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Fossil fuel. The main fossil fuels (from top to bottom): natural gas, oil, and coal. A fossil fuel[a] is a carbon compound - or hydrocarbon -containing material [2] formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or planktons), a process that occurs within geological formations.
Terrestrial biological carbon cycle. Interconnection between carbon, hydrogen and oxygen cycle in metabolism of photosynthesizing plants. The carbon cycle is an essential part of life on Earth. About half the dry weight of most living organisms is carbon. [citation needed] It plays an important role in the structure, biochemistry, and nutrition ...
The carbon cycle is that part of the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of Earth. Other major biogeochemical cycles include the nitrogen cycle and the water cycle. Carbon is the main component of biological compounds as well as a major component of many rocks ...
The two main carbon isotopes are 12 C and 13 C. Plants absorb the lighter isotope, 12 C, more readily than 13 C. [25] Because fossil fuels originate mainly from plant matter, the 13 C/ 12 C ratio in the atmosphere falls when large amounts of fossil fuels are burned, releasing 12 C.
Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. [2]: 2248 It plays a crucial role in limiting climate change by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. There are two main types of carbon sequestration: biologic (also called biosequestration) and geologic. [3] Biologic carbon sequestration is a naturally ...
Kerogen is solid, insoluble organic matter in sedimentary rocks. It consists of a variety of organic materials, including dead plants, algae, and other microorganisms, that have been compressed and heated by geological processes. All the kerogen on earth is estimated to contain 10 16 tons of carbon.
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. Much of the organic carbon retained in the soil of agricultural areas has been depleted due to ...
The abiogenic petroleum origin hypothesis proposes that most of earth's petroleum and natural gas deposits were formed inorganically, commonly known as abiotic oil. [1] Scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports a biogenic origin for most of the world's petroleum deposits. [2][3] Mainstream theories about the formation of hydrocarbons on earth ...