What are the TWO largest sinks(sorage areas) for carbon?-And how do these sinks hold the carbon?

Answer 1

By far and away the largest carbon STORE are the oceans, these contain a little over 39 trillion tons of carbon. Soils are the second largest carbon stores holding just over 1.5 trillion tons.

Stores are different to sinks. A carbon store is as the name implies - somewhere that carbon is stored. A carbon sink is the name given to a source that absorbs more carbon than it releases, in other words, it reduces the amount of CO2 in the atmopshere.

The oceans are the largest carbon SINKS and biomass (vegetation) comes second.

Each year the oceans release 88 billion tons of CO2 and absorb 90 billion tons - they are a sink for 2 billion tons of CO2.

Biomass releases 119 billion tons of CO2 each year and absorbs 120 billion tons - it's a sink for 1 billion tons of CO2.

Within the oceans, CO2 is absorbed through the process of diffusion and in biomass it's absorbed through photosynthesis.

Answer 2

Trevor has numbers I wouldn't dispute. But the how is Calcium carbonate, from the shells of shell fish, clams etc. These shells pile up on the bottom of the ocean and eventually become limestone. Which traps the carbon, this carbon is locked up until the limestone is taken back into the earth, and belched out of volcano.

Answer 3

- Rocks and soil, which are made of carbonates, Ca Co3 for instance are a major carbon store, the chemical interactions are very strong and this carbon sink is very stable.
- Biomass, alive or remains of biomass are made of carbohydrates, for example trees, algae, animals, oil, coal are all made of carbon, the chemical interactions are not very strong and these materials can interact with oxygen to replace the hydrogen and produce CO2.

Answer 4

1. Oceans
2. Soil / Land
Heavier CO2 molecules drawn into water / soil with rain or absorption.