Biogeochemical cycles are natural pathways by which important nutrients circulate throughout living and nonliving components of the environment. Without them, nutrients would have been completely used up long before you ever existed! The carbon cycle is one of Earth’s major biogeochemical cycles. The diagram below summarizes all of the major processes involved in the carbon cycle. Arrows that point downward are absorbing (removing) carbon from the atmosphere, while arrows that point upward are releasing (adding) carbon into the atmosphere.

In this game, you will simulate the carbon cycle by pretending you are a carbon atom traveling through the environment. You will start at one of seven locations (atmosphere, plants, animals, soil, fossils, surface ocean, or deep ocean), and who knows where your journey will take you!