Humans release 40-100 times as much carbon as do Earth's volcanoes
, a scientific project involving more than 1,000 earth-scientists worldwide, and based on the analysis of 10 years of field data and computer modeling, an estimated 1.85 billion gigatons of carbon exist on Earth and humans are at present-day the largest source of carbon-dioxide on the planet’s surface.
99.8% of all carbon on Earth is dissolved in the planet’s upper mantle or trapped in minerals, and less than 2%, or 43,500 gigatons, takes part in the carbon cycle on the planetary surface. Carbon is continually transferred between Earth’s lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere and the biosphere. Many marine organisms use carbon to construct bones and shells.
Almost 90% of carbon on Earth’s surface is trapped in carbonaceous rocks, like limestone found in mountain ranges, deposited in marine sediments or dissolved in the deep ocean. The atmosphere contains only 1.4% of all surface carbon, almost 590 to 780 gigatons, mostly in the form of gaseous carbon-dioxide. Natural land and ocean processes emit and absorb that same amount of carbon-dioxide over time, keeping carbon-dioxide levels in the atmosphere between 180 and 280 parts per million.
Using data collected with modern equipment and surveying the most important volcanic centers on Earth, scientists were able to quantify the release of carbon-dioxide by geogenic sources. Volcanic regions both on the continents and on the bottom of the sea outgas 280–360 million tons of carbon-dioxide per year. Volcanism is the largest natural source to aboveground carbon. Other geologic processes, like decay of organic matter in sediments, outgas an additional 20–40 million tons of carbon.
The new research shows that humans emitted on average around 10 gigatons of carbon-dioxide into the atmosphere each year in the last century. Earth’s oceans can absorb a certain amount of carbon-dioxide, but this can significantly alter their chemistry, as the gaseous carbon-dioxide reacts with the water forming carbonic acid. Carbonaceous sediments form only slowly and can't keep up with the anthropogenic output.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Louis Bell Leads Hot 100 Songwriters & Producers Charts Simultaneously for Third WeekLouis Bell continues his domination of both the Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts, as he rules the surveys simultaneously for a third week.
Read more »
Jessica Simpson Just Responded To Amy Schumer's Comments On Her 100-Pound Weight Loss'Size only matters when...'
Read more »
The Best 11 Spring 2020 Fashion Trends For Women Over 40 - fountainof30.comWe scoped the Spring/Summer 2020 Collections from New York, London, Milan and Paris and put together the best spring fashion trends for women over 40.
Read more »
Self Starters: 85% Of America’s Richest Entrepreneurs Start First Business By 40This year, Forbes looked into how many of The Forbes400 richest Americans founded a business. Here’s what we found:
Read more »
I'm 40, An Unemployed Mother Living In Paris & I Just Left My Abusive Partner'A few months after the first diary was published, the company I worked for was acquired. A small investment I'd made a few years ago, plus stock options, paid out. That was roughly equal to a year of base salary.'
Read more »