[Rockhounds] Carbon Reservoir

[Axel Emmermann]

Hi Bill

I would diversify that to:
Inorganic CO2 bound in geology - free CO2 - organic CO2

Inorganic carbon bound in geology: is more than limestone. It's marble, ALL
corbanoate-minerals (yes, including scapolite (sorry, couldn't resist),
dolomite, ankerite, calcite, smithsonite and marbles and diamonds and...).  

Free CO2: atmospheric AND dissolved in the oceans and other water bodies
(including bubbles in the arctic ice cap and glaciers.  These reservoirs are
constantly exchanging CO2 so that is why I would prefer to look at them as
one reservoir. 

Organic carbon; plant and animal life but also cubic miles or rotting
vegetation in the large delta areas of rivers like the Amazon, Nile,
Mississippi ... Also the vast (billions of tons) of frozen methane-hydrate
that is locked in permafrost. Also coal and petroleum are inorganic in
origin. Most of oceanic deposits of carbonate silt are from skeletons of
microscopic animals and thus from organic origin.

If we go look at the Earth and represent it as a ball of 1 meter in
diameter, the crust would be only about 1 mm thick.
I'm guessing here but I think that most of that is sand, granite, basalt and
only a small portion is (about 5% to 10 %) is actually non-igneous rock.
Most of the carbonate rocks would be sedimentary (metamorphous) and from
karstification. 

Personally I 'm inclined to think that inorganic carbon in all its forms is
the largest reservoir. But I've been wrong before ;-))))
There is an awful lot of life and remains of life on the planet and it's all
carbon based.

Cheers
Axel




> -----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
> Van: rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com
[mailto:rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com]
> Namens William Dicks
> Verzonden: maandag 13 oktober 2008 12:36
> Aan: rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com
> Onderwerp: [Rockhounds] Carbon Reservoir
> 
> Could someone tell me what is the largest carbon reservoir?
> Some sources I have read say the oceans and others say limestone
> deposits.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Bill Dicks
> Teacher,
> Northville High School
> Board Member,
> Michigan Earth Science Teachers Association
> 
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