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Geography > Carbon and Water > Flashcards

Carbon and Water Flashcards

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1
Q

How much carbon is held in the hydrosphere ?

A

40,000 GTC

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2
Q

How is carbon from lithosphere transferred to the atmosphere ?

A

Natural gas gauses release carbon into the atmosphere and volcanoes do too
- when peat stored become oxygenated they release C into atmosphere

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3
Q

How much carbon is held in peat stores ?

A

700 billion tonnes

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4
Q

How is C stored in atmosphere ?

A

Mainly as CO2 which lasts 12 years

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5
Q

How are the carbon stored distributed across the world ?

A

Unevenly distributed

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6
Q

Terrestrial carbon cycle ?

A

Rock exposed after glacial retreat, so vulnerable to weathering

  • rock exposed and broken down
  • vegetation can grow on rock
  • vegetation e.g lichen grows on rocks
  • soil develops as organic matter is added to rocks
  • wildlife becomes abundant

End serial stage = climatic climax e.g UK deciduous woodland

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7
Q

Main transfers in the carbon cycle ?

A
  • Photo synthesis
  • respiration
  • decomposition
  • combustion
  • burial and compaction
  • carbon sequestration
  • carbon capture and storage
  • weathering
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8
Q

Causes of change in the carbon cycle by human ?

A
  • fossil fuel combustion (IPCC says 90% anthropogenic carbon release comes from this
  • fossil fuels burnt for energy from rocks 85millions years old = global warming = melting cryosphere= positive feedback loop
  • fertilisers and ploughing = main sources of agricultural emissions and fert washed into water ways
  • US cattle accounts for 20% their total Meghan emissions
  • 13 million hectares of land deforested each year and burnt = transferring carbon
  • 200km squared of forest lost a day between 1980 and 2008
  • urbanisation blocks sequestration
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9
Q

Physical causes of change in carbon cycle ?

A
  • climate fluctuating between glacial and interglacial periods where carbon mirrors temperature. Increased temp = more carbon = positive feedback loop
  • volcanoes return carbon to atmosphere that’s been kept in lithosphere for millions of years up to 380 million tonnes of CO2 a year compared to 30billion by humans
  • wildfires convert huge carbon sinks into carbon sources
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10
Q

Impacts of cold climate on carbon cycle

A
  • decomposers less effective so carbon transfer to soils and atmosphere reduced
  • less sediment build up on ocean floor due to rivers being frozen up
  • soils frozen over stopping transfer of peat carbon
  • forest coverage changes
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11
Q

Impacts of warm conditions of carbon cycle

A
  • Melting permafrost and tundra regions such as Siberia = pos feedback loop as carbon and methane released from permafrost enhance greenhouse effect
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12
Q

How does deforestation affect water cycle ?

A
  • burning trees means carbon in ash form and leaching nutrients can be washed away by rainwater into streams killing fish = eutrophication
  • no trees= no evapotranspiration
  • less trees means more rain hits ground immediately compacting the ground and increasing overland flow, soil leaching takes place taking nutrients out of the soil and eutrophication
  • more solid exposed to the sun = v dry and vulnerable to erosion
  • no evapotranspiration means less water returned to atmosphere = change in magnitude of water stores and suppressing precipitation
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13
Q

Carbon budget ?

A

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

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14
Q

How much has the global temp increased since 1880 ?

A

.8 DC

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15
Q

Regional impacts of deforestation?

A
  • dense veg regions have high respiration’s and photosynthesis= high humidity levels and more cloud coverage which affects regionals temps and rainfall
  • no veg = arid dry region with less precipitation

Proliferation of plankton (absorb CO2) promotes formation of clouds through formation of chemical DMS

Volcanoes release CO2 and ash with other gases that absorb incoming solar radiation creating a regional cooling effect on the earth

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16
Q

Impacts of C cycle on land ?

A

Responsible for formation of soils and provides structure to the soil

  • valuable source of energy through fossil fuels
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17
Q

Impacts of C cycle on ocean ?

A
  • C can be converted into C carbonate which is used by some marine animals to make shells
  • impacts in presence of proliferation of plankton where it is a common food in many food chains and passes along carbon
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18
Q

Impacts of carbon cycle on atmosphere ?

A
  • helps warm atmosphere which was essential for life evolving in earth
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19
Q

What’s C role in supporting life ?

A
  • 18% humans mass
  • 50% trees mass
  • essential for photosynthesis to create carbohydrates
  • changes in magnitude of stored have huge implications for flora and fauna
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20
Q

Role of water in supporting life ?

A
  • needed for drinking and irrigation

- spruce of power and energy

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21
Q

Positive feedback loop in water cycle ? And implications

A

Ice reflects suns radiation
- less heat is absorbed by the ice
- Arctic ice sheet been shrinking recently
- exposes more after to suns heat = warmer water = more ice melting
= economic and political implications as affects trading routes and exploitation of resources

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22
Q

Positive feedback loop in carbon cycle ?

A
  • higher temps melt permafrost particularly in Siberia, amount of C held in permafrost = to the amount of C held in atmosphere, melting permafrost allows Oxygen to decompose C in PF releasing CO2 In has bubbles that rises to the surface and into the atmosphere
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23
Q

Key connection between carbon and water cycle ?

A

Natural unpolluted rain water is slightly acidic due to the presence of 3 substances and particularly C in troposphere

  • if air is polluted with sulphur dioxide from combustion of fossil fuels = v acidic water e.g 1982 1.8 PH fog in west coast USA

Acid rain creates chemical weathering and breaks down rocks e.g chalk into calcium bicarbonate which is soluble. sSome C is returned to atmosphere and some to the hydrosphere by streams increasing magnitude of ocean C store

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24
Q

Water/ carbon cycle feedback

A
  • phytoplankton lives in water and absorbs the C in it to photosynthesise
  • marine phytoplankton releases chemical substance DMS which may promote the formation of clouds by blocking out solar radiation = global cooling and less sunshine = less phytoplankton growth = reducing cooling effect = negative feedback loop
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25
Q

Mountain thermostats ?

A

Research in Peruvian mountains shows mountainous areas help maintain global temps

  • warmer climate = faster deeper root growth
  • enables carbonic acid to reach carbonates therefore increasing weathering
  • sequestration C from atmosphere for weathering = global cooling and less root growth
  • self regulating and helps maintain global temperature balance
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26
Q

Ways of mitigating impacts of climate change ?

A
  • Carbon capture and storage
  • plantation forests (recommended by IPCC)
  • modifying deforestation (FSC products )

International gov agreements
- Paris agreement (limit average global temp increase to 1.5DC above pre-industrial levels

Gov policies
- e.g Brazil protecting reserves in Amazon and reducing deforestation by 70%

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27
Q

Characteristics of tropical rainforests

A
  • rich biodiversity
  • in ITCZ
  • annual rainfall = 2000+ mm
  • emits 28% worlds oxygen
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28
Q

Precipitation in the TR cycle ?

A

Precipitation often V high and forms torrential down pours

  • forest canopy intercepts 75% of rainfall (half of this is used in evapotranspiration)
  • 25% rainfall is evaporated
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29
Q

How much of the worlds forests have already been wiped out ?

A

Half

30
Q

Impacts of deforestation in Indonesia of the C cycle ?

A

Rainforests = most biodiversity in world

  • 1 million hectares lost a year = one of the highest rates
  • 30% of forest removal is on carbon rich peatland forests this exposing them to weathering
  • rainforests turn from carbon sink into carbon source therefore increasing emissions into atmosphere
  • much of clearing is done by burning changing magnitude of C stores rapidly
  • helps Indonesia earn place as third largest greenhouse gas emitter
31
Q

Issue with water ?

A
  • unevenly distributed
  • only 2.5 %fresh water (mainly Antarctica and Greenland)
  • future wars may be about securing fresh water supplies
32
Q

Soil water budget ?

A

Soils capacity to store and transfer water, sandy soils are the most porous e.g chalk but clay is opposite and tends to store water with V limited transfer

33
Q

What is the water table ?

A

Upper level of saturated rock and it rises and falls due to number of factors e.g water abstraction by humans. It must be at a star of equilibrium

34
Q

What is an aquifer and how much of the freshwater is stored here ?

A

Rocks deep below ground surface

- 30% all freshwater stored in here

35
Q

When do sailine aquifers occur ?

A

When sea water infiltrated into rocks, sometimes due to over abstraction

36
Q

What is a drainage basin ?

A

Area of land drained by a river and its tributaries, edge of the river boundary is marked by the watershed
E.g the Nile
- open system

37
Q

How has climate change effected magnitude of water stores ?

A
  • 18,000 years ago was the peak of last ice age, a third of earths land area was covered by glaciers and ice sheets, the sea water stores was 100m lower than today’s
  • warmer periods can see the sea levels rise 50 meters
38
Q

What is the global atmospheric circulation model?

A

An identified 3 latitudinal zones of rising and falling air which alone with precipitation is said to be the driving force being cloud formation

39
Q

What is throughfall

A

Water making is way from interception store to another until it reaches the ground

40
Q

How does water infiltrate through the ground ?

A

By capillary action and soil porosity

- burrowing of worms and other organisms also increase the number of micro channeled for water to travel down

41
Q

River regime?

A

Variability in discharge throughout the year in response to precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration and drainage basin characteristics

42
Q

Water balance ?

A

Balance between inputs and outputs for a drainage basin

43
Q

What is throughflow ?

A

Any lateral movement of soil water downslope, slow but fast around vegetation as aided by root channels in the soil

44
Q

What does a soil moisture graph show ?

A

Illustrates the relationship between precipitation and prone risk evapotranspiration for a place over a year

45
Q

What is percolation?

A

Process by which water drains into the water table through rocks undervaluing the soil

46
Q

What happens to water once it reaches water table ?

A

May be held in aquifers for millennia

- may reach saturated rock where it moves literally and vertically via groundwater flow

47
Q

How do we know there is considerable about of recycle water over land ?

A

Water transferred to oceans via river is = to water transferred to land via oceans but precipitation is 3x higher on land

48
Q

Why are some storage value negative ?

A

Precipitation levels fall significantly during spring/ summer

  • evapotranspiration increases
  • soil water utilisation happens through plants
  • less water travels to groundwater stores = negative values
49
Q

Why does September have a high positive storage value ?

A
  • soil moisture recharge happens, end of summer, evapotranspiration decreases and precipitation increases do ground water stores are filled
50
Q

Factors effecting influence of change in stores magnitude ?

A

High percentage of run off in in June, land use change and vegetation cut but farmers as decrease in interception rainfall

51
Q

How is river flow studied ?

A

With discharge

= coeds section of river times water velocity

52
Q

What is a flood hydrograph ?

A

Graph of the discharge of a river leading up to and following a storm or rainfall event, they help predicts how a river may respond to s storm event which is important in management

53
Q

What is the lag time in a flood hydrograph?

A

Rivers response time to a rainfall event from peak precipitation to peak discharge

54
Q

What does the rising limb show ?

A

Rising amount of flood water in the river

55
Q

What is bank full discharge ?

A

Maximum discharge that a particular river channel is capable of carrying without flooding

56
Q

How are clouds formed ?

A

Warm air mass has higher capability of retaining water

  • warm air rises above cold air
  • when air mass reaches 100% saturation it reaches due point
  • air masses then can no longer hold water and through expulsion of latent heat the water vapour condenses around a hydroscopic nuclei and precipitation occurs
57
Q

How is a relief cloud formed ?

A
  • warm air is forced to rise over mountains from the sea
  • air condensed forming clouds and rain occurs
  • Leigh side of the hill warms air and capacity to hold water increases to rain doesn’t occur
58
Q

How doesn’t convection rainfall occur ?

A

Where ground is heated by hot sun e.g tropics

  • warm air increases rapidly and rainfall occurs most afternoons
  • cumulus nimbus clouds are formed which produces possible thunder and lightening
  • this is in high energy conditions creating formulaic rainfall
59
Q

What is the common dew point

A

6 DC

60
Q

What is dew point ?

A

When air is 100% saturated

61
Q

How much temperature is lost every 100m gain in height ?

A

1DC

62
Q

What are ice caps ?

A

Land based ice usually smaller than 50,000 km squared

63
Q

Negative feedback example of water cycle ?

A

Where systems sets into actions a chain of events that minimise the the impact of the original event, system eventually returns to a dynamic equilibrium

E.g increased CO2 in atmosphere

Increased greenhouse effects and warmer temps

Increased evapotranspiration from oceans

Increased cloud cover and albedo

Temperature decreases

Back to equilibrium

64
Q

What is sublimation?

A

Direct phase transition from a solid to a liquid

65
Q

How can frost turn to vapour in direct sunlight ?

A

Latent heat

  • latent heat is taken from surrounding and therefore cools the surroundings down

When condensation occurs the opposite happens, latent heat is released by gas molecules as they slow down and join together

66
Q

How much water does the atmosphere hold ?

A

0.4% but changes to it has profound effects

67
Q

What is salinisation ?

A

Mineral rich water is alleviated from aquafers through abstraction of fresh water

68
Q

Human activities affecting change in water storage ?

A

Land use change

  • urbanisation

Deforestation

Water abstraction
- aquifers become depleted and contaminated with sea water if it drops below sea level which is the current issue with the chalk aquifer beneath London, abstraction can cause low flow conditions and have harmful effects on ecosystems

69
Q

Formula for precipitation ?

A

P= O+E/-S

70
Q

Physical factors affecting change in the water cycle ?

A

-extreme weather events e.g storms and droughts

E.g Californian drought

  • rivers and lakes dried, reduction in water stores, vegetation dies
  • ground water flow not affected by short term weather extremes so becomes v important
  • soil water reduces and through flow ceases
71
Q

Seasonal effects on water cycles ?

A

Summer- total precipitation less, storms more frequent, evapotranspiration higher, dry soils encourage infiltration and low flow conditions are more likely

Winter
More rainfall and snow, veg dies, evapotranspiration decreases, soil saturation increases= over land flow and high flow conditions

Geography (11 decks)

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