carbon Flashcards
(9 cards)
What are the three oceanic carbon pumps?
Biological Pump: Phytoplankton photosynthesize, sequestering CO₂ and transferring it to deep ocean layers as organic matter.
Carbonate Pump: Marine organisms use bicarbonates to form shells; upon death, these contribute to sedimentary carbon stores.
Physical (Solubility) Pump: CO₂ is absorbed at the ocean surface and transported to deep waters via thermohaline circulation.
What are carbon fluxes?
Movements of carbon between stores.
Major fluxes include photosynthesis (103 PgC/year), respiration, decomposition, and combustion.
What is the carbon budget?
The balance between carbon emissions and absorption.
Exceeding the budget leads to increased atmospheric CO₂ and climate change.
What are tar sands and how are they extracted?
Tar sands are a mixture of clay, sand, water, and bitumen (a heavy, viscous oil).
Extraction involves mining the sands and injecting steam to reduce viscosity, allowing bitumen to be pumped out.
This process is energy-intensive and requires significant water usage.
How does tar sands extraction contribute to deforestation?
Large-scale deforestation of boreal forests to access tar sands.
Canada’s boreal forest is one of the largest intact forests globally, providing critical habitats.
Fragmentation of forests negatively impacts wildlife and carbon sequestration capabilities
What is shale gas and how is it extracted?
Shale gas is natural gas trapped within shale formations.
Extracted using hydraulic fracturing (fracking): drilling into the earth and injecting high-pressure fluid to fracture the rock and release gas.
Often combined with horizontal drilling to access larger area
What are the environmental impacts of fracking?
Water usage: Each well can use between 50,000 to 5 million gallons of water.
Chemical contamination: Risk of groundwater contamination from fracking fluids and methane leaks.
Air pollution: Emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and other volatile organic compounds.
Induced seismicity: Increased risk of earthquakes due to underground pressure changes.
Habitat disruption: Land clearing for infrastructure can lead to habitat loss.
