Carbon in the environment form the carbon cycle. For example, photosynthetic plants draw carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (or seawater) and build it into biomass, as in the Calvin cycle, a process of carbon fixation. Some of this biomass is eaten by animals, while some carbon is exhaled by animals as carbon dioxide. The carbon cycle is considerably more complicated than this short loop; for example, some carbon dioxide is dissolved in the oceans; if bacteria do not consume it, dead plant or animal matter may become petroleum or coal, which releases carbon when burned. Carbon can form very long chains
Ocean storage of carbon dioxide has already gone into the oceans. Carbon dioxide is currently emitted at 10 GtC per year and the oceans currently absorb 2.4 Gt carbon dioxide per year. The ocean is an enormous carbon sink with the capacity to hold thousands more gigatons (Gt) of carbon dioxide. Ocean sequestration has the potential to decrease atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations according to some scientists. After atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves into the ocean, the aqueous carbon dioxide reacts with seawater to form carbonic acid. As carbonic acid continues to interact with water molecules, carbonate is formed, which increases the concentration of hydrogen ions in