Why is understanding the carbon cycle important?
• How does the carbon cycle affect the global energy cycle ? Understanding the global carbon cycle 1 is important because it is closely tied to the global energy cycle 1. Visible light (short-wavelength radiation 1) from the sun passes through the Earth atmosphere to the Earth surface where it is absorbed. The absorption of visible light warms the Earth surface. Any object, including the earth, emits radiation depending upon its temperature. The Earth emits invisible infrared (long-wavelength 1) radiation back into space. If the Earth atmosphere contained no carbon dioxide 1, it would be as transparent to infrared radiation emitted by the Earth as it is transparent to the visible radiation from the sun, meaning the Earth atmosphere would be much cooler than it is now. The global carbon cycle controls the quantity of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which in turn determines the transparency of the atmosphere to infrared radiation emitted by the Earth surface. Carbon dioxide permits the
