Question

The carbon cycle is very effective in the temperature region. Why is it so?

Answer 1

What is the Carbon Cycle?

Carbon is exchanged, or "cycled" among Earth's oceans, atmosphere, ecosystem, and geosphere. All living organisms are built of carbon compounds. It is the fundamental building block of life and an important component of many chemical processes. It is present in the atmosphere primarily as carbon dioxide (CO2), but also as other less abundant but climatically significant gases, such as methane (CH4).

Sources and Sinks

Because life processes are fueled by carbon compounds which are oxidized to CO2, the latter is exhaled by all animals and plants. Conversely, CO2 is assimilated by plants during photosynthesis to build new carbon compounds. CO2 is produced by the burning of fossil fuels, which derive from the preserved products of ancient photosynthesis. The atmophere exchanges CO2 continuously with the oceans. Regions or processes that predominately produce CO2 are called sources of atmospheric CO2, while those that absorb CO2 are called sinks.

Why is the Carbon Cycle important?While CO2 is only a very small part of the atmosphere (0.04%), it plays a large role in the energy balance of the planet.

CO2 in the atmosphere acts like a blanket over the planet by trapping longwave radiation, which would otherwise radiate heat away from the planet. As the amount of CO2 increases, so will its warming effect. CO2 is the largest contributor (currently 63%) to this effect by long-lived gases and its role increases each year. The additional burden of CO2 in the atmosphere will remain for a very long time, of the order of thousands of years, if we have to rely on the natural mechanisms of erosion and sedimentation to process the added CO2.

What do we know about the Carbon Cycle?NOAA CO2 DataUp-to-date Mauna Loa and Global trendsNOAA Baseline ObservatoriesGlobal View DatasetCooperative Air SamplingInteractive CO2 Data VisualizationNOAA Annual Greenhouse Gas Index

Owing primarily to the burning of fossil fuels and secondarily to changes in land-use, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has been increasing globally since the onset of the industrial revolution. Based on 50 years of direct observations of the atmosphere, it is clear that this trend continues and is accelerating. From observatories and cooperative sampling sites around the world, NOAA measures global greenhouse gases and works with partners to improve the accuracy and reliability of these measurements in order to improve our understanding of the sources, sinks, and trends of this important gas and to improve our predictive capability. This continuing record is critical to understanding the potential evolution of global climate as well as aiding or verifying international management strategies.

Radiative forcing of all the long-lived greenhouse gases, relative to 1750, and the NOAA Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI) on the right axis, which is indexed to 1 on January 1, 1990.

What don't we know about the Carbon Cycle?Needed DevelopmentsTall Tower NetworkCarbon Tracker

Although we have a good sense of what is happening with CO2 on a global basis, and have a sound system for following large-scale trends, regional information is needed if society is ever to manage or verify carbon emissions. We must understand regional variations in the sources and sinks of CO2 because they help identify possible sequestration or emission management options. Ideally, these regional evaluations would be done on a global basis. Our first and perhaps most important step is to focus on the North American continent

Answer 2

Temperate zone is characterized as that part of the planet which has moderate temperature. It is neither too hot nor too cold. It is also mild and favorable for the cycles to occur as well.

Due to the moderate temperature, the exchange of carbon from the living matter back to the air becomes easy. Hence, makes it favorable for the carbon cycle.