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What is the role of water in a carbon cycle?

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Last updated date: 18th Sep 2024
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Answer
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Hint: Before answering this question, we should know about the carbon cycle. As the name suggests, The motion of carbon in elemental and combined states on earth is shown by the carbon cycle. The elemental forms of carbon are diamond and graphite. They are found as carbonates in minerals and Carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere.

Complete answer:
The process in which carbon compounds are transferred in between the biosphere, geosphere, pedosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the earth forms the carbon cycle.
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The process of the carbon cycle involves:
The steps involved are-
Plants absorb the carbon that is present in the environment for the process of ‘‘photosynthesis’’.
Animals eat these plants and it results in the accumulation of carbon in their bodies.
So, when these plants and animals die at some point, they get decomposed and the carbon is again released into the environment and the carbon which fails to be released in the atmosphere becomes fossil fuels over some time.
Then, man uses these fossil fuels for their requirements and activities which brings more carbon into the atmosphere.
Role of water in a carbon cycle:
The process of absorbing carbon from the atmosphere happens because of plants and the carbon dioxide is also taken away by the plants and to keep doing so the plants need to be alive and for their survival they need water. The sources of water for plants are rain, groundwater, precipitation, etc. For photosynthesis also, they use up water and use carbon dioxide, and sunlight to produce oxygen and glucose. They prepare food for us and provide oxygen for us to breathe. Plants are very important for our survival. Without plants, our earth would just be a storage house for carbon dioxide.

Note:
Importance of carbon cycle-
It helps to prevent deadly climatic changes, it helps to trap the long-wave radiations from the sun. If the carbon cycle is hampered then global warming will occur. Every life on earth is dependent on carbon in one way or another as proteins, lipids, DNA, etc are made up of carbon.