What are carbon sources and carbon sinks?
All living organisms contain carbon. Soil, natural gas, peat and coal are mainly made of carbon. If any of these absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they emit, they are known as carbon sinks. If they emit more carbon dioxide than they absorb, they are carbon sources. Carbon moves around the Earth’s systems in vast quantities – from the atmosphere, to the soils and oceans. Since the industrial revolution a large amount of carbon dioxide has been released into the atmosphere in a relatively short time. Rainforests and oceans absorb more carbon dioxide than they emit. They absorb about half the carbon dioxide humans release into the atmosphere. They are known as carbon sinks. When plants or marine organisms die, the carbon they store is removed from the atmosphere, often for millions of years. Temperature changes in the atmosphere and oceans will affect how carbon (and hence carbon dioxide) is stored, released and transported around the globe. We need to know more about ca
