Each molecule has 200 times the heat absorption capacity of a molecule of CO 2 . IPCC predicts that in the next 100 years the global average temperature rise will be between 1 and 3.5 degrees Celsius. These are all Carbon based. A carbon atom may travel a path rapidly like in sugar eaten at breakfast and energy taken as bonds split and exhaled as CO 2 the same day. OR A carbon atom may travel a path slowly like in sugar made into body muscle that stays in the body until it decays and CO 2 is released.
Carbon can also travel very slowly .
It could be located in a plant which eventually dies. Over time, the biomass from the plant is buried under sediment and placed under extreme pressure which allows it to eventually form coal. Carbon could be stored in CaCO 3 made from shells and skeletons of marine animals. Tracing the path of a Carbon atom. The Carbon Cycle begins with CO 2 accumulating in plant sugar molecules created in the process of photosynthesis.