Global Systems

Question 1

Water cycle effects on spheres

Answer 1

Atmosphere: precipitation, condensation, transpiration, evaporation
Lithosphere: percolation, evaporation, transpiration, run off
Hydrosphere: all

Question 2

Earthquakes effect on spheres

Answer 2

Lithosphere: cracks and movement causing mud and landslide, destroying ecosystems and habitats.
Causes liquification (when soils loose their structure and act as liquid).
Atmosphere: little effect
Hydrosphere: create tsunamis in the ocean, create floods by breaking dams, change cause of river

Question 3

Volcanoes effect on the spheres

Answer 3

Atmosphere: creates lightning with ash particles and water vapour, ash clouds block sunlight having a cooling effect, Hydrosphere: Sulfur dioxide from volcano in atmosphere makes acid rain, effects water ways and characteristics of water with toxins
Lithosphere: can create mountains and islands and also make them disappear
Biosphere: lava burns plants and animals, toxic gases from ash suffocate animals

Question 4

Cyclones effect on spheres

Answer 4

Develop as low pressure systems in warm tropics over the sea, build and spiral inland
Hydropshere: heavy rains causing floods, storms, increases sea level, movement of salt water across low lying areas, destruction/ creation of rivers
Atmosphere: winds, dust, debris, intense low pressure system
Lithosphere: erosion, sediment in river, uproot trees, destroy habitats

Question 5

How does the water cycle allow for interactions between the spheres

Answer 5

Water moves through the three phases (gas, liquid, solid) over the four spheres in a cycle. It allows the water to change state and exchange it between spheres.

Question 6

How does the nitrogen cycle allow for interactions between the spheres

Answer 6

Nitrogen cycles throughout the spheres in different states. All living things need nitrogen. It allows the spheres to interact as nitrogen moves from the non living to the living in a connected cycle through the spheres.

Question 7

Nitrogen cycle effect on spheres

Answer 7

Atmosphere: atmospheric nitrogen, denitrifying bacteria, lightning
Lithosphere: nitrogen fixing bacteria, ammonium, nitrates, decomposers, plants, denitrifying bacteria
Hydrosphere: eutrophication, nitrifying bacteria in soil under water, plants, decomposers,

Question 8

Natural disasters effect on built environment

Answer 8

Destroy homes, buildings, towns, cities, roads, cars, boats, kill people

Question 9

Climate

Answer 9

Long term averages of weather conditions (over 30 years)

Question 10

Weather

Answer 10

Short term localised atmospheric conditions

Question 11

Surface of the earth - influence on climate

Answer 11

Characteristics of the earth’s surface determine how much of the Suns energy is reflected back into space. Clouds and ice reflect most of the Suns energy (84%), dark forests are unable to reflect as much (14%) and instead absorb the energy. If the earth was all forest it would be a lot warmer

Question 12

Gases in the atmosphere - influence on climate

Answer 12

Energy coming from the sun is short wave radiation that gets absorbed by clouds and the earth’s surface and radiated back as long wave radiation. Oxygen and nitrogen make up most of the atmosphere and have no effect on this radiation. Other gases in the atmosphere - water vapour, CO2, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone allow the short radiation in but absorb the out going long wave radiation and they re-emit the heat in all directions. Some radiated back to earth’s surface. The gases trap the heat close to the earth’s surface warming it and having a greenhouse effect. These are called greenhouse gases. Without them, the earth’s ave. temp. would be -18°C, not 15°C.

Question 13

Orientation of the earth - influence on climate

Answer 13

The earth is roughly spherical. It orbits around the sun on a tilted axis of 23.5°. This tilt causes some parts of the earth to be closer to the sun and others to be far away creating the seasons

Question 14

Ocean currents - influence on climate

Answer 14

Ocean currents are continuous movements of water that determine the climate of many of earth’s regions. Caused by: wind, temperature, salinity, earth’s axis and gravity. Surface currents are caused by wind and occur in a circular pattern called gyres. Deep currents began at the poles with very cold water along the bottom of the ocean. Surface and deep currents interact. As water heats it rises to the surface and sinks as it cools, forming the thermohaline or global conveyor belt. Takes 1600yrs to complete. It distributes heat and precipitation around the globe and regulates global climate.

Question 15

Evaluate the evidence for human activity creating substantial wastes and the impact of this on the spheres - evidence

Answer 15

Evidence: increase in land fill, higher amount of packaged goods (plastic, shopping, food, wrapping), more pollution, demand for products with population growth, land used for buildings - land, farming and dumping waste, oil spills and use of fossil fuels

Question 16

Evaluate the evidence for human activity creating substantial wastes and the impact of this on the spheres - atmosphere

Answer 16

Atmosphere: increase in CO2, lower levels of oxygen, higher acidity in atmosphere, depletion of ozone layer, acid rain, high level of organic pollutants

Question 17

Evaluate the evidence for human activity creating substantial wastes and the impact of this on the spheres - hydrosphere

Answer 17

Changing ph, high turbidity - death of organisms, death of coral, destroyed food chains, high salinity, low dissolved oxygen, toxins in water, plastic and rubbish in water killing animals , polluting water

Question 18

Evaluate the evidence for human activity creating substantial wastes and the impact of this on the spheres - lithosphere

Answer 18

Erosion, removal of vegetation, soil compaction, land fill, desertification, high salinity

Question 19

Evaluate the evidence for human activity creating substantial wastes and the impact of this on the spheres - biosphere

Answer 19

Removal and destruction of habitats, plastic and waste in water ways, killing animals, in organisms food sources

Question 20

Evaluate the evidence for human activity depleting the ozone layer

Answer 20

Ozone (O3) occurs in the stratosphere in what is called the ozone layer. It absorbs UV radiation. The use of products produced by humans containing various combinations of chlorine, fluorine, bromine, carbon and hydrogen deplete ozone molecules, thinning the ozone layer and allowing UV radiation in. Products have been used in refrigerators, air conditioning, foam blowing, cleaning and electronics. Eg: CFCs but have now been band. Evidence gathered from satellite imaging, ozone measuring tools showed hole size increase linked to CFCs manufacture. The hole was at its largest in 2000 with a volcanic eruption but is on the mend with the reduction of ozone depleting chemicals

Question 21

Global warming

Answer 21

A time when the average world temperature is increasing. This occurs during interglacials - periods between glaciations where ice caps melt causing sea levels to rise. Evidence of the rise and fall of sea level is seen in the patterns of sediments and fossils in coastal rocks. Reasons for the last periods of cooling and warming of the earth are not fully understood. Therefore it is hard to fully assess the contribution humans have to the current period of global warming which started 200 000 years ago.

Question 22

Evidence for climate change

Answer 22

Glaciers, ice cores, pollen analysis, sea level change

Question 23

Glaciers

Answer 23

Glaciers: advance when climates are cool and retreat when climates are warm. When they advance they drag and score rocks across the valleys they run through and leave a moraine when they retreat

Question 24

Ice cores

Answer 24

In some glaciers and ice sheets, enough snow has fallen each year to form layers. Cores can be taken out revealing different layers. By analysing the physical and chemical properties of each layer, we can discover the temperatures, composition of air and levels of CO2 from hundreds of thousands of years ago.

Question 25

Pollen analysis

Answer 25

Pollen decays slowly and often becomes fossilised. Fossils indicate the species living in the area at the time when the sediment that made the fossil was laid down. Changes in the type of pollen found indicates a change in climate and vegetation

Question 26

Sea level change

Answer 26

The world wide distribution of sedimentary rocks and the types of fossils found in them indicate that there have been changes in sea level in the past. Eg: sea creature fossils have been found in central Australia.

Question 27

Human induced vs natural cause of climate change

Answer 27

Naturally occurring factors cause climate change, ocean currents, atmospheric gases, earth's tilt, volcanoes, the sun. Human activities such as agriculture, urbanisation, deforestation, population growth, fossil fuels, industrialisation have had a more widespread influence on effecting the worlds climate than natural causes.

Question 28

Evidence for humans creating climate change

Answer 28

The earth is warming and being polluted due to human causes. 2000-09 was the warmest on record. The enhanced greenhouse gas effect is an increase in the natural greenhouse gas effect caused by human activity. Increase in CO2, methane, nitrous oxide. Graphs show a drastic rise in CO2 levels over the last decade. Evidence in ice cores, sea level change, pollen etc

Question 29

Evidence against humans creating climate change

Answer 29

No evidence. In a intergracial period and global warming is expected, the earth will cool again after this period. Measurements of climate have been taken for little more than a century, trends that drive climate change occur for a lot longer than that - difficult to identify the exact effect of changes by humans

Question 30

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

Answer 30

Largest source is decay of organic matter, this is balanced by natural carbon sinks that remove carbon from atmosphere. Evidence of CO2 in atmosphere came from ice cores before measurements started in 1957. 8000 years ago, CO2 in atmosphere was 20 ppm, now 391 ppm in 2010. Coal and gas are major carbon sinks. When these are burned for energy it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Question 31

Evaluate the evidence for human activity enhancing the greenhouse effect

Answer 31

Greenhouse effect caused by greenhouse gases. Natural | occurring, although human activity leads to an increase of these gases and the enhanced green house effect

Question 32

How do humans produce methane

Answer 32

Methane: formed from breakdown of organic matter, produced in stomachs of cows and sheep. Agriculture, farming, coal mines, gas fields, garbage tips, permafrost (bubbles of methane trapped in arctic wetlands) methane is released. Can trap 20 times more heat than CO2

Question 33

How do humans produce CO2

Answer 33

CO2: burning of fossil fuels & coal for energy, electricity, cars,oil

Question 34

How do humans produce nitrous oxide

Answer 34

Nitrous Oxide can trap 300 times more heat than CO2. Produced in car exhaust, through industrial processes, burning of forests and use of nitrogen based fertilisers

Question 35

Importance of ice

Answer 35

Ice reflects Suns rays creating a cooling effect, ice acts as a blanket reducing the amount of heat that moves from the ocean to the atmosphere, water at the surface absorbs CO2 acting as a pump that takes CO2 out of the atmosphere and into the deep water currents. Without this the earth would be a lot warmer. Salt water doesn't freeze. Ice is fresh, leaving the water with high salinity when ice is formed. Creates denser water which sinks to the bottom to the deep water currents. Changes in amount of ice could change global currents and climate.

Question 36

Loss of ice, rise in sea level

Answer 36

There is an increase in global temperatures Due to the enhanced green house effect. This is causing ice to melt, break off from Antarctica and glaciers are sending it out into the ocean. The ice is melting and the sea is rising. Increase in temp. also leads to warmer waters. Warm water expands making sea levels rise

Question 37

Biodiversity

Answer 37

The variety of ecosystems in the biosphere, the variety of species within those ecosystems and the genetic variation in the species.

Question 38

Evaluate the evidence of human activity leading to increased rates of extinction

Answer 38

As the climate heats up and there is a loss of biodiversity, food sources and habitat, this increases the rate of extinction. Caused by pollution, deforestation, urbanisation, industrialisation, extreme weather events, greenhouse gas, pollution, population growth. Creating loss in habitat, ecosystems, resources, food, biodiversity. Organisms can't surviveOver 14000 species threatened, 16000 endangered. In the last 500 years, humans forced 800 species into extinction. Extinction rate 1000 times higher than background rate.

Question 39

Evidence of human activity leading to loss of biodiversity

Answer 39

Species may die out due to the earth's changing climate. Urban development and land clearing destroys habitats and divides ecosystems making it hard for organisms to survive and move to a suitable place to live. This reduces biodiversity having a huge effect on all ecosystems and spheres. Deforestation, urbanisation, over population, pollution

Question 40

Biodiversity loss and change examples - coral

Answer 40

Coral can't cope with a rise in even 1-1.5° warmer temps. Causes coral to become stress and expel the protists which give the coral colour and nutrients. Coral becomes bleached and may not recover. Can no longer compete with the algae that grows and the reef is taken over by algae growth. Organisms rely on coral for food and shelter, effecting the whole ecosystem

Question 41

Biodiversity loss and change examples - Australian Alps

Answer 41

Kookaburras are hunting on skinks in higher altitude. Skinks don't recognise the birds as predators and the skink population is decreasing. Wallabies are moving further up to graze on the herb fields. Won't survive continuous grazing, loss of biodiversity

Question 42

Biodiversity loss and change examples - long spined sea urchins

Answer 42

Moving south to Tasmania where it could harm the ecosystems due to rising sea temperatures carrying the larvae south.

Question 43

Human activities affecting increasing carbon

Answer 43

Burning fossil fuels, deforestation, agriculture, urban development, burning waste, landfills, livestock

Question 44

Carbon cycles through the spheres on earth through

Answer 44

Fossilisation, photosynthesis, respiration, weathering, decomposition, combustion, dissolving of co2 in solution, feeding relationships, formation of carbonates

Question 45

Photosynthesis and respiration and carbon

Answer 45

Plants absorb co2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Some is returned to the atmosphere immediately through respiration

Question 46

Decomposition and carbon

Answer 46

All living things contain carbon. When they die and decompose, carbon is released into the atmosphere

Question 47

Fossilisation and carbon

Answer 47

Dead organic matter can be fossilised storing the carbon. This is also the same with trees and wood

Question 48

Combustion and carbon

Answer 48

Burning fossil fuels, coal or wood releases long stored carbon into the atmosphere

Question 49

Weathering and carbon

Answer 49

Carbon in the atmosphere can cause acid rain. This effects weathering, eroding rock and sediments quickly

Question 50

Dissolving of co2 in solution and carbon

Answer 50

Photosynthesis and respiration that occur in plants under the water

Question 51

Feeding relationships and carbon

Answer 51

When animals eat plants they convert some of the carbon from the plant into the tissues of their bodies. Some is returned to the atmosphere through respiration and some is added to the soil in manure. Also cycling of carbon through food chain