Carbon respiration
Encyclopedia
Carbon respiration is a phrase used in combination with carbon storage
to calculate the amount of carbon
(as CO2
) flux
occurring in the atmosphere through the various processes that add and subtract atmospheric carbon
. The result of this calculation is known as the carbon flux ratio.
Carbon is added to the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels, organic respiration, wood burning, and volcanic eruptions. The uptake of carbon from the atmosphere occurs through carbon dissolution into the oceans, plant respiration, and the storing of carbon in various forms such as peat bogs, oil
accumulation, and formation of mineral
s such as coal
.
The calculation of the annual net difference between carbon respiration and carbon storage constitutes the annual global atmospheric carbon accumulation rate. Using this method, the annual carbon flux ratio has been calculated to be approaching zero. This means that the carbon respiration rate and carbon storage rate are in balance when generating a global estimate of this figure.
Annual net carbon flux has been grossly calculated to be close to zero, implying the respiration
and storage
rates are roughly in balance worldwide. This finding is contradicted by measuring the concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, an important indication that the balance is tipped toward emission. Using this data atmospheric concentrations appear to have increased rapidly over the past 100 years and are currently higher than ever in human history. This suggests that more carbon is being released than can be absorbed on earth.
Carbon capture and storage
Carbon capture and storage , alternatively referred to as carbon capture and sequestration, is a technology to prevent large quantities of from being released into the atmosphere from the use of fossil fuel in power generation and other industries. It is often regarded as a means of mitigating...
to calculate the amount of carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
(as CO2
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
) flux
Flux
In the various subfields of physics, there exist two common usages of the term flux, both with rigorous mathematical frameworks.* In the study of transport phenomena , flux is defined as flow per unit area, where flow is the movement of some quantity per time...
occurring in the atmosphere through the various processes that add and subtract atmospheric carbon
Carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere
The concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere is approximately 392 ppm by volume and rose by 2.0 ppm/yr during 2000–2009. 40 years earlier, the rise was only 0.9 ppm/yr, showing not only increasing concentrations, but also a rapid acceleration of concentrations...
. The result of this calculation is known as the carbon flux ratio.
Carbon is added to the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels, organic respiration, wood burning, and volcanic eruptions. The uptake of carbon from the atmosphere occurs through carbon dissolution into the oceans, plant respiration, and the storing of carbon in various forms such as peat bogs, oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
accumulation, and formation of mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
s such as coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
.
The calculation of the annual net difference between carbon respiration and carbon storage constitutes the annual global atmospheric carbon accumulation rate. Using this method, the annual carbon flux ratio has been calculated to be approaching zero. This means that the carbon respiration rate and carbon storage rate are in balance when generating a global estimate of this figure.
Annual net carbon flux has been grossly calculated to be close to zero, implying the respiration
Respiration rate
The respiration rate is a parameter which is used in ecological and agronomical modeling.In theoretical production ecology and aquaculture, it typically refers to respiration per unit of time , also referred to as relative respiration rate...
and storage
Carbon capture and storage
Carbon capture and storage , alternatively referred to as carbon capture and sequestration, is a technology to prevent large quantities of from being released into the atmosphere from the use of fossil fuel in power generation and other industries. It is often regarded as a means of mitigating...
rates are roughly in balance worldwide. This finding is contradicted by measuring the concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, an important indication that the balance is tipped toward emission. Using this data atmospheric concentrations appear to have increased rapidly over the past 100 years and are currently higher than ever in human history. This suggests that more carbon is being released than can be absorbed on earth.