The environment
The CO2 in the air is one of the foundations of life on earth. The only problem is the rapid increase in this trace gas since the beginning of industrialisation.
The carbon cycle on earth
All figures in billions of tonnes of carbon (1 t C = 3.7 t CO2)
At the moment, the formation of CO2-formation due to human influence, there is currently a surplus of 7.4 - 14.8 gigatonnes (Gt) per year!
Essentially, two cycles are effective
| Biological cycle | Absorption and desorption of CO2 in the world's oceans |
| During photosynthesis, plants convert CO2 into carbohydrates during photosynthesis. | The oceans play the largest role in nature's CO2-balance in nature. |
| During the respiration and decomposition of biomass, CO2 is released. | According to the latest estimates, only 1 - 2 % of the total CO2 in the atmosphere. |
| Most of it is bound in the cold deep water of the oceans. Every year, around 11 Gt of CO2 is removed from the cycle by the transport of water from the surface to the depths. However, as the mixing of the oceans is a very slow process, the capacity to absorb additional CO2 is very limited. |
CO2-content and climate history
| 18,000 years ago (peak of the last ice age) |
200 ppm |
| around 1800 (pre-industrial period) |
280 ppm |
| 1950 | 310 ppm |
| at present | 350 ppm (rising) |
Since the last ice age, CO2-content of the atmosphere and mean surface temperature have been rising since the last ice age. What is the cause and what is the effect has not yet been clearly established.
It is to be feared that the exponentially increasing CO2production since industrialisation favours the so-called greenhouse effect:
Together with other trace gases, CO2 causes global warming of the earth with the often-discussed catastrophic effects on nature and thus also on humans (shifting climate zones, rising sea levels, increased storminess, poor harvests, etc.).