carbon and water Flashcards

Question

How long does water remain in the water cycle stores?

Answer 1

Groundwater deep: 10,000 years Soil: 1-2 months Magnitude of water held in a store will vary over time and space e.g annual changes in Arctic (melting and freezing of the sea ice)

Answer 2

Transfer from a solid state (ice) to a gaseous state (water vapour) and vice versa

Answer 3

Transfer of water over the land surface

Answer 4

Transfer of water from the ground surface into soil where it may then percolate into underlying rocks

Answer 5

Water flowing through soil towards a river channel

Answer 6

Water soaking into rocks

Answer 7

At the peak of the last ice age 1/3 of the earths land was covered by glaciers and ice sheets -with water 'locked up' such as snow and ice the mag. of this store increased significantly. With less liquid water reaching the oceans sea levels fell by over 100m compared with present day During warmer periods in the past say about 3 million years ago ocean levels were about 50m higher than they are today as the amount of water stored as snow and ice declined

Answer 8

Global atmospheric precipitation model; 3 interconnected cells (polar cell, ferrel cell, Hadley cell) & identifies latitudinal zones of rising and falling air

Answer 9

High temperatures result in high rates of evaporation. The warm moist air rises, cools and condenses to form towering banks of cloud and heavy rainfall in a low pressure zone called the ITCZ

Answer 10

Cloud formation driven by the convergence of warm air from the tropics and cold air from the arctic. The boundary of these two distinct air masses- the polar front- results in rising air and cloud (and rain) formation. Strong upper-level winds (the jet stream) drives these unstable weather systems across the mid-latitudes, establishing the largely changeable conditions experienced in the UK

Answer 11

e.g thunderstorms from intense convective activity

Answer 12

After oceanic water, the largest store of water on earth is frozen water - 95% is locked up in the worlds two great ice sheets covering Antarctica and Greenland - snow falls on glaciers and ice sheets become compressed and entering long term storage forming layers of glacial ice - on a shorter scale snow accumulated during the winter adds to the mass of a glacier or ice sheet. In the summer melting occurs or ice calves (breaks away). On a glacier the equilibrium line marks the altitude where annual accumulation and melting are equal. In recent decades the climate has warmed causing the equilibrium line to move to higher altitudes - most glaciers in the world are now shrinking and retreating

Answer 13

The total melting of freshwater ice has a profound impact on sea levels- the total melting of all the polar ice sheets could result in a 60m rise in sea level adding a great deal of water to the ocean store (pos. feedback: rising sea levels trigger ice shelves, triggering calving and further melting)

Answer 14

-Deforestation- reduces interception and infiltration. Overland flow increases -Storms -inc amount of rainfall reaching ground -Seasonal changes e.g frozen ground Urbanisation- impermeable surfaces, water will flow quickly to nearby river channels Farming-ditches drain the land and encourage water to flow quickly to rivers. Irrigation increases the amount of water on the ground

Answer 15

Wet seasons: -precipitation exceeds evapotranspiration = water surplus -ground stores fill with water (more surface runoff & higher discharge= river levels rise) Drier seasons -evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation = ground store depletion -some flows into the river channel but is not replaced by precipitation Back to wet season: -deficit of water -ground stores recharged

Answer 16

- In the early autumn rates of evapotranspiration start to fall and the soil is replenished (recharge) - When the soil holds as much water as it can without any outputs occurring (therefore a water surplus occurs and water transfer processes will become active)

Answer 17

Depends on type and depth of soil, its texture and its permeability - much of this is true of the underlying bedrock as its capacity to store and transfer water will depend on its lithology and its structure (porosity and permeability) e. g water will move much more slowly through older porous rock such as sandstone yet it will move very rapidly through widely jointed limestone.

Answer 18

Area of land drained by a river and its tributaries - edge of a river basin is marked by a by a boundary called the watershed - drainage basins vary enormously in size such as the Mississippi nile and the amazon

Answer 19

Water enters the drainage basin as precipitation - some of it may be intercepted by plants and trees where it may be stored before being evaporated. It takes time for the water to drip through the leaves or down the stems (stem flow) to the ground surface - here it is stored as puddles, flows over the ground as overland flow or infiltrates the soil. Some water may be taken up by plants before being transpired

Answer 20

Groundwater flow feeds rivers through their banks and bed. Being generally a slow method of transfer it carries on supplying water well after an individual rainfall event has occurred. This explains why rivers continue to flow during long dry periods. Eventually water moves out of the system as runoff where the river flows into lakes or the sea, or evaporation

Answer 21

The INFILTRATION CAPACITY (rate of infiltration) is an extremely important factor- it will vary according to soil type and conditions (ie to what extent the soil is already saturated) - infiltration capacity is exceeded when soil is unable to absorb water at the rate which it is falling. - thin, frozen or already saturated soils will usually have a low infiltration capacity. - trees may promote infiltration as the roots form pathways for water to percolate underground. - water usually soaks into the coil by a combination of CAPILLARY ACTION (attraction of water molecules to soil particles) and gravity (which usually dominates)

Answer 22

If water is unable to infiltrate it may run off the surface as overland flow, flowing across a large surface area (SHEETFLOW) or concentrated into small channels called RILLS -not common in ag. areas due to vegetation but is in urban areas

Answer 23

Once in the soil water may either be stored as SOIL WATER or pass through as through flow - water passes through the soil until it reaches the water table (the upper layer of saturated rock ground) or the underlying bedrock. If the bedrock is impermeable no further downward movement will occur. If permeable water will seep into the cracks and holes in the rock. - however some jointed rocks such as limestone and granite can transmit water very quickly

Answer 24

Dependent on the depth and texture of the soil: coarse, sandy soil absorbs and transfers soil rapidly, esp through discrete 'pipes' in the soil, caused by animal activity or the growth of plant roots. This contributes significantly to the flood hazard. Such soils are said to have a LOW FIELD CAPACITY (retain little water). Clay soils have a HIGH FIELD CAPACITY- these soils tend to be wet as they have tiny pore spaces which do not allow water to be transferred easily.

Answer 25

Precipitation = total run off + evapotranspiration +/- storage Helps hydrologists to plan for future water supply and flood control by understanding the unique hydrological characteristics of an individual drainage basin

Answer 26

215km- 5th longest river in the UK

Answer 27

Upper part: characterised by steep slopes, acidic soils and grassland. Must of this area was originally forested but this has been largely cleared to make way for pasture and sheep grazing. This has reduced interception and increased the potential for overland flow. Ditches have been dug to drain the land to make it more productive but this has increased the speed of water transfer, making the river more prone to flooding. The rocks here are impermeable mudstones, shales and grits. Further south the river flows over sandstones before cutting its way through a limestone gorge between Symonds Yat and Chepstow. -because the underlying rock is mainly impermeable, groundwater flow is therefore limited throughout the basin: soils become quickly saturated and are unable to absorb excess water. This encourages overland flow, increasing the risk of flooding downstream- Hereford has been affected by flooding on many occasions.

Answer 28

Measurement of runoff at a moment in time | Discharge - cross sectional area x velocity

Answer 29

Rivers and lakes dried up, agricultural productivity declined and fires raged across tinder dry forests and grasslands - drought causes a reduction in water stores in rivers and lakes - vegetation dies back or is destroyed by fire- it affects processes such as transpiration, interception and infiltration - groundwater flow becomes more important, as it is a long-term transfer and not affected by short term weather extremes - heat and dry air causes initial high rates of evapotranspiration. This declines as water on the ground dries up (less water available to be evaporated) and trees transpire less - soils dry out-the soil water store is reduced and through flow ceases

Answer 30

In the summer higher temperatures encourage rapid evaporation (warm air can hold more moisture) -lower temperatures in the winter reduce rates of evapotranspiration

Answer 31

In the summer vegetation grows rapidly increasing interception and transpiration -in the winter vegetation dries back reducing interception and transpiration

Answer 32

- Land use change - Water abstraction - Farming practices

Answer 33

Urbanisation- replacement of vegetated ground with impermeable concrete and tarmac. Water cannot infiltrate the soil, which increases overland flow and makes flooding more likely Deforestation- removal of trees leading to surface runoff and soil erosion and reducing soil water stores.

Answer 34

Farmers are able to control the local water cycle through irrigation or land drainage. Soils covered with plants have higher infiltration and soil water rates and therefore reduced runoff -if desertification occurs the capacity to retain water is much lower

Answer 35

The extraction of water from rivers or groundwater aquifers - water that is abstracted for irrigation, industry and domestic purposes can have significant effects on the local water cycle - aquifers can become depleted - they can also become dominated by inflowing saltwater if the water table drops below sea level- this has become an issue with the chalk aquifer beneath London. Abstraction can result in low flow conditions in rivers which can have harmful impacts on ecosystems

Answer 36

lithosphere (rocks and soil) hydrosphere (oceans) cryosphere (snow and ice) atmosphere and biosphere (plants)

Answer 37

A store that stores more carbon than it releases

Answer 38

Releases more carbon than it absorbs

Answer 39

The processes transferring carbon between the stores For example the process of photosynthesis takes carbon out of the atmosphere into the form of carbon dioxide and converts it into carbohydrates such as glucose within plants. Transfers are the inputs and output that affect the magnitude of stores at any one time

Answer 40

Amount of carbon held in each store is subject to changes over timescales

Answer 41

Marine sediments and sedimentary rocks- largest store with rocks taking millions of years to form

Answer 42

Carbon dioxide is absorbed directly from the air and the river water discharges carbon carried in solution -since the industrial revolution the oceans have absorbed more carbon dioxide from the air due to increased carbon emissions.

Answer 43

Hydrocarbons such as coal, oil and gas are important long term stores of carbon. Since the industrial revolution they have been exploited for heat and power. The resulting combustion has pumped huge quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere causing climate change.

Answer 44

Soils containing rotting organic matter are important carbon stores. Carbon can remain in the remain in the soils for hundreds of years. Deforestation, land use change and soil erosion can however release the stored carbon very rapidly.

Answer 45

Carbon is held in the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. In recent decades the amount of carbon dioxide has increased due to emissions from power stations, vehicles and deforestation. This has led to the enhanced greenhouse effect and climate change.

Answer 46

Plants are vital for life on earth. They convert energy from the sun into carbohydrates that support life. Plants can store carbon for many years and transfer it to the soil. However through deforestation this carbon can be released back into the atmosphere very quickly.

Answer 47

Scientists have identified that carbon uptake is increasing in the middle and high latitudes of the northern hemisphere, but less carbon is being absorbed in the tropics and Southern Hemisphere. A major cause of this is thought to be drought (possibly linked to climate change) impacting crop yields, timber production and expanses of natural vegetation.

Answer 48

- when rock is exposed for the first time (e.g after glacier retreat) it is vulnerable to the process of weathering - as the rock is slowly broken down carbon may be released, often dissolved in water - over time vegetation such as lichen and moss grow on the bare rock and carbon exchange starts to take place involving photosynthesis and respiration. Gradually, as organic matter is added to the broken fragments of rock, a soil develops that can support a wider range of plants - over hundreds of years the plant species becomes more diverse benefitting from the supply of carbon in the soil. - the sequence of change is called vegetation succession - eventually the final stage is reached when a state of environmental equilibrium or balance is achieved. This is usually in response to the climate and is therefore termed the climatic climax - the climax vegetation for a lithosphere in the UK will usually be a deciduous woodland

Answer 49

A succession that relates to a specific environment - each stage in the succession can be referred to as a serial stage - a lithosere is a vegetation succession that occurs on bare rock.

Answer 50

- Photosynthesis - Respiration - Decomposition - Combustion - Burial and compaction - Carbon sequestration - Weathering

Answer 51

The process whereby plants use the light energy from the sun to produce carbohydrates in the form of glucose - green plants absorb the light energy using chlorophyll - (a green substance found in chloroplasts in plant cells in their leaves) - the absorbed light energy converts carbon dioxide in the air and water from the soil into glucose. During this process oxygen is released into the air. - some glucose is used in respiration, but the rest is converted into starch, which s insoluble but can be converted back into glucose for respiration

Answer 52

A chemical process the happens in all cells and is common to both plants and animals. Glucose is converted into energy that can be used for growth and repair, movement and control of body temperature in mammals. Carbon dioxide is then returned to the atmosphere, mostly by exhaled air.

Answer 53

When organisms die they are consumed by decomposers such as bacteria, fungi and earthworms. During this process of decomposition, carbon from their bodies is returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Some organic material passes into the soil where it may be stored for hundreds of years.

Answer 54

Organic material contains carbon. When it is burned in the presence of oxygen (e.g coal in a power station) It is converted into energy, carbon dioxide and water -the carbon dioxide returning to the atmosphere might have been stored in rocks for millions of years

Answer 55

Where organic matter is buried by sediments and becomes compacted. Over millions of years, these organic sediments sediments containing carbon may form hydrocarbons such as coal and oil - corals and shelled organisms take up carbon dioxide from the water and convert it to calcium carbonate used to build up their shells. When they die their shells accumulate on the seabed. Some of the carbonates dissolve, releasing carbon dioxide. - the rest becomes compacted to form limestone, storing carbon for millions of years.

Answer 56

An 'umbrella term' used to describe the transfer of carbon from the atmosphere plants, soils, rock formations and oceans. - sequestration is both a natural and human process - carbon capture and storage is a recent term used to describe the technological capturing of carbon emitted from power stations - smaller scale sequestration can also take place e.g by a change in farming practices.

Answer 57

Breakdown or decay of rocks in their original place or at close to the surface - when carbon dioxide is absorbed by rainwater it forms a mildly acidic carbonic acid. - through a series of complex chemical reactions rocks will slowly decompose with the carbon being held in solution. Transported via the water cycle to the oceans, this carbon can then be used to build the shells of marine organisms.

carbon and water Flashcards

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