Plants, the ocean, and soil are examples of carbon sinks that absorb more carbon from the atmosphere than they emit. A carbon source, on the other hand, is anything that releases more carbon into the atmosphere than it absorbs, such as fossil fuel combustion or volcanic eruptions.
Carbon is an element that is essential to all life on Earth. Carbon makes up the fats and carbohydrates of our food and is part of the molecules, like DNA and protein, that make up our bodies. Carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, is even a part of the air we breathe. It is also stored in places like the ocean, rocks, fossil fuels, and plants.
CARBON CYCLE-The carbon cycle describes the flow of carbon between each of these places. For example, carbon continually flows in and out of the atmosphere and also living things. As plants photosynthesize, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When plants die, the carbon goes into the soil, and microbes can release the carbon back into the atmosphere through decomposition.
Forests, soils, oceans, and the atmosphere all are natural carbon sinks, and this carbon moves between them in a continuous cycle.
Oceans are the largest active carbon sink on Earth, absorbing more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide that humans put into the air.
Ideally, the carbon cycle would keep Earth’s carbon concentrations in balance, moving the carbon from place to place and keeping atmospheric carbon dioxide levels steady. However, the carbon cycle is changing because of human activity.
