To better understand issues relating to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it is necessary to be familiar with the carbon cycle. Carbon exists on the earth in many different forms - as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, deposits of coal, oil or gas, or in living organisms. Carbon enters the biotic world primarily through a process known as photosynthesis, which will be explained fully later on. It returns to the atmosphere through respiration, decay and burning. A unique process known as ice-core research has allowed scientist to accurately estimate levels of gases in the atmosphere for nearly the last 1

(Surface temperatures in the Sargasso Sea (with time resolution of about 50 years) ending in 1975 as determined by isotope ratios of marine organism remains in sediment at the bottom of the sea (7).

million years. Put simply, ice-core research involves drilling deep into the glacial ice in places such as Greenland and Antarctica and analysing the air trapped in the ice. This research shows that carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has remained relatively constant up until about 300 years ago. Since CO2 measurements started in the late 19th century, CO2 levels have risen 20% (Kimball, 2001). The huge increased burning of fossil fuels has seen carbon being taken out of its solid state of oil and coal and transformed into its gaseous state as carbon dioxide. Mans interruption to the carbon cycle has put the system out of balance. The environment simply cannot cycle through this huge amount of CO2 quickly enough, and this results in increasing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere.

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