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The principal carbon reservoirs are the atmosphere, terrestrial biosphere, ocean, sediments and fossil fuels, and Earth's crust and mantle.
The global carbon cycle consists of interconnected carbon reservoirs, or pools, that exchange carbon through biological, physical, chemical, and geological processes. The major reservoirs are the atmosphere; the terrestrial biosphere, including vegetation, organisms, and soils; the ocean, including dissolved inorganic carbon and marine organisms; sediments and fossil fuels; and the Earth's crust and mantle. The ocean is the largest actively cycling near-surface reservoir, while sedimentary rocks, carbonates, kerogens, and the deep Earth contain the greatest long-term stores. Carbon moves rapidly among the atmosphere, land ecosystems, surface ocean, soils, and marine life through photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, dissolution, ocean circulation, runoff, and sedimentation. These fast exchanges can occur over days to decades, whereas the slow geological cycle transfers carbon through rock weathering, burial, subduction, volcanic activity, and tectonic uplift over thousands to millions of years. Under natural conditions, exchanges are broadly balanced, but fossil-fuel combustion, cement production, and land-use change have transferred additional carbon from geological reservoirs to the atmosphere, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide and contributing to ocean acidification and climate change.
The principal carbon reservoirs are the atmosphere, terrestrial biosphere, ocean, sediments and fossil fuels, and Earth's crust and mantle.
Carbon pools are interconnected by processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, ocean-atmosphere exchange, river transport, weathering, sedimentation, subduction, and volcanism.
The fast carbon cycle operates mainly through living organisms, soils, and surface waters over years to centuries, while the slow carbon cycle operates through rocks and the deep Earth over thousands to millions of years.
The ocean is the largest actively cycled near-surface carbon pool, while carbonate rocks and other geological materials store the largest overall quantities of carbon.
Human activities have disrupted the natural balance by moving geological carbon into the atmosphere and altering terrestrial and marine carbon-storage capacity.
A major Earth system store in which carbon is held for a particular period of time.
A quantity of carbon stored within a specific component of the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, or geosphere.
The land-based carbon reservoir comprising living organisms, dead organic matter, and soils.
Ocean carbon mainly present as dissolved carbon dioxide, bicarbonate, and carbonate ions.
The relatively rapid movement of carbon among the atmosphere, organisms, soils, and surface waters.
The long-term geological movement of carbon through rocks, sediments, the mantle, oceans, and atmosphere.
A reservoir or process that absorbs and stores more carbon than it releases over a given period.
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