This blog contains All the Information About Sources and Impacts of Carbon Dioxide CO2. It includes information and properties of Carbon Element. This also covers Natural and Anthropogenic Sources of Carbon Dioxide. At the end, it elaborates the Major Impacts of Carbon Dioxide on the Environment.
1. What is Carbon?
Carbon is a chemical element that has atomic number 6 in the Periodic Table in Chemistry. Its symbol is C. It is non-metallic and tetravalent in nature. Carbon is made up of a nucleus of neutrons and six protons surrounded by six electrons.
Carbon is one of the most Famous Elements in the Periodic Table. The most important quality and ability of carbon is that, it can combine with other elements in order to form different compounds consisting of wide varieties. Most of the Natural compounds on Earth contains Carbon in them. We can say that it exists on Earth more than any other Element on the Earth. So we can call Carbon as the building block of Earth and Nature. Carbon is naturally produced and emitted into the atmosphere by Geological Cycles and Climatic Systems.
The Natural Concentration and existence of Carbon is suitable for the Environment and in the Atmosphere. But as they increase Artificially or Anthropogenically, they create disturbance in every cycle of the Earth whether it is related to Climate Change, Living Cycles or other phenomena on the Earth. It seems that excessive Carbon present in the atmosphere, can be a great danger for the Environment. One of the main reason behind this is that, Carbon is already present in bulk quantities in every building block of Earth. So, its excessive concentration can cause many Disruptions in Natural Environments. This blog is all about Carbon dioxide, Its Causes and impacts on Earth System.
2. What are the special abilities of Carbon?
Carbon element has many unique and special abilities. Some remarkable abilities of Carbon are as follows:
i. Tetravalent Nature:
The Carbon element has the ability to form Tetravalent bonds; it means that it can form four covalent bonds because it has 4 electrons in its outer shell. So it can make four covalent bonds at the same time with many other elements and atoms.
ii. Catenation Capacity:
Catenation capacity is the ability that let carbon make bonds with other Carbon atoms to form chains, branches or rings. This ability helps it to make larger and longer chains when in need. It is a special ability of carbon.
iii. Easy Bonding with other Elements:
Another unique ability of Carbon is that it can combine or form bonds with many of the other elements. Carbon atom not only combine with other elements, but can make variety of different molecules. The elements that combines with carbon are Oxygen, Hydrogen and Halogen.
iv. Strong Bonds:
Carbon atom is also famous for combining with the help of strong forces ending up creating stronger and reliable bonds between molecules. This makes carbon a powerful element among the elements of the Periodic Table. This is a magnificent Property of Carbon.
These are few specialized abilities of Carbon. This blog is all about Sources and Impacts of Carbon Dioxide.
3. What do you know about Carbon Dioxide and Its harmful Properties?
Carbon dioxide CO2 is a colorless gas composed of one Carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is a non-flammable gas at normal temperature and pressure.
Carbon Dioxide is a Green House Gas that is present in the Environment in bulk. It is an important factor that contributes in natural Green House Effect of the Earth. CO2 is one of the most found gas after Oxygen and Nitrogen in the Atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is produced by many Natural and Anthropogenic Sources. Following are some of the harmful Properties of CO2 that contributes in harming the Atmosphere and Environment:
1. Health Effects:
CO2 is a harmful gas that cause a variety of health effects in Living organisms and animals. This gas is very dangerous in high concentrations and its Anthropogenic concentration is very bad for the Natural Environment and also in Atmosphere Composition. The Health Effects caused by CO2 in living organisms includes:
- Dizziness
- Confusion
- Ringing of ears
- Increased Heart rate
- Coma
- Convulsions etc.
2. Environmental Effects:
CO2 is a warming gas. It is one of the biggest contributors of Climate Change and Global Warming so it is the reason why Global average temperature increases every year. This cause heating effect on Earth and plays important roles in the Climatic changes caused by Heat and Extreme Temperatures. It is also at the top in triggering the Weather events on the Earth.
3. Cause of Fatalities:
Carbon dioxide gas is one of the significant cause of Fatalities. This may occur under specific conditions. As we know that, CO2 is heavier than air. So, it can displace oxygen in confined or closed places without any visible changes. In this condition, the people who are stuck in the closed places can suddenly die because of the displacement of CO2 in high concentration.
4. Workplace Exposure:
Carbon dioxide is responsible for many Occupational diseases and workplace Accidents or Fatalities. The people who are exposed to even little concentrations of CO2, can easily get severe Respiratory Disorders such as Asthma, Pneumonia etc. The workplace accidents in Industries and Factories can also cause Deaths or fatalities of thousands of worker due to Gas leak.
These are the few harmful properties of Carbon Dioxide, that makes CO2 one of the Major Air pollutants that cause Global warming and also risks of deaths in different conditions of exposure. This blog is all about Sources and Impacts of Carbon Dioxide.
4. What are the Natural sources of Carbon Dioxide Emissions?
There are many Natural sources of Carbon Dioxide that can be considered as Natural Concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. Following are some of the Natural Sources of CO2:
Oceans:
Oceans are two way contributor in the context of CO2 gas. They are natural Carbon sinks, that works for the absorption of excessive CO2 from the atmosphere. But on the other hand, Ocean is the biggest Natural emitter of CO2 in the Environment. This is the outgassing of the Ocean that emits CO2.
Decomposition:
The decomposition process that is performed by Micro organisms release CO2 during the process of conversion of Organic Matter and Biodegradable materials into simpler products. This process is also a Natural Source of CO2 emissions.
Respiration:
Respiration is the living process of Biodiversity, it includes exchange of gases from the body of the organism. Living organisms takes up oxygen and exhales CO2 as a By-product of Cellular Respiration in living organisms so this is a significant Source of CO2 emissions.
Volcanoes:
Volcanoes are the openings on the surface of the Earth that connects the depth of the Earth with Earth’s surface. They are the pathways for Green House Gases including CO2 and also the lava from the deep layers of the Earth. This emits a large amount of Carbon Dioxide in the Environment or Upper Atmosphere.
Wildfires:
Wildfires are incontrollable and spreading fires that spreads over the Forests and Wild areas. These fires are very destructive as they cause extreme levels of Biodiversity Loss. These wildfires emits a lot of Carbon Dioxide, because it is the gas that produces when Biodiversity is burnt.
These are some of the Natural Sources of CO2 production so these sources have a significant contribution in the Environmental Concentrations of CO2. This blog is all about Sources and Impacts of Carbon Dioxide.
5. What are some Anthropogenic Sources of CO2 Emissions?
Unfortunately with the increase in population, the Anthropogenic Sources of CO2 emissions contributes much more than the Natural Sources of CO2. Following are some of the Anthropogenic Sources of CO2 emissions:
Industrialization:
Most of the industrial processes use Fossil Fuels and other Non-renewable resources for heating processes. The fossil fuels emits large amount of CO2 during its burning. The emissions that you see emitting from the industries, are mostly CO2. The Carbon dioxide Concentration has drastically increased after the start of Industrial Era on the Earth.
Transportation:
Every person on Earth is in search of his personal transport and vehicles. But these vehicles are harming the Environment at great extents. Because they burn Fuel in their engines and emits CO2, NOx and SOX type of harmful and Major Air pollutants into the Atmosphere. As the number of Vehicles and means of Transportation are increasing, the Concentration of CO2 is also increasing every year.
Deforestation:
People are cutting trees for Industrial, Urbanization and Commercial Purposes or to take Economic advantages from the Forest Resources. This deforestation is causing the Natural absorption of CO2 to reduce. And most of the CO2 is left into the Environment. Deforestation does not only increase the Concentration of CO2 but also reduce the Concentration of Oxygen that Forests emits.
Carbon Footprint:
Carbon Footprint is the evaluation Carbon emissions per person. This includes the products we use, the Electricity Consumption, Efficiency of the Appliances and other such things that we do in our daily life that includes Carbon emissions. The Carbon Footprint of people are increasing every year because of Over-exploitation of Natural Resources, Inefficient energy utilization and other such Activities.
Farming and Agricultural Practices:
Due to increase in population, the existing farmers are using Non-sustainable Farming and Agricultural Practices in order to increase their yield and fulfil the needs of the Population. These non-sustainable farming practices are good for better yield, but have Negative Impacts on the Natural Environmental Qualities of a land. These unsuitable Farming Practices emits a lot of concentration of CO2.
These are some of the Anthropogenic Sources of CO2 emissions. The Anthropogenic Sources of CO2 production contributes much more, than the Natural Sources according to present data. This blog is all about Sources and Impacts of Carbon Dioxide.
6. What are the Impacts of Increased CO2 in the Environment?
Following are some of the Impacts of Increased CO2 in the Environment:
1: Global Warming:
As we have discussed earlier, that CO2 is a gas with high Warming Potential. This gas has ability to trap heat because it is one of the most concentrated Green House Gas in the Atmosphere. So, the gas responsible for increasing the Earth’s Average Temperature and heating up the planet, is CO2 because it is present in most Concentration than any other GHGs.
2: Ocean Acidification:
CO2 is a big source of Ocean Acidification. This condition exists because Oceans are the Major Carbon sinks and all the excessive CO2 in the atmosphere is added into the Ocean at the end of the cycle. This cause decrease in the pH of the ocean and make it acidic and it also destroys the Ocean Composition, Dissolves the skeletons of Marine Species and Damages the Coral Reefs.
3: Extreme Weather Events:
CO2 adds reactivity to the upper atmosphere. When there is a drastic addition of CO2 in the upper atmosphere, it may result in Extreme Weather Events such as Heavy Rainfalls, Hail Storms and many other such extreme events. This cause sudden changes in the Environmental Conditions and also make them reactive that are harmful for Biodiversity on Earth and Ecosystems.
4: Sea Level Rise:
As CO2 contributes in raising the temperature and Global warming, it automatically contributes in Melting of Glaciers. These Glaciers are melting with great speed like never before. The melted glaciers adds water to the Ocean and also cause the condition of Sea Level Rise. This Sea level rise is very speedy and can submerge the coastal areas at any moment.
5: Threat to Biodiversity:
All the impacts of Increased CO2 concentration are collectively Threat to Biodiversity. Because Biodiversity is very sensitive to Extreme Weather Events, Extreme Temperatures, Heat Waves and Change in the Composition of the Environment. These phenomena are causing deaths and illnesses of many Species of Biodiversity in the Environment.
These are some of the Impacts of Increased CO2 in the Environment. This blog is all about Sources and Impacts of Carbon Dioxide.
7. Conclusion:
Carbon Dioxide is a great threat to Natural Environment and Biodiversity. As it has some Harmful properties such as Heat Trapping, Cause of Death, Environmental Impacts etc. Some Natural Sources of CO2 includes Volcanoes, Oceans, Decomposition, Respiration etc. While some Anthropogenic Sources of CO2 includes Transportation, Industrialization, Deforestation, Carbon Footprint etc. All these Sources adds CO2 Concentrations into the atmosphere.
The Harmful impacts of Increased CO2 includes, Global Warming, Threat to Biodiversity, Ocean Acidification, Sea Level Rise etc. For maintaining and also protecting our Environment, we should control and prevent the CO2 emissions into the Environment. This blog is all about Sources and Impacts of Carbon Dioxide.
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