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Geography Physical > WATER AND CARBON Pt3 - The Carbon Cycle > Flashcards

WATER AND CARBON Pt3 - The Carbon Cycle Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 2 types of carbon and what do they mean?

A
  1. Organic
    - the carbon atoms + molecules
  2. Inorganic
    - trees and living organisms
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2
Q

What are the 4 main forms of carbon atoms?

A
  1. Carbon dioxide
    - gas in atmosphere, soils and oceans
  2. Methane
    - atmosphere, soils, oceans and sedimentary rock
  3. Hydrocarbons
    - solid, liquid, gas in sedimentary rock
  4. Biomolecules
    - complex carbons produced in living organisms
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3
Q

Describe how carbon occurred on the planet > origin of carbon

A
  • stores in mantle released at constructive and destructive plate boundaries
  • dissolved in oceans
  • decaying organisms
  • bound in carbon rocks
  • in atmosphere
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4
Q

How and what is carbon measured in?

A

1 gigaton of carbon (GtC0 > 1 bil tonnes

Movement of carbon measured in GtC/year

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5
Q

Estimation of amount in billions of metric tones of carbon in each store
1. Marine sediments and sedimentary rock
2. Oceans
3. Fossil fuel deposits
4. Soil organic material
5. Atmosphere
6. Terrestrial plants

A
  1. Marine sediments and sedimentary rock > 100,000
  2. Oceans > 38,000
  3. Fossil fuel deposits > 4,000
  4. Soil organic matter >1,500
  5. Atmosphere > 750
  6. Terrestrial plants > 560
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6
Q

What are the 4 main overriding stores of carbon which encompass all other stores?

A
  1. Lithosphere
  2. Hydrosphere
  3. Biosphere
  4. Atmosphere
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7
Q

THE LITHOSPHERE

  1. What does this include
  2. Inorganic or organic
  3. What is the distribution of this store
A
  1. Crust, upper mantle, uppermost layer of soil (pedosphere)
  2. Organic and inorganic
    • 100 mil GtC marine sediment and sedimentary rock
    • 1,500 GtC organic soil matter
    • 4,100 GtC fossil fuel deposits
    • 250 GtC peat > undecayed organic matter
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8
Q

THE HYDROSPHERE

  1. What does this include
  2. Inorganic or organic
  3. What is the distribution of the store
  4. Describe how carbonate rocks form in this environment
A
  1. all water and oceans
  2. primarily organic
    • 900 GtC surface layer > sun penetrates + allows photosynthesis (EUPHOTIC ZONE)
    • 37,000 immediate and deep layers (TWILIGHT ZONE)
    • 30 GtC living organic matter
    • 700 GtC dissolved organic matter
    • organisms die > co2 released in decay
    • material sinks to bottom to form carbon rich sediments
    • over millions of years carbonate rocks form
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9
Q

THE BIOSPHERE

(sum 3,170 GtC)
1. what does this include
2. inorganic or organic
3. what is the distribution of the store
4. what is plant litter
5. what is soil humus
6. living vegetation % in russia boreal and temperate forests compared to amazon basin
7. how does the ratio of biomass and soil differ between forests and tropical rainforests

A
  1. the whole of the natural environment
  2. mostly organic
    • 19% of global store in plants
    • amount of carbon in biomass of dry weight = 35-65%
    • 1/2 carbon forests in high latitudes and 1/3 in low latitudes
    • soil carbon > 2,500 GtC&raquo_space; organic (1,550)&raquo_space; inorganic (950)
  4. fresh undecomposed plant debris > type is controlled by ecosystem type
  5. substance left after most the organic matter has decomposed
  6. russia (25%) amazon (30%)
  7. rainforests > biomass (31%) soil (69%). TRF 50/50
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10
Q

THE ATMOSPHERE
1. levels of carbon during + when
- highest
- lowest
- current
2. impact of human activities
3. how and where carbon in ppm is measured > since when
4. time scale of atmospheric co2 in 1958 march, 2013 may, 2015 feb and what the rate of incr is

A
    • 7,700 ppm (Cambrian 500 mil years ago)
    • 180ppm (Quaternqry glacial period 2 mil years ago)
    • 720-800 ppm > 0.04% of atmosphere
  2. levels highest in last 800,000 years
  3. measured MLO on Hawaii since 1958 due to undisturbed air, remote location and limited influence of vegetation and humans
  4. 1958 march > 317.7 ppm
    2013 may > 400 ppm > 2ppm per year
    2015 > 400.3
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11
Q

what are the billions of tonnes of carbon and what that is as a percentage of the following carbon stores

first 3 are short term rate of movement and the second 3 are the long term rate of movement
1. biosphere
2. atmosphere
3. pedosphere

  1. fossil fuels
  2. hydrosphere
  3. lithosphere
A
  1. atmosphere
    560 and 0.0012%
  2. atmosphere
    750 and 0.0017%
  3. pedosphere
    ? and 0.0031%
  4. fossil fuels
    4,000 and 0.004%
  5. hydrosphere
    38,000 and 0.038%
  6. lithosphere
    100,000 (crust only) and >99.9%
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12
Q

what are the 4 geological components involved in the movement of carbon in the lithosphere + describe them

A
  1. weathering
    - CO2 removed from atmosphere when dissolved in water (carbonic acid), weak acid reaches earth + reacts with minerals and dissolves them
  2. burial
    - marine organisms die, sink to the bottom, burial, sedimentary limestone
  3. subduction
    - tectonic uplift can expose buried limestone and tectonic movements can also push carbonaceous seafloor deposits deep into the earth
  4. volcanic eruptions
    - when erupts, carbon melts and is released
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13
Q

what are the 5 biological components involved in the movement of carbon + describe them

A
  1. photosynthesis
    CO2 + water&raquo_space;» CH2O + O2
  2. respiration
    O2 + CH2O&raquo_space;» H2O + CO
    however respiration and photosynthesis are unbalanced > not all organic matter oxidised so more CO2 removed and more O2 added
  3. decomposition
    - key physical mechanisms > fragmentation, leaching and transport in water
    - chemical transformations > oxidisation and condensation
    - biological mechanisms > feeding, digestion aided by catalytic effect (enzymes)
    - decomposition process by decomposes > ensures recycling of important elements e.g. nitrogen + phosphorus
  4. oceanic carbon pumps
    water able to dissolve CO2 > neg correlation of water temp and amount of CO2 that can be dissolved > vertical deep mixing
  5. biomass combustion (wildfires)
    when organic material is reacted (burned) in presence of O2
    pollutant molecules also formed e.g. lead, ground level ozone, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter
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14
Q

where does wildfire biomass combustion mostly happen (ecosystem and example)

A
  1. boreal forests > alaska + china
  2. savannah grassland > africa
  3. TRF > brazil, colombia
  4. temperate forests > US and western europe
  5. agricultural waste > “. “
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15
Q

what is the lifecycle of a tree linked to the carbon cycle due to wildfire biomass combustion + key statistic about wildfires

A
  • tree die after severe fire, allows new growth, 10-20% of carbon emitted into atmosphere
  • old trees decompose + emit carbon > balance determines sink or source
  • incr regularity of fires > more changes to carbon balance

every year 3-4 mil km^3 burnt + 1 billion tonnes of carbon released

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16
Q

7 human components in the movement of carbon around the earth

A
  1. Fossil fuel combustion
  2. Hydrocarbon extraction and burning (cement manufacture)
  3. Farming practises
  4. Land use change
  5. Deforestation
  6. Urban growth
  7. Sequestration
17
Q

what is fossil fuel combustion involved in linked to the human component of the movement of carbon + describe it + stats

A
  • 90% due to combustion
  • 50% absorbed by vegetation and oceans
  • incr by 80 ppm in last 50 years
  • gas + oil (70-11 million years old rock)
  • 2013 CO2 emissions broken down, coal (43%), oil (33%), gas (18%), cement (5.5%), gas flaring from oil wells (0.6%)
18
Q

what is hydrocarbon extraction and burning involved in linked to the human component of the movement of carbon + describe it + stats

A
  • able to occur due to processes e.g. burial and sedimentation
  • contributed due to heating of calcium carbonate (50% of carbon usage) + CO2 used in production of energy for heating (40% of carbon usage)
  • industry = 5% of human component
  • 2013
    » 61% incr 1990 and 2.3% incr in 2012
    » distribution, china (28%), USA (14%), India (7%), EU (10%)
19
Q

what is farming practises involved in linked to the human component of the movement of carbon + describe it + stats

A
  • soil ploughed, incr microbial activity, incr decomposition, incr co2 in atmosphere
  • most co2 caused by methane belched by livestock during digestion 2011 (39%) incr 11% between 2001 and 2011.3
  • geographically
    asia (44%)
    americas (25%)
    europe (12%)
    africa (15%)
    oceania (4%)
20
Q

what is land use change involved in linked to the human component of the movement of carbon + describe it + stats

A

Account for 30% of human carbon emissions

21
Q

What is deforestation involved in linked to the human component of the movement of carbon + describe it + stats

A
  • 13 mil hectares cut down annually
  • incr rates of “slash and burn”
  • logging operations, more roads, more deforestation due to urban sprawl
  • net loss of total forest area
    » 8.9 mil hectares annually 1990-2000
    » 7.3 mil hectares annually 2000-2005
  • 3% of forests lost between 1990 and 2005 (200km^2 daily)
  • further knock on effects
    > drying out soils due to lack of shade and decr tree cover
    > lack of transpiration so disruption to water cycle
    > forests&raquo_space;> barren deserts
22
Q

What is urban growth involved in linked to the human component of the movement of carbon + describe it + stats

A

reasons for incr co2
- transport
- industry
- domestic use
- cement manufacture

facts and figures
- in 2012 cities >0.5 mil were responsible for 47% of global carbon emissions expected 49% by 2030
- worst 21 polluting cities contribute 10% of all energy related carbon emissions
- 2012-2030 worst 10 cities = 10%

23
Q

what is sequestration involved in linked to the human component of the movement of carbon + describe it + stats

A
  1. carbon sequestration
    - involves capturing co2 from the atmosphere and putting it into long term storage
  2. geological sequestration
    - co2 captured at power source + injected as liquid deep underground into a variety of stores
  3. terrestrial/biological sequestration
    - the use of plants to capture co2 from atmosphere
24
Q

What is the carbon budget

A

Uses data to describe the amount of carbon that is stored and transferred within the carbon cycle

25
Q

Importance of carbon for the land

A
  • responsible for development of soil > provides nutrients and structure
  • essential for plant growth + food production
  • store in grass provides fodder for animals
  • valuable source of energy
26
Q

Importance of carbon for oceans

A
  • converted into calcium carbonate (shells)
  • important to proliferation of phytoplankton > food for marine organisms
    > phytoplankton consume CO2 during photosynthesis > passed along food chain
27
Q

Importance of carbon to atmosphere

A
  • helps Earth through green house effect
  • incr human activities > Enhanced Greenhouse Effect (EGE)
  • carbon stored by vegetation has significant effect on EGE
28
Q

The impact of the carbon cycle on regional climates (4 aspects)

A
  1. vegetations pivotal role
    - removal of co2 and release of o2 and h2O. therefore incr vegetation = incr rates of evapotranspiration, incr humidity, incr cloud cover, incr rainfall levels and reducing temps
  2. regions experiencing widespread deforestation > drier and less humid
  3. proliferation of phytoplankton promotes formation of clouds > decr temp
  4. volcanic eruptions release co2 and ash > absorb incoming radiation, cooling the earth > volcanic winter process
29
Q

what are some of the specific dates to demonstrate the varying co2 levels

A
  • 500 mil years ago > 20x current levels
  • value dropped but rose again 200 mil years ago to 4/5x current levels
  • slow decline until 1970 (industrial revolution)
30
Q

2 main reasons why impact of increased co2 levels on land is unclear

A
  1. studies only occurred over a relatively short period of time
  2. too many variable that impact land and atmosphere. difficult to make straight forward predictions
31
Q

Examples of impacts on land of increased carbon

A
  • more intensive agriculture > incr co2 take up
  • incr temp warmed up land > incr rate of decay
  • incr temp > incr length of growing season > incr plant growth and evapotranspiration rates > more water required > growth limited by water availability
  • incr co2 in atmopshere > incr photosynthesis ‘carbon fertilisation’
  • more wildfires extinguished
32
Q

What is impacted in the oceans due to increased carbon (4)?

A
  1. Ocean acidity
  2. Ocean salinity
  3. Storminess
  4. Nutrient enrichment
33
Q

What occurs to the ocean due to incr carbon + explain

A
  1. ocean acidification
    - 30% of released co2 diffuses into oceans
    - carbonic acid reacts with carbonate ions > shells become thinner and more fragile
    - coral reefs provide food + livelihood security for 500 million people worldwide
    - polar + sub poplar marine systems expected to be so low in carbonate (2100) ocean waters may become corrosive to unprotected shells and skeletons
  2. ocean warming
    - decr phytoplankton
  3. meting sea ice
    - 40% retreat over last 30 years
  4. ocean salinity
    - decr salinity in the deep North Atlantic due to:
    » incr levels of precipitation, incr runoff into sea
    » incr temp, incr melting of greenland ice sheet
34
Q

Two causes of 3.5mm sea level rise since 1990

A
  1. melting of terrestrial ice
    - persistent high temp > incr rate of summer melting + drop in snowfall in winter
    - net gain of incr in rivers
    - rapid movement of antarctic and greenland ice sheets
  2. thermal expansion
    - 50% of last centuries sea level rise due to expansion
    - expected 0.8-2m by 2100
35
Q

what is radiative forcing and why before 1750 was it negligible but now is more prevelant

A

the net balance between ultraviolet radiation coming into and leaving the earths atmosphere > if surplus, radiative forcing occurs

incr now due to
1. incr greenhouse gas emissions
2. changing albedo e.g. ice caps

Geography Physical (5 decks)

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