The Carbon Cycle
Understanding the ecosystem and food web is an important step in quantifying the carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are important because it’s a greenhouse gas. This means that when there is more of it, it acts to keep the earth warmer than it would otherwise be.
This graphic shows the major repositories and exchanges of carbon. By far, the largest repository of carbon is dissolved carbon dioxide in the deep ocean. Exchanges between the surface ocean/deep ocean and surface ocean/atmosphere are some of the largest in the carbon cycle. These exchanges are strongly affected by ocean ecosystems.