Inside out: deep carbon linked to deep-time carbon cycle

Carbon is the basis of all organic matter on Earth, and is recycled through the ecosystem in two primary processes: one in which carbon is exchanged among living organisms, and one in which carbon is cycled over long periods of time through fossilized organic remains, weathering of rocks, and volcanic activity. Human activities, including increased agricultural practices and the burning of fossil fuels, has greatly affected the balance of the natural carbon cycle.

Carbon CycleThe carbon cycle shows how carbon travels between the air, land, water, and living things. Plants take in carbon dioxide from the air during photosynthesis to make their food. Animals get carbon by eating plants, and they release carbon back into the air through respiration. When plants and animals die, decomposers break them down, returning carbon to the soil and air. Burning fossil fuels also adds carbon to the atmosphere. By studying the carbon cycle, scientists can better...

Carbon dioxide fixation in prokaryotes enables the assimilation of inorganic carbon into organic molecules, supporting biosynthetic pathways, sustaining ecosystems, and contributing to the global carbon cycle. It also has industrial applications in carbon capture and bioproduct synthesis. Autotrophic organisms rely on this process to utilize CO₂ as a carbon source in diverse environments.The Calvin CycleThe Calvin cycle is the most widespread carbon fixation mechanism, primarily used by...

Life on Earth is carbon-based, as all macromolecules that make up living organisms contain carbon atoms. All organic compounds have a carbon backbone. Each carbon atom is tetravalent and can bond with four other atoms, making it an extraordinarily flexible component of biological molecules. Because carbon’s valence electrons are stable, it rarely becomes an ion. As the carbon chain increases in length, structural modifications such as ring structures, double bonds, and branching side...

Geologic Time Scale-IIThe geologic time scale helps scientists understand Earth's history by organizing it into different time periods. The Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras are the most recent and include major events such as the rise and fall of the dinosaurs, the formation of modern continents, and the emergence of mammals and humans. The Mesozoic Era included three periods: the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous. The Cenozoic Era is divided into the Paleogene Period and the Neogene Period.

Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global temperatures is well outside of the Earth’s cyclic norms, and evidence for human-caused global climate change is compelling. Paleoclimatology, the study of ancient climate conditions, provides ample evidence for human-caused global climate change by comparing recent conditions with those in the past.