So once the CO 2 goes into the ocean then that CO 2 forms carbonic acid, bicarbonate and carbonate ion, and it means that the ocean can take up more CO 2, so at present, there is about 60 times as much carbon in the ocean as there is in the atmosphere.Īcknowledgements: Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) Phytoplankton There is a constant vigorous exchange that is going two ways between the ocean and the atmosphere. As well as making nutrients available for living plants, this process also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.Īcknowledgement: Maria Minor and Alastair Robertson (Massey University) Carbon dioxide exchange In the soil, decomposers (such as microbes and soil animals) break down dead plant material. They use energy from the sun to combine the carbon dioxide and water to form carbohydrates.Īcknowledgement: The University of Waikato. Plants take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. Scrub fire footage, courtesy Scion Photosynthesis So when we cut down forests and burn forests, then we are releasing CO 2 into the atmosphere.Īcknowledgements: Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). BurningĪll the mass of all the trees that you’re seeing around is mostly coming from atmospheric CO 2. Respiration releases energy from carbohydrates, with carbon dioxide as a waste product.Īcknowledgement: The University of Waikato. Plants and animals release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through the process of respiration. And in addition, a number of other byproducts are also produced through inefficiencies in combustion like CO which are atmospheric pollutants.Īcknowledgements: Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) Respiration In fossil fuels, the carbon is stored in long-chain hydrocarbons, and then through combustion with oxygen in our cars or in factories, the carbon is converted to CO 2, which is released to the atmosphere. Most of the carbon entering the ocean ends up in the deep ocean where it can be carried by currents for hundreds of years or be lost in sediments.Īcknowledgement: Public domain. Ocean surfaceĮxchange of carbon dioxide between the ocean and the atmosphere takes place at the surface. This is mostly in calcite and limestone.Īcknowledgement: Bordalier institute. Ocean sediments and the rocks they turn into contain huge amounts of carbon. The carbon cycle overlaps the rock cycle. Coal, oil, gasĬarbon has been locked up in fossil fuels, built up from once-living things, for millions of years.Īcknowledgement: Public domain. Soil contains a lot of carbon in the form of dead plant material and in the many bacteria and other small organisms that live there.Īcknowledgement: Public domain. Land plants take up about a quarter of all carbon dioxide that enters the atmosphere.Īcknowledgement: Public domain.

Plants store carbon as carbohydrates made from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing. The Miracle of Life: Carbohydrates, Proteins, Lipids & Nucleic Acids video can be viewed at (3:28).Carbon in the atmosphere is mostly in the form of carbon dioxide with some methane and hydrofluorocarbons. In a dehydration reaction, water is removed as two monomers are joined together. Helps cells keep their shape, makes up muscles, speeds up chemical reactions, carries messages and materialsĬarbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorusĬontains instructions for proteins, passes instructions from parents to offspring, helps make proteinsĬarbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids are large molecules (macromolecules) built from smaller molecules (monomers) through dehydration reactions. Stores energy, forms cell membranes, carries messagesĬarbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur Provides energy to cells, stores energy, forms body structures

You can compare the four types in Table below. In fact, there are nearly 10 million carbon-based compounds in living things! However, the millions of organic compounds can be grouped into just four major types: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. This property allows carbon to form a huge variety of very large and complex molecules. Why is carbon so basic to life? The reason is carbon’s ability to form stable bonds with many elements, including itself.

Importance of carbon cycle