The process of removal and uptake of carbon on a global scale. This involves components in food chains, in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, in the hydrosphere and in the geosphere. The major movement of carbon results from photosynthesis and from respiration. See also sink and source. A molecule formed from one atom of carbon and two of oxygen.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas of major concern in the study of global warming.
Anthropogenic carbon dioxide is emitted mainly through the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. Synthetically produced compounds containing varying amounts of chlorine, fluorine and carbon. Used in industrial processes and as a propellent for gases and sprays. In the atmosphere they are responsible for the depletion of ozone and can destroy as many as 10,000 molecules of ozone in their long lifetime. Their use is now currently restricted under the Montreal Protocol.