Table 1. Carbon pools in the major reservoirs on Earth

Pools		Quantity (Gt)
Atmosphere		720
Oceans		38,400
Total inorganic		37,400
Surface layer		670
Deep layer		36,730
Total organic		1,000
Lithosphere
Sedimentary carbonates		>60,000,000
Kerogens		15,000,000
Terrestrial biosphere (total)		2,000
Living biomass		600-1,000
Dead biomass		1,200
Aquatic biosphere		1-2
Fossil fuels		4,130
Coal		3,510
Oil		230
Gas		140
Other (peat)		250

Source: P. Falkowski, et al. 2001: The Global Carbon Cycle: A Test of Our Knowledge of Earth as a System. Science, 290, 291-296.