Oceanic carbon cycle

Okay kiddo, so you know how we breathe in air and breathe out carbon dioxide, right? Well, that's kind of like what happens in the ocean too!

The ocean has a lot of creatures living in it, and they breathe just like we do. But they also produce something called "organic matter" which is kind of like a fancy word for things like dead plants and animals.

When this organic matter sinks to the bottom of the ocean, it starts to decompose, which means that it breaks down into smaller pieces. While this happens, some of the carbon that's in the organic matter gets turned into a gas called carbon dioxide.

But the ocean isn't just a place where carbon is produced. It's also a place where carbon is used up! There are tiny plants called phytoplankton that live near the surface of the ocean. These little plants inhale carbon dioxide and use it to grow.

When these phytoplankton die, they sink to the bottom of the ocean just like the organic matter we talked about earlier. And when they decompose, the carbon dioxide that got used to grow them gets released back into the ocean.

So basically, the oceanic carbon cycle is a never-ending process of carbon being produced and used up in the ocean. And just like how humans can cause problems with the air by producing too much carbon dioxide (which is called "climate change"), we can also cause problems in the ocean by producing too much carbon dioxide. That's why it's important to take care of our planet!