Plants and Carbon Dioxide Explorer
- clim856
- Jan 4, 2024
- 1 min read
Updated: Feb 18
All photosynthesizing plants on Earth store approximately 10 GtC per year. Carbon is stored as a part of cellulose or starch, two molecules made from glucose, that make up the biomass of plants. Glucose is made during photosynthesis when CO2 from the air and H2O in the plant react in the presence of sunlight and rearrange to form C6H12O6. Oxygen (O2) is also released as a part of this reaction.
Because carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for long periods, scientists monitor its amount using a worldwide data collection system.
You will investigate if plants can reduce carbon dioxide on a global scale. The data set you will explore includes average annual CO2 concentrations measured at locations in the United States. It also includes monthly data for each year that data are available, and monthly data for the last three years.
Explore the data and record what you find on your handout.
Make a copy of the handout or get one from your teacher. Use the interactive to complete the data sheet.
Record your responses to the “Making Sense” questions. Use evidence from your observations to support your responses.
Be prepared to share your results and discuss the questions with your class.
Credits
The Climate Education Pathways team developed the interactive using data sourced from NOAA Global Monitoring Lab and NOAA National Weather Service. See the About the Data and Representations section in the interactive for more details.