An unknown 'fight'

Hi everyone! Today I will show you a natural continuous conflict that all people depend on:

The whole system of the carbon cycle “fights back” the anthropogenic CO₂ (one important greenhouse effect) using the fluxes illustrated in the 2nd post.

• The oceans:

The oceans uptake large amount of CO₂ derived from the difference between the carbon concentrations in the atmosphere and the surface of the oceans. The limitation of this absorption is that the increase of the CO₂ emissions in the air reduces the uptake from the oceans because of the:

1.   Reduction of the buffer capacity of the oceans

1.   Mixing rate between the surface and the deep water

The result of the carbon dissolved in the sea is the lower pH that effect the marine life (Prentice et al., 2003).

• The terrestrial system:

The terrestrial system absorbs the CO₂ from the atmosphere with the help of the vegetation. The carbon sinks in the terrace is connected with the photosynthesis. More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means more production by the plants. On the other hand, high concentration of atmospheric CO₂, does not benefit the production at the same scale. Thus, the ability of the terrestrial ecosystem to sink carbon from the atmosphere is limited. (Prentice et al., 2003)

The following video illustrates the human impact in the carbon fluxes and the result of the increasing CO₂ in the atmosphere (greenhouse effect).

 human impact in thecarbon fluxes

Next time we will continue our trip in Carbonland examining the terrestrial mechanisms.

See you!