Carbon: building block and fuel source

Carbon is an essential element in the bodies of living organisms. It is also economically important to
modern humans, in the form of fossil fuels.

Did you know about 18% of your body consists of carbon atoms, those carbon atoms are key to your
existence. Without carbon, you wouldn't have the plasma membranes of your cells, the sugar molecules
you use for fuel, or even the DNA that carries instructions to build and run your body.

it's also part of our modern-day industries. Carbon compounds from long-ago plants and algae make up
the fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, that we use today as energy sources. When these fossil
fuels are burned, carbon dioxide— CO2 is released into the air. This increase CO2 levels and affects
Earth's climate and is a major environmental concern worldwide.

WHAT IS CARBON DIOXIDE?

Carbon dioxide— CO2

- is a colorless gas with a density about 60% higher than that of dry air. Carbon dioxide
consists of a carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It occurs naturally
in Earth's atmosphere as a trace gas. from the atmosphere is taken up by photosynthetic
organisms and used to make organic molecules, which travel through food chains. In the end,
the carbon atoms are released as in respiration which is part of the process known as the carbon
cycle.

Slow geological processes, including the formation of sedimentary rock and fossil fuels, contribute to the
carbon cycle over long timescales and some human activities such as burning fossil fuels.

As a brief overview, carbon exists in the air largely as carbon dioxide— CO2—gas, which dissolves in
water and reacts with water molecules to produce bicarbonate— HCO3. Photosynthesis by land plants,
bacteria, and algae converts carbon dioxide or bicarbonate into organic molecules. Organic molecules
made by photosynthesizes are passed through food chains, and cellular respiration converts the organic
carbon back into carbon dioxide gas.

cellular respiration- In this process, the carbons of the molecule are released as carbon dioxide.

Photo- is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical
energy that can later be released to fuel the organisms' activities
is a set of metabolic reactions and processes that take place in
the cells of organisms to convert biochemical energy from nutrients into adenosine
triphosphate (ATP), and then release waste products.

Long-term storage of organic carbon occurs when matter from living organisms is buried deep
underground or sinks to the bottom of the ocean and forms sedimentary rock. Volcanic activity and,
more recently, human burning of fossil fuels bring this stored carbon back into the carbon cycle.
Although the formation of fossil fuels happens on a slow, geologic timescale, human release of the
carbon they contain—as —is on a very fast timescale

The biological carbon cycle

Carbon enters all food webs, both terrestrial and aquatic, through autotrophs, or self-feeders. *these
are your plants and algae’s* Autotrophs capture carbon dioxide from the air or bicarbonate ions from
the water and use them to make organic compounds such as glucose.

Heterotrophs, or other-feeders, such as humans, consume the organic molecules, and the organic
carbon is passed through food chains and webs. the energy stored in carbon containing molecules, such
as sugars, autotrophs and heterotrophs break these molecules down in a process called cellular
respiration.

Decomposers also release organic compounds and carbon dioxide when they break down dead
organisms and waste products.

Carbon can cycle quickly through this biological pathway, especially in aquatic ecosystems. Overall, an
estimated 1,000 to 100,000 million metric tons of carbon move through the biological pathway each
year. For context, a metric ton is about the weight of an elephant or a small car.

The geological carbon cycle

The geological pathway of the carbon cycle takes much longer than the biological pathway described
above. In fact, it usually takes millions of years for carbon to cycle through the geological pathway.
Carbon may be stored for long periods of time in the atmosphere, bodies of liquid water—mostly
oceans— ocean sediment, soil, rocks, fossil fuels, and Earth’s interior.

The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is influenced by the reservoir of carbon in the oceans and
vice versa. Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere dissolves in water and reacts with water molecules in
the following reactions:
 CO2+H2O⇌H2CO3⇌HCO3−+H+⇌CO32−+2H+
The carbonate— —released in this process combines with ions to make calcium carbonate — —a key
component of the shells of marine organisms. When the organisms die, their remains may sink and
eventually become part of the sediment on the ocean Floor. Over time, the sediment turns into
limestone, which is the largest carbon reservoir on Earth.

On land, carbon is stored in soil as organic carbon from the decomposition of living organisms or as
inorganic carbon from weathering of terrestrial rock and minerals. Deeper under the ground are fossil
fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas, which are the remains of plants decomposed under anaerobic—
oxygen-free—conditions. Fossil fuels take millions of years to form. When humans burn them, carbon is
released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

Another way for carbon to enter the atmosphere is by the eruption of volcanoes. Carbon-containing
sediments in the ocean floor are taken deep within the Earth in a process called subduction, in which
one tectonic plate moves under another. This process forms carbon dioxide, which can be released into
the atmosphere by volcanic eruptions or hydrothermal vents.

Human impacts on the carbon cycle

When fossil fuels are burned, carbon dioxide— — is released into the air. Increasing use of fossil fuels
has led to elevated levels of atmospheric. Deforestation—the cutting-down of forests—is also a major
contributor to increasing levels. Trees and other parts of a forest ecosystem sequester carbon, and
much of the carbon is released as if the forest is cleared.

Some of the extra produced by human activities is taken up by plants or absorbed by the ocean, but
these processes don't fully counteract the increase.

So, atmospheric levels have risen and continue to rise. levels naturally rise and fall in cycles over long
periods of time, but they are higher now than they have been in the past 400,000 years, as shown in the
graph below: *SHOW THE FUCKING GRAPH*

Why does it matter that there are lots of in the atmosphere? is a greenhouse gas. When in the
atmosphere, it traps heat and keeps it from radiating into space. Based on extensive evidence, scientists
think that elevated levels of and other greenhouse gases are causing pronounced changes in Earth's
climate. Without decisive changes to reduce emissions, Earth's temperature is projected to increase by 1
to 5 C by the year 2100.

Also, while uptake of excess carbon dioxide by the oceans might seem good from a greenhouse gas
perspective, it may not be good at all from the perspective of sea life. As we saw above, dissolved in
seawater can react with water molecules to release ions. So, dissolving more in water causes the water
to become more acidic. More acidic water can, in turn, reduce concentrations and make it harder for
marine organisms to build and maintain their shells of. Both increasing temperatures and higher acidity
can harm sea life and have been linked to coral bleaching. SHOW BLEACHED CORRAL
The debate about the future effects of increasing atmospheric carbon on climate change focuses on
fossils fuels. However, scientists must take natural processes, such as volcanoes, plant growth, soil
carbon levels, and respiration, into account as they model and predict the future impact of this increase.

Oxygen is a chemical element with symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of

the chalcogen group on the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that
readily forms oxides with most elements as well as with other compounds.