Water,carbon,climate and life on Earth

Question 1

Give a fact for the importance of water and carbon in the human body as elements

Answer 1

Both are 1 of 6 crucially important elements in humans

Question 2

What % of the human body is carbon ?

Answer 2

18

Question 3

Give the water and carbon cycle linked feedback loop

Answer 3

NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
- Increased CO2 emissions in atmosphere
- Increase in global temperatures due to enhanced greenhouse effect
- Increase in phytoplankton in the oceans
- Increase in DMS production
- Increase in cloud formation
- GLOBAL COOLING

Question 4

What happens as a result of a positive feedback water cycle loop ?

Answer 4

Destabilises the jet stream causing more extreme weather events and variations in global precipitation patterns

Question 5

What % could CCS cut global carbon emissions by ?

Answer 5

19

Question 6

What is a type of farming which is carbon conscious to replace a crop with a greater productivity crop to sequester more CO2 ?

Answer 6

Carbon farming

Question 7

What organisation ensures timber is produced sustainably as a human intervention to influence carbon transfers ?

Answer 7

Forestry Stewardship council (FSC)

Question 8

Give statistic for protection of Mangroves as a policy to influence carbon transfers

Answer 8

In 2015 Sri Lanka became first nation to protect all its mangrove forests

Question 9

Give the governmental policy in Brazil to influence carbon transfers ? was it successful ?

Answer 9

Landowners forces to preserve 80% of their forests
- By 2009 rate of deforestation fell by 75% compared with 2004 (however not maintained following new leadership)

Question 10

When was the Paris agreement and how many countries were involved ?

Answer 10

2015, 195 countries adopted the first universally legally binding global climate deal

Question 11

Give a feature of the Paris agreement

Answer 11

Limit average global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels

Question 12

Give some examples of human interventions in the carbon cycle

Answer 12

• Modification of industrial combustion
• Modification of photosynthesis
• Modification of land use change
• Modification of deforestation
• Policies

Question 13

What is the Paris agreement and when was it signed ?

Answer 13

International agreement on climate change in 2015

Hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial level

But doesn’t address the impacts of climate change on developing countries who often experience the worst effects so should first receive funding as the developed nations cause the damage