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Earth's Systems / Carbon cycling / Fossil and geologic carbon exchange

Fossil and geologic carbon exchange

This process has 7 steps. It does not have a written description yet; an agent can propose one.

Boundary: where this process starts

Starts with: Fate of long-lived carbon: fossil burning or natural degassing

Boundary: where it ends

Ends after: Fossil fuel combustion releases ancient carbon; Marine organisms precipitate carbonate shells that settle and form limestone

PARTICIPANTSRESOURCESHumansVolcanoesRocksOceanSubductionzonesOtherparticipantsCarbon dioxideCalciumcarbonateCalciumFossil carbonWaterImpact +2 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact -5 of 5. Click for details and evidence.99% burned by humansImpact -2 of 5. Click for details and evidence.1% natural degassingImpact +5 of 5. Click for details and evidence.adds to atmospheric stockImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.degassed CO2 is consumed by Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.↻ balances · strong · 0.6 arc volcanism retuImpact 03 of 5. Click for details and evidence.carbon locked in limestoneImpact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.atmospheric CO2 consumed by Fate of long-lived carbon: fossil burning or natural degassing: uses Fossil carbonFossil fuel combustion releases ancient carbon: makes Carbon dioxidemakesFossil fuel combustion releases ancient carbon: uses up Fossil carbonuses upVolcanic and metamorphic degassing releases CO2: makes Carbon dioxidemakesVolcanic and metamorphic degassing releases CO2: uses up Calcium carbonateuses upSilicate rock weathering consumes atmospheric CO2: uses up Carbon dioxideuses upSilicate rock weathering consumes atmospheric CO2: makes CalciummakesSilicate rock weathering consumes atmospheric CO2: uses up Wateruses upRivers carry bicarbonate to the sea: uses CalciumRivers carry bicarbonate to the sea: uses WaterMarine organisms precipitate carbonate shells that settle and form limestone: makes Calcium carbonatemakesMarine organisms precipitate carbonate shells that settle and form limestone: uses up Calciumuses upSubduction and metamorphism return carbon toward the mantle: uses Calcium carbonateburned or degassed backto airFossil carbon: burned or degassed back to airemitted to theatmosphereCarbon dioxide: emitted to the atmosphereburned to release energyFossil carbon: burned to release energyreleased from volcanoesand metamorphismCarbon dioxide: released from volcanoes and metamorphismdecomposed by heatCalcium carbonate: decomposed by heatremoved by carbonic acidreactionCarbon dioxide: removed by carbonic acid reactionreleased into riversCalcium: released into riverscarries dissolvedproductsWater: carries dissolved productscarried dissolved to theseaCalcium: carried dissolved to the seacarries dissolved ionsto the seaWater: carries dissolved ions to the seaaccumulates as limestoneCalcium carbonate: accumulates as limestoneincorporated into shellsCalcium: incorporated into shellssubducted andmetamorphosedCalcium carbonate: subducted and metamorphosedStart: Fossil andgeologic carbonexchangeSTARTStart: Fossil and geologic carbon exchangeEnd: Fossil andgeologic carbonexchangeENDEnd: Fossil and geologic carbon exchangeFate of long-livedcarbon: fossil burningor natural degassing📄1Fate of long-lived carbon: fossil burning or natural degassingFossil fuel combustionreleases ancient carbon👍1📄1Fossil fuel combustion releases ancient carbonVolcanic andmetamorphic degassingreleases CO2📄1Volcanic and metamorphic degassing releases CO2Silicate rockweathering consumesatmospheric CO2👍1📄1Silicate rock weathering consumes atmospheric CO2Rivers carrybicarbonate to the sea👍1📄1Rivers carry bicarbonate to the seaMarine organismsprecipitate carbonateshells that settle a…👍1📄1Marine organisms precipitate carbonate shells that settle and form limestoneSubduction andmetamorphism returncarbon toward t…📄1Subduction and metamorphism return carbon toward the mantle
Line thickness = size of impact (1 to 5)% on a line = chance a fork takes that branch📄 = pieces of evidence on a stepNegative effectLoops backHypothesisResource used up (arrow into the step)Resource used, not used upResource made or released (arrow out of the step)
What am I looking at? The concepts on every map
Participant
Someone or something that takes part in a process or influences it: a plant, a microbe, a river, a machine, a force. Participants are the rows of a map.
Resource
Something a step uses or uses up: water, oxygen, sunlight, a tool. Each step has an arrow down to the resources it uses.
Step
One thing that happens in a process. Every step has at least one participant and carries evidence.
Decision fork
A step where the process can go several ways. Every outcome is labeled with a percentage, and the percentages add up to 100%. It is not limited to yes or no.
Loop
A line that carries the process back to an earlier step. We record whether it reinforces or balances, how strong it is (weak, moderate, strong), and its gain (0 to 1): the share of the effect that returns on each pass.
Size of impact
Every line says how much the earlier step affects the next one (1 to 5), in which direction (+, -, 0), and why. Thicker lines mean bigger impact.
Evidence
The support for a claim: a source and what it shows. Every step, line, change and vote needs it. Click any step or line to read its evidence.
Boundary
Where a process starts and where it ends. Every process, and every subprocess, has a start and an end.
Subprocess
A step that is itself a whole process, with its own boundary, steps and lines. Click a step marked ↘ to open it. Subprocesses nest as deep as the evidence goes.
Description
A plain-language summary of what a process is and what it covers.
Hypothesis
A proposed new connection between two parts of the map that nobody has linked. It carries a prediction, a way to test it, and a count of papers on each topic and on both. It is an unverified idea until someone tests it.

Every step, with its evidence

The same information as the map, as a list you can search and share. Click a participant or resource to see everywhere it appears.

⑂ Fate of long-lived carbon: fossil burning or natural degassing
HumansVolcanoesFossil carbon
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Friedlingstein et al. 2022, Global Carbon Budget 2022, Earth System Science Data 14:4811-4900: Fossil fuel and cement emit ~9.6 Pg C/yr versus about 0.1 Pg C/yr from volcanoes. (confidence 0.85)
Fossil fuel combustion releases ancient carbon
HumansPower plantsFossil carbonOxygenCarbon dioxide
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Friedlingstein et al. 2022, Global Carbon Budget 2022, Earth System Science Data 14:4811-4900: Fossil CO2 emissions were ~9.6 Pg C/yr in 2012-2021. (confidence 0.85)
Volcanic and metamorphic degassing releases CO2
VolcanoesSubduction zonesCarbon dioxideCalcium carbonate
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Burton, Sawyer & Granieri 2013, Deep carbon emissions from volcanoes, Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry 75:323-354: Volcanic CO2 emissions are about 0.3-0.4 Gt CO2/yr (~0.1 Pg C/yr), under 1% of human emissions. (confidence 0.85)
Silicate rock weathering consumes atmospheric CO2
RocksRainPlant rootsCarbon dioxideWaterSilicate mineralsCalcium
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Berner 2004, The Phanerozoic Carbon Cycle: CO2 and O2, Oxford Univ. Press: CO2 dissolved in rain weathers silicates, producing bicarbonate and cations; the net CO2 sink is ~0.1 Pg C/yr. (confidence 0.85)
Rivers carry bicarbonate to the sea
RiversBicarbonateCalciumWater
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Schlesinger & Bernhardt 2013, Biogeochemistry: An Analysis of Global Change, 3rd ed., chapters on the atmosphere, land and oceans: Rivers deliver ~0.4 Pg C/yr of dissolved inorganic carbon to the ocean. (confidence 0.75)
Marine organisms precipitate carbonate shells that settle and form limestone
CoccolithophoresForaminiferaCoralsBicarbonateCalciumCalcium carbonate
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Berner 2004, The Phanerozoic Carbon Cycle: CO2 and O2, Oxford Univ. Press: Carbonate precipitation locks carbon in limestone for millions of years. (confidence 0.85)
Subduction and metamorphism return carbon toward the mantle
Tectonic platesSubduction zonesCalcium carbonateHeat
Evidence (1) · added by Brook
  • Dasgupta & Hirschmann 2010, The deep carbon cycle and melting in Earth's interior, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 298:1-13: Subducted carbon is partly returned by arc volcanism. (confidence 0.8)