The Carbon Cycle Flashcards
(20 cards)
Carbon Cycle
The natural process by which carbon moves between the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere, involving carbon storage and flux.
Carbon Sink
A reservoir that absorbs and stores more carbon than it releases, helping to reduce atmospheric CO₂ (e.g., forests, oceans, soil).
Carbon Source
Any process or activity that releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than it absorbs (e.g., fossil fuel burning, deforestation).
Soil Carbon Storage
Carbon stored in soil organic matter from decomposed plants and animals, a significant terrestrial carbon reservoir.
Oceanic Carbon Cycle
The movement of carbon through the ocean via dissolved CO₂, marine organisms, and sedimentation.
Biological Pump
The process by which marine organisms, like phytoplankton, absorb CO₂ during photosynthesis and transport it to deep ocean layers when they die.
Carbon Sequestration
The process of capturing and storing atmospheric CO₂, either naturally (e.g., forests) or artificially (e.g., CCS technology).
Anthropogenic Carbon Emissions
Carbon emissions produced by human activities, mainly from burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes.
Carbon Budget
The maximum amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted while keeping global temperature rise below a certain target (e.g., 1.5°C).
Greenhouse Gas Effect
The warming of the Earth’s atmosphere due to gases like CO₂ trapping heat from the sun.
Deforestation
The removal of trees, reducing carbon sinks and increasing CO₂ in the atmosphere.
Fossil Fuels
Coal, oil, and natural gas formed from ancient organic matter, burned for energy, releasing CO₂.
Carbon Flux
The rate of transfer of carbon between reservoirs in the carbon cycle.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Technology that captures CO₂ emissions from industrial sources and stores them underground to reduce atmospheric CO₂.
Anthropogenic
Caused or influenced by human activities. Often used to describe environmental changes, like pollution or greenhouse gas emissions, that result from human actions.
Climate Change
Long-term alteration in Earth’s climate patterns, especially global temperature and weather systems, driven by natural processes and increasingly by human activities.
Global Warming
The observed increase in Earth’s average surface temperature due primarily to the buildup of greenhouse gases from human activities.
Climate Refugees
People who are forced to leave their homes due to sudden or gradual changes in their environment caused by climate change, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather, or drought.
El Niño
A climate phenomenon characterized by the periodic warming of sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.
Explanation:
During El Niño events, the usual trade winds weaken or reverse, causing warm water to shift eastward. This disrupts normal weather patterns worldwide, often leading to:
- Increased rainfall and flooding in the eastern Pacific (e.g., Peru).
- Droughts in Australia, Indonesia, and parts of Asia.
- Altered storm patterns, sometimes weakening the Atlantic hurricane season.
- El Niño typically occurs every 2 to 7 years and can last 9 to 12 months.
La Niña
The opposite phase of El Niño, marked by cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.
Explanation:
During La Niña, stronger-than-normal trade winds push warm water westward, increasing upwelling of cold water in the east. This causes:
- Cooler ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific.
- Wetter conditions in Australia and Southeast Asia.
- Drier conditions in the eastern Pacific region.
- Often stronger Atlantic hurricane seasons.
- La Niña events also occur irregularly, usually following El Niño episodes.
Both are part of the ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) cycle
