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Sedimentation is a long-term sink for carbon in the ocean, as well as the largest loss of carbon from the oceanic system. [43] Deep marine sediments and geologic formations are important since they provide a thorough record of life on Earth and an important source of fossil fuel. [43]
The Oceanic carbon cycle is a central process to the global carbon cycle and contains both inorganic carbon (carbon not associated with a living thing, such as carbon dioxide) and organic carbon (carbon that is, or has been, incorporated into a living thing). Part of the marine carbon cycle transforms carbon between non-living and living matter.
Slow or deep carbon cycling is an important process, though it is not as well-understood as the relatively fast carbon movement through the atmosphere, terrestrial biosphere, ocean, and geosphere. [86] The deep carbon cycle is intimately connected to the movement of carbon in the Earth's surface and atmosphere.
The biological pump (or ocean carbon biological pump or marine biological carbon pump) is the ocean's biologically driven sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere and land runoff to the ocean interior and seafloor sediments. [1]
The surface ocean engages in air-sea interactions and absorbs carbon dioxide (CO 2) from the atmosphere, making the ocean the Earth's largest sink for atmospheric CO 2. Carbon dioxide dissolves in and reacts with seawater to form carbonic acid. Subsequent reactions then produce carbonate (CO 3 2−), bicarbonate (HCO 3 −), and hydrogen (H ...
A carbon sink is a type of carbon pool that has the capability to take up more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases. Globally, the two most important carbon sinks are vegetation and the ocean. [3] Soil is an important carbon storage medium.
Carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid when dissolved in water, so ocean acidification is a significant consequence of elevated carbon dioxide levels, and limits the rate at which it can be absorbed into the ocean (the solubility pump).
[31] [32] The resulting decrease in oxygen content of the oceans poses a threat to marine life, as well as to people who depend on marine life for nutrition or livelihood. [33] [34] [35] A decrease in ocean oxygen levels affects how productive the ocean is, how nutrients and carbon move around, and how marine habitats function. [36] [37]