water and carbon

Question 1

what are cycles? : define system

Answer 1

simplified model of the real world, where a process occurs. there are inputs,outputs and stores within a system

Question 2

what are cycles? : define open system

Answer 2

a cycle or process where inputs and outputs can add or remove material or energy

Question 3

what are cycles? : define closed system

Answer 3

linked processes where there are no inputs or outputs of matter. energy still moves into and out of the network

Question 4

what are cycles? : define input

Answer 4

addition to a system

Question 5

what are cycles? : define output

Answer 5

losses from a system

Question 6

what are cycles? : define stores

Answer 6

a sink where matter is retained for an amount of time

Question 7

what are cycles? : define dynamic equilibrium

Answer 7

the steady, balanced state of a system

Question 8

what are cycles? : define positive feedback

Answer 8

a runaway system loop where the system moves further from equilibrium

Question 9

what are cycles? : define negative feedback

Answer 9

a cycle that returns the system back towards equilibrium

Question 10

water cycle-stores and processes: define lithosphere

Answer 10

rock environments - can act as a store of water

Question 11

water cycle-stores and processes: define hydrosphere

Answer 11

the store of water on the earths surface

Question 12

water cycle-stores and processes: define cryosphere

Answer 12

the ice which exists upon earth

Question 13

water cycle-stores and processes: define atmosphere

Answer 13

water is stored as gas within the air, or is condensed into clouds

Question 14

water cycle-stores and processes: define cascading system

Answer 14

several linked systems which all effect eachother

Question 15

water cycle-stores and processes: define soil water

Answer 15

liquid located just below the earths surface in loose, unconsolidated material, above the bedrock

Question 16

water cycle-stores and processes: define groundwater

Answer 16

water located below the earths surface, stored in the pores of permeable rock

Question 17

water cycle-stores and processes: define surface water

Answer 17

eater located above ground

Question 18

water cycle-stores and processes: define permafrost

Answer 18

ground which is permanently frozen for at least 2 years in a row

Question 19

water cycle-stores and processes: define evaporation

Answer 19

state of change of water form a liquid to gas

Question 20

water cycle-stores and processes: define condensation

Answer 20

change in state of water from gas to liquid

Question 21

water cycle-stores and processes: define sublimation

Answer 21

a direct change in a state from solid to gas

Question 22

water cycle-stores and processes: define residence time

Answer 22

the average period of time that water molecules stay in a store or flow

Question 23

water cycle- the drainage basin, runoff and human influence: define drainage basin

Answer 23

the area of land drained by a river and the rivers tributaries

Question 24

water cycle- the drainage basin, runoff and human influence: define watershed

Answer 24

the boundary between two drainage basins

Question 25

water cycle- the drainage basin, runoff and human influence: define transpiration

Answer 25

the flow of water from the soil to the atmosphere via plants

Question 26

water cycle- the drainage basin, runoff and human influence: define infiltration

Answer 26

the process where water enter the soil from the surface if the ground

Question 27

water cycle- the drainage basin, runoff and human influence: define percolation

Answer 27

the movement of water from soil into the rock below

Question 28

water cycle- the drainage basin, runoff and human influence: define groundwater flow

Answer 28

the movement of water through the bedrock, towards a stream

Question 29

water cycle- the drainage basin, runoff and human influence: define stemflow

Answer 29

surface water movement through streams and rivers

Question 30

water cycle- the drainage basin, runoff and human influence: define infiltration excess overland flow

Answer 30

rainfall is too intense for the water to infiltrate into the soil quickly enough, therefore a pool will form and the water will run across it

Question 31

water cycle- the drainage basin, runoff and human influence: define saturated overland flow

Answer 31

water which travels over the lands surface because all the pore spaces within the soil have already been filled

Question 32

water cycle- the drainage basin, runoff and human influence: define potential evaporation

Answer 32

the maximum evaporation that could occur with an ample supply of water

Question 33

water cycle- the drainage basin, runoff and human influence: define river regime

Answer 33

the trends in flow throughout the year, based on climate, and the characteristics of its drainage basin

Question 34

water cycle- the drainage basin, runoff and human influence: define storm hydrograph

Answer 34

graphical representation of a rivers response following a prediction event

Question 35

water cycle- the drainage basin, runoff and human influence: define urbanisation

Answer 35

development of towns and cities. settlement affect the shape of a hydrograph

Question 36

water cycle- the drainage basin, runoff and human influence: define water abstraction

Answer 36

the removal of water from a source to provide us with a water supply

Question 37

carbon cycle - stores and flows: define carbon

Answer 37

black non-metallic element with an atomic number of 6, the basis of life on earth, many rocks and fossil fuels

Question 38

carbon cycle - stores and flows: define carbon stores

Answer 38

carbon can be removed from flux for lengthy periods of time

Question 39

carbon cycle - stores and flows: define carbon sinks

Answer 39

stores of carbon where more carbon is added then lost.

Question 40

carbon cycle - stores and flows: define carbon sources

Answer 40

stores of carbon where more carbon is lost then originally gained

Question 41

carbon cycle - stores and flows: define carbon fluxes

Answer 41

the movement of carbon between stores

Question 42

carbon cycle - stores and flows: define fast and slow carbon cycles

Answer 42

both are flows and stores of carbon between different sources and through mechanisms. some occur quick (exchange of carbon between ocean and atmosphere)n some occur slow (fluxes from geological stores) can take millennials

Question 43

carbon cycle - stores and flows: define decomposers

Answer 43

organisms that live in the soil the break down dead matter and release carbon into the atmosphere

Question 44

carbon cycle - stores and flows: define weathering

Answer 44

co2 dissolves into rainwater to attack carbonate rock which is transported to the oceans and is buried as sediment

Question 45

carbon cycle - stores and flows: define respiration

Answer 45

production of co2 from the breakdown of sugars

Question 46

carbon cycle - stores and flows: define photosynthesis

Answer 46

plants use energy and co2 to produce oxygen and sugar

Question 47

carbon cycle - changes and human activity: define carbon budget

Answer 47

the overall inputs and outputs of carbon in part of the carbon cycle

Question 48

carbon cycle - changes and human activity: define albedo

Answer 48

the reflection of sunlight from a surface. light coloured surfaces reflect more light meaning they have a higher albedo

Question 49

carbon cycle - changes and human activity: define greenhouse gases

Answer 49

gases which include carbon dioxide and methane

Question 50

carbon cycle - changes and human activity: define radiative forcing

Answer 50

mismatch between incoming and outgoing energy from the earth

Question 51

carbon cycle - changes and human activity: define the natural greenhouse effect

Answer 51

gases within the atmosphere absorb heat by retaining outgoing infrared radiation. humans increase this causing enhanced greenhouse effect

Question 52

importance of water and carbon and mitigating climate change: define feedback loops

Answer 52

positive and negative ways in which a system is brought back to equilibrium, or the equilibrium is changed

Question 53

importance of water and carbon and mitigating climate change: define lag time

Answer 53

the time it takes between the cause and the effect is seen

Question 54

importance of water and carbon and mitigating climate change: define aerosols

Answer 54

tiny atmospheric particles which reflect heat back away from earth, cooling the climate

Question 55

importance of water and carbon and mitigating climate change: define renewable energy

Answer 55

type of energy that cannot be depleted

Question 56

importance of water and carbon and mitigating climate change: define non-renewable energy

Answer 56

type of energy where the supply is finite

Question 57

importance of water and carbon and mitigating climate change: define biomass/biofuels

Answer 57

sugar cane, wood and other recently living resources used as a source of energy, often seen as a renewable form of energy

Question 58

importance of water and carbon and mitigating climate change: define carbon capture and storage

Answer 58

process where co2 is removed from waste gases and detained in underground geological formations

Question 59

importance of water and carbon and mitigating climate change: define international agreement

Answer 59

legally binding or voluntary set of rules that countries ratify across the glove

Question 60

importance of water and carbon and mitigating climate change: define mitigation

Answer 60

implementing measures to decrease risk or effect

Question 61

importance of water and carbon and mitigating climate change: define emissions trading/cap and trade

Answer 61

businesses are allocated rights to produce certain gases, if they produce too much they can buy credits from countries producing less then their quotas. each year the rights are reduced

Question 62

importance of water and carbon and mitigating climate change: define geoengineering

Answer 62

often large-scale projects to alter the earths climate to mitigate climate change