
increased from 578 gigatons in 1700 to about
766 gigatons in 1999, and continues to increase at
the rate of about 6.1 gigatons per year.
5. Biosphere
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Biosphere is the living part of the world.
It consists of all living and dead organisms
not yet converted into soil organic matter,
both plant and animal.
Examples of large deposits in this category
are forest biomass and wood products.
Amount of carbon: 540 to 610 gigatons.