Removing Human Activities from the Carbon Cycle

      The Carbon Cycle is one of 3 major cycles that occur on Earth. There are major processes within the carbon cycle that help carbon to cycle from atmosphere, underground, and to the atmosphere once more. These include geochemical processes, biological processes, mixed biogeochemical processes, and human activities. Photosynthesis takes the CO2 from the atmosphere and uses it to make oxygen both on land and in the ocean. Animals then feed on the plants, the CO2 now in their bodies and released back into the atmosphere through Respiration, which is simply “breathing” it out into the atmosphere. Animals die and become fossil fuels over time after they decompose. Humans use these fossils fuels and burn them, releasing CO2 into the atmosphere once again, as well as other things such as burning trees, the fire burning the plants and releasing the carbon dioxide, and factories releasing it in the chemicals and such that they use for products. Volcanic activity also returns carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

 

So, what happens when you remove human activities from this process?

      Human activities include mining, cutting and burning forests, burning fossil fuels and many other activities in which release carbon molecules that are stored in the items being altered into the atmosphere. About half of this carbon is slowly eating away at our ozone layer and contributing to Global Warming, a very large concern with the health of our planet. Carbon is a natural resource, so why is it harming our planet? The more carbon that is released into the atmosphere at once, is throwing the natural balance off. Too much carbon or not enough carbon in the atmosphere can be a very bad thing.

      By removing these activities from Earth completely, the carbon cycle is greatly affected. It takes many years for dead plants and animals to decompose and release carbon into the atmosphere naturally. This would mean that the carbon dioxide would be ‘stored’ or ‘hidden’ within the plants or animals until it releases them back into the atmosphere, or decomposes enough to release them back. Also, tons of pounds of carbon dioxide is beneath Earth’s surface, contained within fossil fuels under land soil and under the ocean floor. This means that the carbon dioxide will not be in the atmosphere for many years, always going into reservoirs and not returning to the atmosphere for many years. This too could throw the balance of carbon dioxide levels on Earth off. However, it could be a very good thing for the health of Earth for a long time because of Global Warming. By removing high levels of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere, the amount of ozone that is being destroyed by them will too be reduced, causing Global Warming to reduce over time and not harm Earth’s ozone layer in the atmosphere.

 

Removing Clouds from the Water Cycle

     How would removing clouds really affect us? What is their purpose? How are they formed? Why are they there? Clouds are a big part of the water cycle. Clouds are in the atmosphere and consist of water that is condensed, making the water into the clouds. Water cycles through the atmosphere, in the clouds and it precipitates, reaching the earth’s surface. It does this by raining, snowing, sleet, or hail, or any other form of water falling from the sky. Once it hits the Earth’s surface, it goes through a process called surface run off into rivers, lakes, oceans or any other body of water. Eventually this water will evaporate or will go through transpiration and return back into the atmosphere to repeat this process over and over again.

     Without clouds (condensation), there would be no storage place in the atmosphere to evaporate or go through transpiration to other than the air which contains water vapor. The water molecules would just cycle through the bodies of water, making it difficult to reach the middle of large land masses without pipes or other ways to travel there without water being underneath the surface.

     Without clouds, there is no precipitation, no rain, no snow, and no more hail. Humidity will still be present since there is water vapor in the air, however. In short, water would not cycle easily or naturally without the use of a variety of different objects such as underground canals or pipes that we have created-unnatural resources.

     This could affect life on in earth in that the water we are used to having may not travel to the places we normally need it, causing nature to suffer, plants to die or force everything to adapt, if able than they have a chance of surviving, but if unable, the chance of going extinct or endangered is increased.

 

This is an example of a freshwater system. This system moves water to different areas without it being cycled in the atmosphere using pipes and other resources that can move water from one place to another.