Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

AQA A Level Geography - PHYSICAL > ✅C&W 3.1.1.3 - The Carbon Cycle > Flashcards

✅C&W 3.1.1.3 - The Carbon Cycle Flashcards

1
Q

What is a Carbon store?

A

The lithosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere etc

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is a carbon sink?

A

A store that takes in more carbon than it releases

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is a carbon source?

A

A store that releases more carbon than it takes in

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is a carbon transfer?

A

Processes that transfer carbon between stores

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is a GtC?

A

A gigatonne of Carbon, 1 gigatonne = 1 billion tonnes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is anthropogenic CO2?

A

Carbon Dioxide generated by human activity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is a greenhouse gas?

A

Any gaseous compound in the atmosphere that is capable of absorbing infrared radiation, therefore trapping and holding heat in the atmosphere

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is the lithosphere?

A

The crust and uppermost mantle, the hard rigid outer layer of the earth
Includes organic and inorganic carbon

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

organic carbon in the lithosphere

A

in soil- 1500 GtC
humus, litter
Medium residence time, 100 years in soil
Farming can disrupt stores, release Carbon

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

inorganic carbon lithosphere

A

Fossil fuel deposits, 4,100 GtC
Marine sediments and sedimentary rock- very long term, up to 100 million GtC- biggest store

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Carbon in hydrosphere

A

up to 40,000 GtC in ocean
Living organic matter only 30GtC- significant but not major carbon release if killed due to warming
Sedimentary layer in ocean: organisms die, sink to bottom, decay, material forms rock over millions of years

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is weathering?

A

The breakdown of rocks in situ by weather, plants and animals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is the biosphere?

A

The total sum of all living matter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is Carbon Sequestration?

A

The capture of CO2 from the atmosphere, or capturing anthropogenic CO2 from large scale stationary sources such as power stations - put into long term storage

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Why is recycling carbon essential for life?

A

It enables food to be provided for plants and animals and creation of energy sources

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What can carbon form?

A

Biological molecules, Gases (eg CO2, CH4), Hydrocarbons

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is the primary source of Carbon?

A

The Earth’s interior

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What are some of the stores in the carbon cycle?

A

Sedimentary rock, coal, oil, gas, plants, atmosphere, phytoplankton etc

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What are some of the transfers in the carbon cycle?

A

Weathering and erosion, rock cycle, photosynthesis, respiration, burning, decomposition, diffusion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is the largest store of carbon?

A

Marine sediments and sedimentary rock

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

How is the ocean a store of carbon?

A

CO2 is absorbed directly from the air and river water discharges carbon in solutions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

How is soil organic matter a store of carbon?

A

They contain rotting organic matter and are important carbon stores. Carbon can remain in the soils for hundreds of years

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

How is carbon in the biosphere divided up?
How much GtC overall?

A

Into terrestrial and oceanic
3,100 GtC overall

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What are the main sources of carbon in the biosphere?

A 
Living vegetation- 19% of biosphere's carbon
Plant litter
Soil humus- in forests 69% of all C is in soil- 2500GtC
Peat- saturation, no oxygen, decay is slowed due to anaerobic respiration, longer residence time- 250GtC
Animals
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Where is most of the carbon in the cryosphere?
In the soil areas of permafrost where decomposing plants and animals have frozen into the ground
26
What are methyl clathrates?
Molecules of methane frozen into ice crystals
27
What does most frozen organic matter in permafrost consist of?
Partially decayed roots, whole roots and other plant material
28
When is cryospheric carbon released into the atmosphere?
When the permafrost melts
29
What are oceanic carbon stores divided into?
Surface later (euphotic zone) Intermediate and deep layer Living organic matter
30
What is the euphotic zone?
The surface of the ocean where sunlight can penetrate and photosynthesis can take place
31
Why are sediments and rocks in the ocean so carbon rich?
Because when organisms die, they sink to the bottom of the ocean and decay, releasing carbon
32
What are fluxes?
Measurements of rate of flow of material between stores
33
What are processes?
Physical mechanisms which drive movement and fuxes
34
What type of system is the carbon cycle?
Closed
35
What is burial and compaction?
Organic matter is buried by sediments and becomes compacted
36
What is the geological component?
Where the carbon cycle interacts with the rock cycle in the processes of weathering, burial, subduction and volcanic eruptions
37
What is a sere?
A succession which relates to a specific environment
38
What is a lithosere?
Vegetation succession which occurs on bare rock
39
When was the quaternary period?
2.6 million years ago to today
40
Cold rainwater can hold...
...more CO2
41
If rainwater hold more CO2, how is the rock affected?
It is weathered more
42
What is eccentricity?
The change in the shape of the Earth's orbit around the sun
43
How does the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit change?
In 100,000 year cycles. it changes from a thin ellipse to a circle and back again
44
What is insolation?
The amount of solar radiation that reaches the Earth's surface
45
What does lower insolation mean for global temperatures?
They decrease
46
What natural factors can increase input of atmospheric CO2?
Periods of increased volcanicity warmer ocean, releases more carbon warmer atmosphere, can hold more carbon
47
Volcanic activities impact on carbon cycle
Eruptions release carbon Up to 0.36 GtC of CO2/ year - but this is up to 100x less than human caused emissions No. of erutions not increasing, about 70/ year ALthoug ash can cover sunlight, reducing photosynthesis- e.g, in Mt Tambora eruption 1815
48
What human factors can increase input of atmospheric CO2?
Burning fossil fuels Causing more wildfires- less vegetation, less photosynthesis Climate change causing melting of tundra
49
Carbon in the atmosphere
750 GtC Likely highest ever been in last 20 years Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii records: 280ppm of carbon in 1958, 317ppm in 2020 45% of emitted carbon has remained in the atmosphere
50
What natural factors can reduce removal of CO2 from the atmosphere
Glacial periods (less vegetation) Interglacial periods (warmer oceans, less CO2 absorebd) Winter in the northern hemisphere, hibernation
51
What human factors can reduce the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere
Clearing vegetation from from areas | Climate change resulting in warmer oceans
52
What percentage of anthropogenic CO2 is from fossil fuel burning?
90%
53
Burning fossils fuels impact on carbon cycle
81% of global energy is from fossil fuels 44% of emissions from coal Increases greenhouse effect
54
How does ploughing increase CO2 emissions?
It aerates soil, increasing microbial activity and therefore decomposition, more CO2 released
55
What are the human factors which can cause changes in the carbon cycle?
``` Combustion of fossil fuels Land use Farming practices Carbon sequestration in soils Deforestation Urbanisation ```
56
How does deforestation affect the carbon cycle?
Above ground biomass is burned, releasing CO2- slash n' burn Forest clearing may accelerate decay of dead wood, litter or below ground organic carbon In a natural system, trees would decay very slowly Upsets the balance of carbon in the forest But selective logging, only cutting logs above a certain height, is more sustainable Lots of slash n' burn in Indonesia, for palm oil industry
57
How farming practices affect the carbon cycle?
Arable farming is only 14% of farming emissions Livestock is much more, lots of respiration land use: 1/2 of all habitable land is used for agriculture, 70-90% of deforested land is for agriculture
58
How does urbanisation affect the carbon cycle?
Replacing open countryside with concrete and tarmac replaces important stores Urban areas produce far more CO2 than rural ones- is only 2% of world's surface but accounts for 97% of anthropogenic emissions
59
What does terrestrial/biological sequestration involve?
The use of plants to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and store it in stems and roots
60
What is the carbon budget?
Uses data to describe the amount of carbon that is stored and transferred within the carbon cycle
61
What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?
The impact on the climate from the additional heat retained due to increased CO2
62
What is geo-sequestration?
Technology capturing greenhouse gas emissions from power stations and pumping them into underground reservoirs
63
What is radiative forcing?
The difference between the incoming solar energy absorbed by the earth and energy radiated back to space
64
What is soil organic carbon (SOC)?
The organic constituents of the soil, tissues from dead plants/animals, products of decomposition, microbial biomass etc.
65
How is the carbon budget affecting ocean salinity?
Decrease in salinity in the deep North Atlantic, more freshwater being added to the ocean. Slowing down of large scale oceanic circulation
66
Carbon impact on the ocean?
Acidification, can cause coral bleaching
67
Global Carbon emissions since 1750: Coal
670 GtC
68
Global Carbon emissions since 1750: Oil
500 GtC
69
Global Carbon emissions since 1750: Gas
202 GtC
70
Global Carbon emissions since 1750: Cement
36 GtC (so urbanisation increases emissions)
71
Global Carbon emissions since 1750: Land Use
590 GtC
72
Global Carbon sinks since 1750: Atmosphere
880 GtC
73
Global Carbon sinks since 1750: Ocean
590 GtC
74
Global Carbon sinks since 1750: Land Use
528 GtC

AQA A Level Geography - PHYSICAL (35 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions