Understand the carbon and oxygen cycles in the atmosphere
Living organisms influence the cycling of carbon and oxygen through the environment.
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Transcript
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NARRATOR: Carbon and oxygen are two elements that are essential to life. They are naturally present in the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide and gaseous oxygen. Because they're always circulating between the soil, the air, and the water, living matter's constantly renewed.
Atmospheric oxygen comes mainly from green plants. When they're exposed to light, green plants use carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to manufacture living matter and release oxygen into the air. This process is called photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is produced through the respiration of animals and plants, which consume oxygen and release carbon dioxide. When biomass is subjected to decomposition or combustion, the carbon fixed in living matter is also released into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide.
The release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is compensated for by photosynthesis and by the dissolution of the gas in the oceans. But human activities are disturbing this balance to the point where carbon tends to accumulate in the atmosphere.
[Music out]
NARRATOR: Carbon and oxygen are two elements that are essential to life. They are naturally present in the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide and gaseous oxygen. Because they're always circulating between the soil, the air, and the water, living matter's constantly renewed.
Atmospheric oxygen comes mainly from green plants. When they're exposed to light, green plants use carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to manufacture living matter and release oxygen into the air. This process is called photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is produced through the respiration of animals and plants, which consume oxygen and release carbon dioxide. When biomass is subjected to decomposition or combustion, the carbon fixed in living matter is also released into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide.
The release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is compensated for by photosynthesis and by the dissolution of the gas in the oceans. But human activities are disturbing this balance to the point where carbon tends to accumulate in the atmosphere.
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