Pre-Industrial Revolution, carbon stored in ice was stable. Today, due to human activities, carbon stored in ice is being released into the atmosphere.

Example: Imagine your freezer at home is the ice storing carbon. When it's powered and working, the carbon (food) stays frozen. But, if we unplug it (human activity), the food starts to thaw and decompose (releasing carbon).

• Rocks store most carbon, but it's not easily accessible.
• Atmosphere holds 2%, Biomass 5%, Fossil fuels 8%, and Oceans 85% of the rest.
• Human activities have disturbed the carbon cycle.

Example: It's like a delicate scale balancing different weights (carbon in different forms). But we've been adding extra weight (carbon from fossil fuels) on one side, upsetting the balance.

• Infrequent events like volcanic eruptions and meteor impacts altered the carbon cycle.
• Post-Industrial Revolution, burning fossil fuels moved carbon from underground to the atmosphere.

Example: Imagine ancient Earth as a calm sea. Once in a while, a splash (volcanic eruptions) would disrupt it. But now, it's like we're continuously stirring the sea (burning fossil fuels), creating bigger waves (increased carbon).

• In the 1990s, humans added 8.0 PgC/year (petagrams of carbon), mainly from burning fossil fuels and deforestation.
• Between 2000 and 2008, it increased to 9.1 PgC/year.

Example: It's like we were slowly filling up a bathtub (carbon in the atmosphere), but we started adding water faster and faster, risking an overflow (climate change).