C13 Flashcards
what are the 2 main gases in the earths atmosphere today
oxygen - 20% and nitrogen - 78%
how did the earths oceans form
steam was released by volcanoes. as the planet cooled clouds were formed which rained for thousands of years causing oceans to be made. comets hit earth from outer space which had ice
what was the earths early atmosphere like
mostly CO2 with virtually no 02. there was probably some H2O and N2.
How did the CO2 from the earth reduce
CO2 from the air slowly dissolved into the ocean making the
ocean a store of carbon dioxide.
Life started to grow and plants and algae grew which photosynthesised to reduce the CO2 and replace it with O2
how is there so much nitrogen in the earths atmosphere today
volcanoes released nitrogen
how is limestone important in the reduction of carbon
limestone is mostly made up of fossils and shells of marine organisms. early marine life was mostly plants which got buried. this meant that the carbon in the dead plants and algae got locked away.
what other gases did volcanoes give off. (not O2)
nitrogen, methane and ammonia
what happened to the methane and ammonia
they reacted with the O2 given off by plants. this meant that the ammonia and methane turned into carbon dioxide and nitrogen
what are the 3 greenhouse gases
water vapour, carbon dioxide and methane
explain the greenhouse gas effect in terms of short and long wavelength radiation
short wavelength radiation is emitted by the sun which passes through the atmosphere. the radiation hits the earth and some is absorbed but most is reflected back as long wavelength radiation. some radiation is absorbed by the green house gases in the atmosphere and released back towards the earth. this heats up the earth. this means that most of the suns’ energy is trapped within the earth and it’s atmosphere.
how are levels of greenhouse gases increasing
fossil fuels are burnt releasing the carbon dioxide in them.
methane is increased due to agriculture of rice fields and swamps
increase of human pollution means more landfill decomposes into methane
what are different methods used to monitor the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
infrared spectroscopy allows greenhouse gases to vibrate more causing them to absorb more radiation which can be detected and measured
what are some of the effects of the green house gas effect
- global climate change
- global warming
- more CO2 means more CO2 in oceans - oceans turn acidic - marine organisms die - oceans in the future wont be able to take in CO2 anymore
- increased global temperatures - ice caps melt - more water - areas flooded - global weather patterns are disrupted - habitat loss
what are the possible solutions to lowering the carbon in the atmosphere
- reducing your carbon footprints
- carbon capture and storage
- use of biofuels rather than fossil fuels
what is your carbon footprint
the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted over a life cycle
