Carbon respiration is a phrase used in combination with carbon storage to calculate the amount of carbon (as CO₂) flux occurring in the atmosphere through the various processes that add and subtract atmospheric carbon. The result of this calculation is known as the carbon flux ratio. General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... In the various subfields of physics, there exist two common usages of the term flux, both with rigorous mathematical frameworks. ... Carbon flux is the net difference between sequestration and respiration of carbon dioxide. ...

Carbon is added to the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels, organic respiration, wood burning, and volcanic erruptions. The uptake of carbon from the atmosphere occurs through carbon dissolution into the oceans, plant respiration, and the storing of carbon in various forms such as peat bogs, oil accumulation, and mineral formation such as coal.

The calculation of the annual net diffference between carbon respiration and carbon storage constitutes the annual global atmospheric carbon accumulation rate. Using this method, the annual carbon flux ratio has been calculated to be approaching zero. This means that the carbon respiration rate and and carbon storage rate are in balance when generating a global estimate of this figure.^[1] Carbon flux is the net difference between sequestration and respiration of carbon dioxide. ...

Annual net carbon flux has been grossly calculated to be close to zero, implying the respiration and storage rats are roughly in balance worldwide. This finding is contradicted however by measuring the concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmospher an important indication that the balance is tipped toward emission is found in the measured concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.^[2] Using this data atmospheric concentrations appear to have increased rapidly over the past 100 years and are currently higher than ever in human history. This suggests that more carbon is being released than can be absorbed on earth. Respiration is a term used in both biology and biochemistry. ... Storage is the at least semi-permanent holding of an amount of something. ...

References

1. ^ Land Use Issues. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
2. ^ Graph of CO2, temperature, and dust concentration measured from the Vostok, Antarctica ice core as reported by Petit et al., 1999.. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.