ELSS Flashcards
(29 cards)
Importance of water to life on the planet
-clouds (made up of water droplets) reflect approx 20% of incoming solar radiation and lower surface temperatures.
-plants need water for photosynthesis, respiration and transpiration.
Carbon as a building block for life
-Global stores are rocks, atmosphere, oceans.
-carbon is an economic resource as its contained in fossil fuels.
-agricultural crops and trees which are used by humans are also stores.
Link between carbon cycle, water cycle and atmosphere
Co2 emitted by human activity and acts as a greenhouse gas- global temps increase- warms oceans- more evaporation - water evaporates from ocean surface- warm waters less able to dissolve co2 - dissolved co2 released into atmosphere - global temps heat tundra which emit co2 and methane- more co2, methane, water vapour and clouds in atmosphere = more greenhouse gases.
Water stores and types
3 main stores
-atmosphere (water exists as water vapour)
-oceans
-land (terrestrial and cryospheric)
Types
Atmospheric water - most common form water vapour, absorbs and reflects solar radiation, warm air holds more water vapour therefore an increase in water Vapor leads to increase in atmospheric temperature.
Oceanic water store -ocean bodies cover 71% of earths surface largest being Pacific Ocean.
Terrestrial - rivers , largest Amazon and lakes. Surface and soil moisture.
Cryospheric -composed of sea ice ice caps ice sheets glaciers and permafrost.
Carbon stores
Major stores of carbon
THAL
Terrestrial/bioshphere- stored in plants animal and soil, plants in biomass trees soil in organic matter.
Hydrosphere - surface layer has photosynthesis by plankton , the intermediate and deep layer, carbon passes through marine food chains and sinks to ocean bed where sound in marine organism shells and skeletons.
Atmosphere - co2 and ethane, less methane, smallest store impact on climate change.
Lithosphere - rock like limestone (calcium carbonate content) and fissil fuels (coal oil and natural gas) and geological formations.
Characteristics of water cycle
- evaporation (from oceans and lakes) and transpiration ( from plants) make up inputs of water up to the atmosphere. Together these processes are known as Eva port aspiration.
-moisture leaves the atmosphere through precipation (rain or snow) and condensation (fog) . Water is relaxed from ice cover by abolition(loss of snow and ice through melting) and sublimation (change of water state from ice to vapour )
-run off transfers water from land surfaces into rivers which flow into the sea. So,e infiltrate into soil and becomes groundwater flow.
-some water may percolate deeper into rock pores known as aquifers.
Temporal- seasonality affects rainfall levels and temp therefore affects evaporation and run off levels.
Global vs local scale
G- evaporation influence by solar energy.
L- land use for example forested areas evapoetrapsiration higher.
Water balanc e
P(precipation)= E(evapotrainsipraion ) + q (run off measured in river discharge) +- s (storage)
Positive balcne = surpluses where p exceeds E Q and storage
Fast Carbon cycle
The fast carbon cycle is the movement of carbon in a relatively short time scale of days to decades between stores of the ocean, biosphere, atmosphere and soil.
Photosynthesis
Plants and phytoplankton absorb co2 and convert into organic matter (glucose) for photosynthesis. This process creates the most input of carbon in the terrestrial biosphere.
Respiration
Plants and animals respire meaning they release co2 into the atmosphere most of this co2 is fixed carbon from the photosynthesis.
Decomposition
When organisms die decomposers (bacteria ma fungi) break down co2 (and methane in anaerobic conditions) into the atmosphere and soil.
Combustion
Through burning biomass (wildfires or human activity such as deforestation,) this releases carbon rapidly into the atmosphere as co2.
Oceanic to atmosphere exchange
The ocean will absorb co2 through diffusion, and the phytoplankton will use the co2 in photosynthesis, eventually the co2 is returned back to the atmosphere usually in warmer regions.
Plant and animal consumption
Carbon can be passed through food chains such as herbivores eating plants then carnivores eating herbivores.
Evaluation
Fast carbon cycle - biological processes in a short time frame
Slow carbon cycle - geological processes (non living organisms) in a long period of time (millions of years.)
Warmer climate can increase photosynthesis rates as plants grow quicker and more risk of wildfires. Accelerating the fast carbon cycle.
Slow carbon cycle
Millions of years geological processes.
- Storing of carbon
Sedimentary rocks such as limestone and chalk, formed by marine organisms shells. Also stored in fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas, created from plant and animal material buried over millions of years. - Weathering of the rock
Carbonation- when co2 in the atmosphere dissolves with rainwater, creates a carbonic acid. This acid reacts with carbonate rocks, chemical weathering , breaking the rock down and releasing carbon in solution into rivers and oceans.
3.ocean sediment
Marine organisms use dissolved carbon for carbonate shells, when they die they sink to the ocean floor and compact into sedimentary rocks.
4.volcanic activity
If volcanic activity or eruptions take place this can released co2 back into the atmosphere.
Evaluation
Compare slow to fast carbon cycle, human activity increased beyond fossil fuels increases stored carbon released into atmosphere and warmer climate means faster weathering processes.
Cloud formation
- Conduction causes Mass of air warms faster than around. Rises due to convection, rises as less dense, atmosphere unstable.
2.as the air rises it cools due to expanding therefore the air particles have more space between them, called Dry adiabatic lapse rate.
3.sir reaches dew point and wv condenses into a cloud, the condensation realeses latent heat , saturated adianatic lapse rate.
Air mass continues to rise till same temp as air around it - stable atmosphere.
Drainage basin
Water cycle
-is an area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.
Input - condensation and precipitation
Stores- vegetation, soil moisture, surface
Output- evaporation leakage run off
Water and carbon cycles plate in contrasting locations Amazon case study
Amazon rainforest
Water cycle
Precipitation- extreme levels of 2000mm a year, increase inflation and evapotranipiration rates.
Vegetation- lots of trees and plants to absorb and intercept the high rainfall levels.
Run off - extreme levels of precipitation may result in negative impacts such as flooding of nutrients from soil or reducing bio diversity ( 3million species.)
Hugh temps- increase rates of evaptransiparion to 50/60%.
Carbon cycle
-stores, lots of trees and plants to sores around 180tonnes of carbon.
-photosynthesis - high temps can sometimes guarantee sunlight increasing rates and growth rate of plants.
Water and carbon cycle in the Alaskan tundra
Precipation - low average of 50 mom a year
Runoff - usually little flow however melting of active layer in summer.
Low vegetation
Cc
Vegetation - low biomass
Photosynthesis - in summer months increased but low biomass to absorb.
Most of carbon stored in permafrost worry it will become a source of carbon rather than a sink due to global warming.
How physical factors effctecs Amazon and tundra water and carbon cycles
Amazon
Geogooogy water and carbon - large parts impermeable meaning Hugh run off, little storage of carbon in Ingneaus rocks.
Temp- high temps so high evapotrnaspirtaion. High temps and guaranteed sunlight cause more photosynthesis.
Tundra
Geology - hard crystalline rocks add to low permeability, most carbon is stored in permafrost.
Temp- low temps keep water stored as permafrost, low temps slow photosynthesis so limited flow of co2 to atmosphere.
Strategies to manage change in water and carbon cycle tundra and Amazon
Protection through legislation - 40% of Amazon protect from farming industries. Deforestation projects REDD scheme pay to carbon credit and protect rainforests and stop logging.
Infrastructure built on gravel pads to protect the per mast from melting.
And drilling for oil using newer techniques and further away protects vegetation.
How human activity affect cloud formatio
Pollution - smoke particles block sun preventing moisture from evaporating, prevents clouds forming.
How human activity affects water and carbon cycle
Urbanisation
WC- more runoff as less water storage capacity, as using less permeable surfaces such as concrete.
CC- urban growth means more consumption of energy and transpiration leading to higher CO2 emissions.
Forestry
WC- plantations of evergreen trees increase interception of rainfall so more evaporation from leaves into atmosphere leading to less runoff.
CC- more carbon stores, trees absorb for hundreds of years.
Farming
WC- hard machinery can compact soil making it less permeable.
CC- forest clearing for farming can decrease amount of carbon stores.
Water extraction
WC- taking water from above or below ground, leaving rivers more dry and damaging wetlands ecosystems.
Postive and negative feedback loop for water and carbon cycle
The link between wc, cc and atmosphere.
Negative- increase in tempe leads to more photosynthesis leads to absorbing more co2 and less greenhouse gases leading to a cooling affect not an increase in temperatures.
How water and carbon cycle are interlinked
Both are essential for life on earth.
Similar stores, biosphere, atmosphere.
Both experience temporal and spatial variations.
Both can be influenced by human activity , climate change and deforestation.
Lactor long term changes of water and carbon cycles
WC- Global warming means more evaporation and amount of Water Vapournin atmosphere , positive feedback loop where increase temps increase evaporation and precipitation, more flooding on urbanised areas.
CC- increased carbon stored in atmosphere, decrease in biosphere and decrease in oceans.
Global management strategies to protect carbon cycle
-Internationla agreements.
Kyoto protocol sets targets to reduce ghg emissions 192 countries involved.
The EU-environmental leader, European climate change programme set 20% cut in ghg emission, 20% of electricity from renewables and 20%improvement in energy efficiency by 2050.
The UK-uk climate chnage act reduction in ghgs of at least 80% by 2050 strategies include:
Increasing energy efficient(building insulation and smart metres)investing in new renewables (solar and wind)
India- argued that ACs were responsible in increase in ghg emissions and that they shouldn’t have to pay. They are 1.7tonnes under global eversge if co2 and priorities are reducing poverty.but do aim to lower ghg emissions by 20% by 2020.
-afforestation , re planting trees.
