Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere Carbon dioxide () is an important trace gas in Earth's atmosphere. It is an integral part of the carbon cycle, a biogeochemical cycle in which carbon is exchanged between the Earth's oceans, soil, rocks and the biosphere. Plants and other photoautotrophs use solar energy to produce carbohydrate from atmospheric carbon dioxide and water by photosynthesis. Almost all other organisms depend on carbohydrate derived from photosynthesis as their primary source of energy and carbon compounds. absorbs and emits infrared radiation at wavelengths of 4.26 µm (asymmetric stretching vibrational mode) and 14.99 µm (bending vibrational mode) and
Ocean storage of carbon dioxide Earth's climate. This presents itself as a readily available carbon sink to store and capture atmospheric carbon dioxide. Due to the solubility of carbon dioxide in water, CO2 naturally dissolves in oceanic waters to form an equilibrium. With an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the position of equilibrium pushes the equilibrium in the direction such that more CO2 dissolves into the water. Utilizing this mechanism, more than 500 Gtons of carbon dioxide (amounting to a total of 140 Gtons of carbon) of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions released over the past 2 centuries have been absorbed