Radiocarbon and the global carbon cycle

This chapter begins by summarizing some of the recent changes in the global carbon (C) cycle, contrasting patterns that exist today with those of the past several hundred years. With this backdrop, the chapter then examines the overall distribution of C isotopes as a framework for understanding the global C cycle and the changes that are happening to it. These important themes are followed in more detail throughout other chapters of this book, giving insight into C cycling from small to large scales and through all of the important Earth reservoirs.