Carbon stores and fluxes Flashcards
(16 cards)
Atmosphere Stores
Co2 and methane
Hydrosphere Stores
Dissolved co2
Lithosphere Stores
Carbonates in limestone and fossil fuels
Biosphere Stores
Living and dead organisms
Cryosphere Stores
Biological carbon = permafrost and methyl clathrates - prevents bacterial decay/decomposition
61% stored deeper than 30cm
What is the carbon cycle?
The natural C Cycle is the movement (fluxes) and storage of C between the land, ocean and the atmosphere
Inorganic carbon
Non living forms - rocks, minerals
Organic carbon
Living organisms
Carbon sequestration
Capture and storage of carbon
Where is carbon stored, and which is the highest store and which is the lowest store?
Highest:
Lithosphere = as carbonates in limestone and fossil fuels (e.g. coal, oil and gas)
Hydrosphere = as dissolved carbon dioxide
Pedosphere
Cryosphere = biological carbon is stored in permafrost, which prevents bacterial decay
Atmosphere = as carbon dioxide and compounds such as methane
Biosphere = in living and dead organisms
Lowest:
Large
Hamster
Pigs
Cry
At
Butchers
What are fluxes?
Transfers of carbon
How long can carbon remain in different stores? (Residence time)
Lithosphere – from 10,000 – 300,000,000 years (sedimentary rocks)
Hydrosphere – ocean surface – up to 25 years; deep oceans – up to 1250 years
Cryosphere – up to millions of years
Atmosphere – up to 6 years
Biosphere – average is 13 years (but can be much shorter)
Why does the selva-tropic rainforest have the highest nutrient cycling
warm, humid, moist condition
Carbon store
Where it is held
Carbon source
add carbon to atmosphere
Carbon sink
remove carbon from atmosphere
