An interactive exploration of how carbon moves through Earth's systems, how natural sinks absorb it, and how we can capture and store it. Understanding the carbon cycle is key to understanding climate change.
Click on any part of the diagram below to explore how carbon is captured, transported, and stored. From trees absorbing atmospheric CO₂ to industrial capture injecting it deep underground.
This diagram shows how carbon sequestration works: CO₂ is dispersed from industrial sources, captured and separated, then either absorbed by natural sinks (trees, soil, ponds) or injected underground into geological formations (coal seams, aquifers, depleted reservoirs).
If we continue emitting at current rates, how warm will Earth get? Drag the slider to explore projected global temperature rise under different scenarios, based on IPCC AR6 data.
Projections show warming relative to 1850–1900 average. The 1.5°C Paris Agreement target is increasingly difficult to meet.
Watch how human emissions and natural sinks have evolved from 1960 to 2024. The gap between emissions and absorption is what accumulates in the atmosphere.
How much carbon each natural and technological sink absorbs annually, and their total stored reserves.
From ancient forests to cutting-edge technology, here's how carbon is captured and stored across biological, geological, and technological approaches.
Trees absorb CO₂ through photosynthesis, storing carbon in trunks, branches, roots, and leaves. Old-growth forests are particularly powerful stores, holding centuries of accumulated carbon.
Oceans absorb CO₂ at the surface, where it dissolves and is transported to depth by currents. Phytoplankton also fix carbon through photosynthesis, forming the biological pump that moves carbon to the deep ocean.
Soils hold more carbon than the atmosphere and all vegetation combined. Organic matter from dead plants and organisms decomposes and stores carbon for decades. Conservation tillage and cover cropping enhance this process.
Carbon Capture and Storage injects compressed CO₂ into deep geological formations: saline aquifers, depleted oil/gas reservoirs, and unminable coal seams. Storage can last thousands of years if sites are properly managed.
Machines that chemically filter CO₂ directly from ambient air. The captured carbon can be stored underground or converted into products. Effective but currently expensive ($250–$600 per ton) and energy-intensive.
Mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrass meadows sequester carbon at rates up to 10x faster than terrestrial forests per unit area. These coastal ecosystems store carbon in waterlogged sediments for millennia.
Key trends in atmospheric CO₂, emissions, and sequestration.
The world's oceans contain roughly 38,000 GtC — about 50x more than the atmosphere. They absorb about 2.5 GtC of human emissions annually, but this comes at a cost: ocean acidification is increasing by about 30% since pre-industrial times, threatening coral reefs and marine ecosystems.
Scientists long struggled to balance the carbon budget: known sinks didn't account for all absorbed carbon. We now know that land vegetation, particularly tropical forests and boreal regions, absorb more than previously estimated — roughly 3.1 GtC/yr. But this "land sink" is vulnerable to deforestation, drought, and wildfire.
All operational CCS facilities combined capture about 45 MtCO₂/yr — less than 0.1% of annual emissions. Direct Air Capture is even smaller at ~0.01 MtC/yr. To reach net zero, the IPCC estimates we need to capture 5–16 GtCO₂/yr by 2050. The scale-up required is massive.