Question

What are some examples of carbon sources and carbon sinks ?

Answer 1

Hint: The examples of carbon sources include emissions from burning fossil fuels, forest fires, and respiration. On the other hand, the examples of carbon sinks include the oceans, the plants, and soil.

Complete answer:
Activities such as the burning of fossil fuels result in release of carbon from coal, petroleum, and natural gas in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas. Carbon dioxide can be released in the atmosphere through the decomposition of plants and animals. Carbon dioxide can be defined as an effective greenhouse gas and is capable of absorbing infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface. In the process of global warming the concentration of carbon dioxide is rising in the atmosphere which is retaining more infrared radiation and thus causing rise in the average temperature of Earth’s lower atmosphere. Carbon sinks can be defined as the reservoirs retaining the carbon and keeping it away from entering the earth’s atmosphere. For example, forests act as carbon sinks and thus deforestation leads to more global warming as it is a source of carbon emission into the atmosphere. Carbon can be transferred from atmosphere to carbon sinks via different processes such as photosynthesis. Carbon stored in soils and vegetation can be released back to the atmosphere through land use such as decomposition by microbes or deforestation or climatic changes such as forest fire etc.
In simple words carbon sources are described as the processes that release carbon into the atmosphere such as emissions from burning fossil fuels, forest fires, and respiration whereas on the other hand, Carbon sinks can be described as the reservoirs retaining the carbon and keeping it away from entering the earth’s atmosphere such as vegetation, soil, and oceans.

Note:
Oceans act as carbon sinks and approximately 960 gigatons carbon is stored in its surface.The amount of carbon retained by oceans exceeds the amount of carbon retained by the atmosphere that is around 760 gigatons. From the amount of carbon emitted by human activities into the atmosphere about 30 percent of carbon is taken up by oceans, 45 percent by atmosphere and the remainder is taken by terrestrial ecosystems.