Human activity can release nitrogen into the environment by two primary means: the combustion of fossil fuels, which releases different nitrogen oxides, and by the use of artificial fertilizers (which...Human activity can release nitrogen into the environment by two primary means: the combustion of fossil fuels, which releases different nitrogen oxides, and by the use of artificial fertilizers (which contain nitrogen and phosphorus compounds) in agriculture, which are then washed into lakes, streams, and rivers by surface runoff.
The overall effect is that carbon is constantly recycled in the dynamic processes taking place in the atmosphere, at the surface and in the crust of the earth. In 2018, the additional flux of carbon i...The overall effect is that carbon is constantly recycled in the dynamic processes taking place in the atmosphere, at the surface and in the crust of the earth. In 2018, the additional flux of carbon into the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources was estimated to be 36.6 gigatons of carbon (GtC = 1 billion tons of carbon)—a significant disturbance to the natural carbon cycle that had been in balance for several thousand years previously.
