Global warming is an alarming environmental phenomenon that has attracted the attention of the international scientific community over the past few decades. There is an increasing amount of evidence pointing to the fact that human activities, most notably the increased burning of fossil fuels, are contributing to the problem. In addition, there is a strong link between global warming and the Earth’s carbon cycle. To understand this connection, it is important to delve deeper into the impact of human activities on the carbon cycle, and assess their resulting implications.
One of the most significant human activities that are exacerbating global warming is the increased burning of both coal and oil. This is releasing large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere and is contributing to the Greenhouse Effect. Since the industrial revolution, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased by nearly 40 %, which is in turn causing average global temperatures to rise. To provide context, for every 1000 tons of coal burned, approximately 400 tons of CO2 are released into the atmosphere.
Amidst this, the process of photosynthesis is also an important factor in the global carbon cycle as it transforms carbon dioxide and water into sugar with the help of solar energy. However, as higher quantities of CO2 in the atmosphere impede the process, it has the potential to disrupt the global carbon cycle. Moreover, these changes have the potential to disrupt the balance of resources in the atmosphere and in the oceans, which can have repercussions. For instance, warmer ocean temperatures can cause sea levels to rise and increased acidity exacerbates the impacts of ocean pollution.
We can also look at global warming and its link to the carbon cycle through the lens of carbon sequestration. This strategy is employed by some nations as it incorporates the utilisation of a variety of methods, such as reforestation and soil carbon capture. By planting more trees, plants and shrubs, large amounts of carbon dioxide are removed from the atmosphere and absorbed into the soil. In this way, such strategies may help us to mitigate the disorder of the global carbon cycle associated with increased emissions of greenhouse gases.
In conclusion, the relationship between global warming and the carbon cycle is complex, yet essential to consider, as it offers an understanding of all of the environmental changes that are currently taking place. Moreover, this has the potential to bring nations to the petal of evaluating and combatting global warming, as well as showcasing the power of carbon sequestration as a mitigation technique. Such measures need to be implemented on an international level in order to have a visible impact in combatting global warming and its associated problems.
How Is Global Warming Related To The Carbon Cycle
