This activity looks at where the carbon is around the planet (carbon stores). It then moves on to consider how carbon moves between these stores (fluxes). Last, the focus will be on how human activity has altered carbon fluxes, and in turn the amount of carbon in each of the stores.

How to play

1. Get together in groups of four to six.
2. Cut out your cash and the carbon store areas.
3. Take five minutes to distribute the carbon ‘cash’ between the stores to represent how many GtC (gigatonnes of carbon) were in each at the start of industrialisation, roughly 250 years ago.
4. Record your numbers on the Carbon budget record sheet.
5. Use the Carbon stores interactive (advanced) to check your estimates, noting any surprises between these figures.
6. Use the Carbon fluxes interactive (advanced) to investigate both the natural fluxes between stores, and the overall impact of human activity on the sizes of carbon stores.

This activity develops knowledge around the major stores and fluxes in the carbon cycle. It is designed to be used with two interactive diagrams that show the stores of carbon before the onset of industrialisation in the 1750s, and how these stores have changed and are changing due to natural and human-induced processes.

Further information on carbon stores and fluxes can be found in Chapter 5 of the AR6 report from the IPCC.

For those seeking a more basic introduction to the carbon cycle, please see the interactive diagram below.