ORANGE

• 60% of the humus is carbon
• soil erosion is a major threat to soil carbon storage as most of the organic carbon is stored on the surface layer
• carbon fluxes can vary diurnally and seasonally
• forest are in decline in the SH but increasing in the NH
• Brazil and Indonesia have a falling carbon stock - carbon storage has fallen 5GtC in the last 25 years
• Brazil has the most carbon stored on land but is seeing the fastest rates of DF
• the ocean is the largest carbon sink and so plays an important role in regulation
• the ocean stores 50x more carbon than the atmosphere
• NPP is the amount of carbon stored by forests
• in tropical forests the NPP is +ve all year
• the soil stores 20-30% of the worlds carbon
• ocean photosynthesis - phytoplankton sequester carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis to survive - use some of that carbon to make their shells - shells are made of calcium carbonate - when they die the shells will either dissolve and be carried through ocean currents or they will sink to the bottom of the ocean - sedimentation will occur - become rocks - join sedimentary record - part of the geologic carbon cycle
• the rate of transfer between stores vary
• factors that impact soil capacity to store organic carbon 


  climate - impacts rate of plant growth and microbial activity - higher temps and rainfall sees high rate of decomposition

  soil type - clay rich soils contain more soil than sandy carbon

  use of soils - land use, cultivation can impact how much carbon can be held
• terrestrial photosynthesis 


  primary producers sequester carbon through photosynthesis and release carbon when they respire

  vegetation (primary producers) growth depends on water, nutrients and sunlight

  micro-organisms feed on waste material from plants and animals
• 95% of a trees biomass consists of CO2 which is sequestered and converted to cellulose
• the rate of absorption of CO2 into the ocean depends on ocean temp - colder absorb more
• ocean temp increases the oceans absorb less CO2 accelerating climate change and lead to further warming - positive feedback cycle
• tar sands in Canada has displaced 300 species and causes deforestation in the boreal forest which stores 30-40% of earth's land-based carbon
• tar sands requires 5x more energy than conventional fossil fuels
• tar sand production is expected to double in the next ten years
• tar sands produce 3.3 million per day in 2022
• tar sands use 3-6 barrels of water to produce one barrel of oil
• left over sand and clays from tar sands has contaminated nearby watersources
• mining for tar sands uses large amount of land
• tar sands have meant peat bogs and wetlands have been drained
• fracking releases carbon in the form of CO2, methane and benzene
• fracking has the highest carbon footprint of all energy types
• the US fracking boom could tip climate change over the edge
• planned drilling projects across the US could release 140bn metric tonnes of GHG
• Weld Country, Colorado has 11 fracking wells which operate 600 feet from school playgrounds
• there is fracking in Colorado. Colorado has some of the worst air quality in America missions from oil and gas operations accounting for 30-40% of locally produced ozone along the Front Range
• Children in Wells county at the schools near fracking sites reported nose bleeds and respiratory issues
• fracking in Colorado has caused discourse between the local community and the companies that have expanded there. Locals feel uncertain and hopeless
• there were 12000 PFAS (forever chemicals) found in the wells in Weld
• conflict between companies and locals in Weld can be seen with years of protests and grass roots activities
• despite state regulations being tightened in Weld e.g., sites have to be 2000ft from property, there have been exceptions made and 26 new wells have been announced that will be built within the year
• fracking in the US has created a noxious industrial corridor in towns such as Weld
• residents in Weld are reporting headaches, difficulty to breath which is impacting their school attendence
• fracking has made the US a net exporter of oil