Carbon Cycle key words

• carbon pumps


  the process operating in the oceans that circulate and store carbon
• carbon pathway


  the process by which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and held in solid or liquid form. It is the process that facilitates the capture and storage of carbon
• carbon fixation


  the steps involved in moving carbon to a store where it is fixed
• adaptation


  the way people and animals change as a result of their environment such as building sea walls, or moving away from dangerous areas
• carbon neutral


  a process or activity that results in not net carbon release of carbon into the atmosphere
• photosynthesis


  the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesise nutrients from carbon dioxide and water
• carbon sequestration


  the incorporation of carbon into organic compounds by living organisms, chiefly by photosynthesis in green plants
• carbon pool


  a system that has the capacity to store or release carbon
• what are the five carbon pools?


  lithosphere, ocean, organic soil matter, atmosphere, biosphere
• carbon capture and storage


  the process of trapping carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels and storing it do it is unable to affect the atmosphere
• carbon sink


  a carbon reservoir that takes in and stores (sequesters) more carbon than it releases

  carbon sinks can serve to partially offset greenhouse gas emissions

  forests and oceans are both large carbon sinks
• oceanic carbon pumps


  biological pump

  physical pump

  carbonate pump
• chemical weathering


  the decompostion of rock minerals in their original position by agents such as water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and organic acids
• respiration


  a process in living organisms involving the production of energy, typically with the intake of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide from the oxidation of complex organic substances
• decomposition


  bacteria breaking down organic matter such as glucose into CO2 and methane