Weather, the carbon cycle and the global climate

By: Edgar Mana-ay

There is much discussion about carbon dioxide or CO2 as a "greenhouse gas" (GHG) in the atmosphere that traps radiated heat of the earth causing global warming. The basic element Carbon, as a component of CO2, undergoes a natural process called inorganic carbon cycle, which is triggered by the process of alteration. This is not just the rocks but all the elements are affected by the process of alteration.

Fundamentally, Alteration refers to the process that changes the physical and chemical character of rocks and other elements over time. For example, if you give up a car for a long time in an open space, especially in the tropics, where rain and sunlight are plentiful, the paint will eventually flake off and the metal will rust.

the atmosphere by the decomposition of organic matter such as trees, power plants, automobiles, and volcanic eruptions as in the case of Hawaii eruptions of Mt. Kilauea. The CO2 dispersed in the atmosphere dissolves in the water vapor to form carbonic acid (H2CO3) in the atmosphere. This natural, weak acid now in liquid form will fall in the rain. Carbonic acid reacts with sediments and rocks during chemical weathering (alteration of rocks and mineral debris on the earth's surface by reaction between terrestrial materials and atmospheric constituents such as Water, oxygen and carbon dioxide). This releases calcium ions and bicarbonate ions (HCO3 ^– ), which are transported by rivers into the sea.

Precipitation of mineral CaCO3 (which began as CO2 in the atmosphere ) forms layers of limestone rocks. The deep burial of limestone leads to metamorphism (the transformation of pre-existing rock into a new rock distinct by texture or mineralogically due to high temperature and deep pressure under the ground but without melting process ). This causes silica and calcite to form calcium silicate minerals and carbon dioxide .

CO2 remains trapped inside the Earth until liberated by the volcanic eruption to complete the return cycle of CO2 in the air . CO2 in the atmosphere that passes through this carbon cycle, less than 5% is returned to the atmosphere by volcanic eruption and 95% remains buried underground as limestone or transformed into marble metamorphic rocks. You see nature has its own way of storing carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere and now deeply buried in the ground!

A comparison of the percentage of CO2 in the atmosphere: Earth – 0.33%; March – 95.3% and Venus – 96.5%. Earth has just enough CO2 in its atmosphere to keep most of the surface above the freezing point, but not too hot to support life. However, when the Earth first formed, its atmosphere probably resembled that of Venus. What happened to most of the carbon dioxide originally in the Earth's atmosphere? Geologists believe that a quantity of CO2 equal to about 65,000 times the mass of CO2 in the current atmosphere is buried in the Earth's crust and upper mantle.

Part of this CO2 has been used to make organic molecules during photosynthesis. as buried organic matter and fossil fuels in sedimentary rocks. (Think of millions of years ago and the formation of coal and oil). However, the majority of the missing CO2 has been converted to bicarbonate ion (HCO3 ^– ) during chemical weathering and is enclosed in carbonated materials.

The inorganic carbon cycle as discussed above, helps to regulate the climate. Earth because CO2 is a greenhouse gas, chemical weathering accelerates with warming, and limestone formation occurs mainly in warm and tropical oceans. When the climate of the Earth is hot, chemical alteration and limescale formation increase, pulling CO2 from the atmosphere, cooling the climate. When the climate of the globe cools, the chemical alteration and limescale formation slow down, allowing the CO2 to accumulate in the atmosphere, which warms the Earth.

An increase in chemical weathering can also lead to global cooling by removing more CO2 from the atmosphere. For example, the Cenozoic (65 million years ago when the dinosaurs disappeared), the uplift and alteration of high mountains such as the Alps and the Himalayas triggered the global cooling that culminated in the glaciation. moves under its own weight that changes deeply and distinctly the terrestrial landscape) of the Pleistocene epoch (1.6 million years ago).

The man is really only a tiny point on the earth and its atmosphere. the inorganic carbon cycle. The Earth is 4.5 billion years old but the first sign of life appeared about 500 million years ago in the form of trilobites, which were arthropods crawling on the muddy bottom, the fossil the older found with the eyes. Hominids (modern humans and extinct ancestors) have fossil records dating back 6 million years. In all these times, nature or God has already provided the mechanism and guarantees that his land is maintained to be habitable to the modern man later and all the other creatures that he has created.

Although we can not alter the atmosphere, we have the great responsibility to feed our immediate surroundings in the same way as on our arrival. For the Holy Bible in Revelation 7: 3 said: " not to hurt the land, nor the sea, nor the trees."

Note: The author is the hydrogeology consultant of the Municipality of Pavia and a professional member of the National Groundwater Association of the United States (NGWA)