EQ1 6.2 BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES SEQUESTER CARBON Flashcards
(35 cards)
what happens to carbon in the food chain
Land-based plants sequester carbon through photosynthesis. Consumers and other organisms then return this carbon to the atmosphere through respiration
what are the first organisms in the food chain
Primary producers (usually plants
how do primary producers make their own energy
Primary producers can make their own energy from sunlight and carbon dioxide through photosynthesis.
what is photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the process where green plants sequester carbon dioxide through chloroplasts in their leaves to produce energy.
what does respiration do
All living organisms respire and contain carbon.
By respiring, organisms release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
what do consumer organisms do
eat other organisms below them in the food chain
what are primary consumers the first to do
Primary consumers are the first organisms to eat plants.
E.g. Bugs, beetles and herbivores such as rabbits.
how do primary consumers release carbon into the atmosphere
Primary consumers then return the carbon that the primary producer sequestered back into the atmosphere through the process of respiration.
what do decomposers do
Biological decomposers consume dead organic matter and return the carbon to the atmosphere through respiration.
what carbon pump does he oceans provide
a biological carbon pump
Atmospheric carbon dissolves in the oceans where it can be transformed into …
terrestrial carbon or biological carbon before returning to the atmosphere.
how do Phytoplankton takes carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere
through the process of photosynthesis.
how do phytoplankton transform atmospheric carbon into biological carbon
As these organisms sequester (take up) carbon dioxide, they build their shells from calcium carbonate. This transforms the carbon in the atmosphere into biological carbon
what happens to phytoplankton if they are consumed by other organisms
These organisms are consumed by other organisms (e.g. zooplankton). All of these consumer organisms will respire, returning some of the carbon to the atmosphere in the process.
the death of phytoplankton process
When phytoplankton and other aquatic organisms die, they sink to the ocean floor.
Here, these organisms can accumulate as sediment. Eventually, they can be transformed into sedimentary rock.
They can also be decomposed (broken down) by bacteria, which can return carbon into the ocean in the form of dissolved organic carbon.
This whole process of carbon entering and moving around the ocean is referred to as the …
carbonate pump
Without oceans acting as a store for carbon, levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration would be …
significantly higher.
what is the thermohaline circulation
The thermohaline circulation refers to the global movement of water.
what happens in the thermohaline circulation
Cold water sinks to the bottom of the ocean while warm water rises to the surface (moving towards cooler water)
which process is the reason for the UK’s relative warmth in comparison to other locations at the same latitude.
thermohaline circulation
an example of the thermohaline circulation
Warm Caribbean water passes the UK as it moves northward towards the poles.
what can slight changes in temperature do
Slight changes in temperature can change the operation of both the thermohaline circulation and the carbonate pump.
Dead organic matter found in the ground or in the soil still contains…
Dead organic matter found in the ground or in the soil still contains biological carbon. Different landscapes retain biological carbon in different ways.
when can the biological carbon can be returned to the atmosphere
Dead organic matter found in the ground or in the soil still contains biological carbon.
The biological carbon can be returned to the atmosphere when decomposed by biological decomposers.
