The Long-term Climate Change: The Carbon Cycle

Chemical Equations

The Short Term Carbon Cycle: changes from year to year and decade to decade

The dominant chemical reactions are:

Photosynthesis: CO2 + H2O ----sunlight----> CH2O + O2
                   (carbon dioxide, water and sunlight yield carbohydrate and oxygen)

Respiration:       CH2O + O2 -> CO2 + H2O
                   (carbohydrate and oxygen yield carbon dioxide and water and energy)

Fermentation:  2CH2O -> CO2 + CH4
                        (carbohydrate decomposes to carbon dioxide and methane)

Combustion:  (Organic Carbon, C, H, O) + O2 -> CO2 + H20 + energy
                    (hydrocarbon and oxygen yield carbon dioxide and water and energy) [anthropogenic]

page 1 : page 2 : page 3 : page 4 : page 5 : page 6 : page 7 : page 8 : page 9