Global distribution and size of stores of carbon Flashcards
What is anthropogenic CO2?
carbon dioxide generated by human activity
What is the biosphere?
total sum of all living matter
What is a carbon sink?
- a store of carbon that absorbs more carbon than it releases
What is a carbon source?
- a store of carbon that releases more carbon than it absorbs
What are greenhouse gases?
- any gas in the atmosphere capable of absorbing infrared radiation
- this traps heat in the atmosphere
What is the lithosphere?
includes the crust and uppermost mantle
Which store in the lithosphere holds the most carbon?
- fossil fuel deposits of coal, oil, and gas
- contain approximately 4,100 GtC
What are the 5 major stores of carbon?
- lithosphere
- cryosphere
- hydrosphere
- biosphere
- atmosphere
The oceanic carbon store is divided into what?
- surface layer (900 GtC)
- twilight zone (37,100 GtC)
- living and dissolved organic matter (730 GtC)
Total oceanic carbon?
between 37,000 and 40,000 GtC
Total amount of carbon stored in the terrestrial biosphere?
estimated at 3,170 GtC
What are the main stores of carbon in the terrestrial biosphere?
- living vegetation
- plant litter
- soil humus
- peat
- animals
Features of living vegetation as a store of carbon in the terrestrial biosphere?
- carbon stored directly in the tissues of plants
- 19% of the carbon in the Earth’s biosphere is stored in plants
What is plant litter?
- fresh, undecomposed and easily recognisable plant debris
What is soil humus?
- originates from litter decomposition
- thick brown/black substance that remains after most organic litter has decomposed
