Biological Processes (Oceans):The fast carbon cycle-Lesson 3 Flashcards
What is sequestering?
It is the movement of carbon into carbon stores.
The biological carbon cycle has a shorter timescale than which cycle?
Geological carbon cycle
Why are there significant fluxes in the biological processes?
Due to photosynthesis and respiration
What do phytoplankton do with the sunlight?
They use sunlight to turn carbon into organic matter through photosynthesis effectively converts carbon dioxide into food for carbon dioxide for food for phytoplankton
After phytoplankton sequesters carbon what happens to it?
Carbon is passed back up the food chain by consumer fish, which in turn release CO2 back into the water and the atmosphere.
What does the Carbonate pump rely on?
It relies on inorganic carbon sediment
What happens to the organisms once they die?
They sink and the shells dissolve. The shells dissolve before reaching the sea floor sediments
What happens to shells which do not dissolve?
They build up on the sea floor and form limestone sediments such as those visible through the white cliffs of Dover
What are oceans also a small natural source of?
Methane gas (CH4) especially the shallower coastal offshore areas
What is the physical pump based on?
It is based on the oceanic circulation of water including upwelling, downwelling and the thermohaline current
How does the temperature of the water affect the absorption of CO2?
The colder the water, the more potential for CO2 to be absorbed
How is concentration of CO2 in the deep ocean different to that at the surface?
CO2 concentration is 10 times higher in deep ocean than at the surface
How is the CO2 dissolving rate in warm equatorial waters different to that of cold polar waters?
More than twice as much C02 can dissolve in cold polar waters than in warm equatorial waters
How do ocean currents affect C02 rates?
As major ocean currents move water from the tropics to the poles, the water cools and can therefore absorb more atmospheric co2
How are warm water systems enriched with nutrients and CO2 which they had lost?
Thermohaline circulation enriches the water as it travels through the conveyor belt as deep or bottom layers of water
