"So the question is about the circulation out of old carbon dioxide storage, into the atmosphere and then eventually back into carbondioxide sinks again, right?"
Yes. The sinks vary a lot. Vegetation, for example, tends to cycle pretty quickly unless it is in a bog. Bogs are anaerobic. While they do produce methane, well, the bacteria produce it, they aren't very efficient at it. So most material settles on the bottom. If undisturbed long enough, they form peat. If undisturbed for very long times, the theory is that they eventually get buried and go to brown, then hard coal. If dried out before they are completely buried, they then are subject to oxidation, even fires. So bogs are longer term, and even very long term storage.
Water can store a lot. But like all gasses, the amount that can be dissolved varies depending on temperature. A couple of degrees C can make a big difference. It is estimated that the bottom water in the oceans are storing about 2 times(IIRC) the atmospheric total. There are an unknown amount of chlathrates in the oceans. They are likely the result of bacteria action, but little is known. They could be a significant sink, but...
"With the bottom line being the totals after all the sourcing, circulating and sinking done, right?"
Yep. Evidence is that the sinks are pretty efficient, but have a hysteresis. They can't respond immediately if there is an increase in sourcing. It is reasonable to hypothesize if the rate of increase in sourcing can be slowed, then the sinks can catch up. |
