The biogeochemical cycle in which carbon is exchanged between Earth's terrestrial ... The overall atmospheric concentration of these greenhouse gases has ... and plants and convert the carbon to CO2 if oxygen is present, or methane if not; ... and burn coal we are in effect releasing the atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Parts of the carbon cycle may even amplify these short-term temperature changes. ... Earth has undergone such a change over the last 50 million years, from the ... faster than it can decay, layers of organic carbon become oil, coal, or natural gas .... Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have corresponded closely.
Carbon exists in the Earth's atmosphere primarily as the gas carbon dioxide. ... These are, respectively, oxidized (soft-tissue pump) and redissolved (carbonate ... petroleum products, and natural gas releases carbon that has been stored in the ... and do not affect the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide on time scales of less.
