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Carbon Cycle Flashcards

1
Q

Carbon Budget

A

the amount of carbon stored and transferred within the carbon cycle on global or local scale

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2
Q

What did the Paris Agreement agree to keep the temp increase between

A

1.5 and 2 degrees

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3
Q

What is an NDC

A

Nationally determined contribution

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4
Q

What was the UK’s NDC in terms of the Paris agreement

A

This will commit the UK to reducing economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% by 2035

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5
Q

Who agreed to reduce their emissions in the Paris Agreement

A

All financially capable countries

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6
Q

How many years is the Paris agreement cycle for re-evaluation

A

5 years for current targets

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7
Q

How many countries have signed up to the Paris Agreement

A

Nearly 200

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8
Q

Who receives financial aid from the Paris Agreemnt

A

Developing countries

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9
Q

What is a benefit but also issue of NDCs in the Paris Agreement

A

Countries set their OWN targets

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10
Q

What is the biggest issue of the Paris Agreement

A

Countries are not held financially responsible for their actions

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11
Q

What is the issue with participation in the Paris Agreement

A

Some countries may Flip-Flop or bail out (US with Trump)

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12
Q

What do large offenders against the Paris Agreement try to do?

A

Lobby governments and cause corruption

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13
Q

What was discussed at COP 29 to be a large issue

A

Not enough money to meet goals

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14
Q

How much money do developing countries receive from the Paris Agreement

A

$300 billion

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15
Q

What % of carbon sequestration occurs in the Brazilian Amazon

A

25% of forests worldwide

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16
Q

How many species of plants in the Amazon

A

40,000

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17
Q

How large is the Amazon in KM^2

A

5.5 million KM^2

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18
Q

How many trees in the amazon

A

400 billion

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19
Q

How many trees in terms of worldwide biodiversity in the Amazon

A

1/10 species found in the Amazon

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20
Q

Drivers of change in the amazon

A

Commercial logging
Population growth
Mono culture crops
Mining
Transport links
Hydro dams
Housing
Subsistence farming

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21
Q

What do land clearing fires create in the amazon

A

Black carbon and affect rainfall (less rain)

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22
Q

How much has the average temp changed in the amazon over the last century

A

1.5 degrees

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23
Q

How much are temperatures set to increase in the amazon by 2050

A

An additional 2-3 degrees

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24
Q

How much of a decrease in precipitation have some areas seen in the amazon

A

25%

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25
What is carbon
basic element that is needed by all plants and animals to survive
26
what are the main stores of carbon
lithosphere Hydrosphere Cryosphere Atmosphere Biosphere
27
what is a carbon sink
absorbs more carbon that in releases
28
what is a carbon source
releases more carbon than it absorbs
29
What is a carbon transfer
process of moving carbon between 2 stores such as photosynthesis taking in atmospheric carbon and storing it in the plant so it is in the biosphere
30
how much carbon stored in the lithosphere
60-100k GtC
31
what is the lithosphere
marine sediments, sedimentary rocks, fossil fuels
32
how much carbon is stored in the hydrosphere
38k GtC
33
how much carbon is stored in the cryosphere
1500GtC
34
how much carbon is stored in the biosphere
2060GtC
35
how much carbon is stored in the atmosphere
750GtC
36
where has been identified that carbon uptake is increasing
middle and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere
37
where has been identified that carbon uptake is decreasing
southern hemisphere and tropics
38
why is less carbon being absorbed in the southern hemisphere and the tropics
drought, causing crop yields and vegetation growth to decrease
39
how is carbon stored in the hydrosphere
Oceans directly absorb CO2 and oceans have increased their uptake since the Industrial Revolution
40
how is carbon stored in the cryosphere
permafrost stores organic matter which is locked into the soil Rising temps are reducing this capacity and releasing the organic matter
41
how is carbon stored in the biosphere
soils contain organic matter rotting Deforestation can result in the soil carbon being eroded and release it
42
What % carbon is wood
50%
43
what is a lithosere
vegetation succession that starts on bare rock
44
what is a vegetation succession
It is an orderly sequence of events where one community is replaced by another. Biomass is created via decomposition and provides more nutrients to the soil. Allowing for more and greater variety of plants and animals to exist at each successive seral stage
45
What is a hydrosere
water eg freshwater pond or oxbow lake
46
what is a halosere
starts in salt water eg saltmarsh
47
what is a psammosere
Coastal sere such as sand dunes or sand
48
What is photosynthesis
plants use light energy to produce glucose (a carb)
49
what is respiration
chemical process were glucose is broken down to release energy (releases carbon)
50
what is decomposition
organisms die and bacteria and earthworms and fungi break down their body, releasing CO2 into the atmosphere
51
over 75% of tropical rainforest mountain slopes are at a slope of over 27 degrees meaning what
maps underestimate carbon stored
52
how much greater is area of TRF in mountain regions than likely reported
40% larger
53
what is combustion
organic material is burnt, this releases energy and CO2
54
what are natural causes of combustion
wildfires
55
where can wildfires occur unexpectedly
slow underground fires such as in peat
56
what is burial and compaciton of carbon (fossil fuels)
organisms die but get buried by sediment, causing coal and oil to form under pressure
57
what is burial and compaction of carbon (sediment)
corals and shelled organisms take in CO2 from the water to build their shells and when they die, teh calcium carbonate either dissolves releasing carbon or forms limestone
58
what is carbon sequestration
transfer of carbon from atmosphere to plants, soil, rock formations and oceans
59
what is human carbon sequestration
CCS (Carbon capture and storage)
60
how effective is CCS
90% effective
61
where is a good example of CCS (Europe)
Rotterdam in the Netherlands
62
How much carbon does CCS in Rotterdam store annually
2.5 million tonnes
63
what is an type of small scale human sequestrationq
Changing farming practices
64
how does weathering affect the carbon cycle
acid rain can dissolve rocks which may release carbon which may then be transported via the water cycle to oceans
65
what is weathering
the break down and decay of rocks in-situ
66
what are natural causes for climate change
Glacial and interglacial periods
67
What causes Glacial and Interglacial periods
Milankovitch Cycles Solar Variation (e.g. flares)
68
What are the 3 milankovitch cycles
eccentricity Axial tilt precession
69
what is eccentricity (milankovitch cycle)
variation of the Earths orbit around the sun
70
what is axial tilt (milankovitch cycle)
21.5-24.5 degrees variation in the inclination of the earths rotation in comparison to its rotational plane
71
what is precession (milankovitch cycle)
the direction of the axis of the poles of the earth in relation to its orbital plane
72
what impacts do cold conditions have on climate
more chemical weathering Different forest coverage Less effective decomposes Less water in the water cycle due to increased ice More permafrost
73
why do cold temps increase chemical weathering
cold water holds more CO2
74
why does Indonesia have many wildfires annually
slash and burn farming can accidentally get out of control .
75
Why did Indonesia suffer in 2019 especially badly from wildfires
An El Niño event occurred causing a dry spell and very dry vegetation the strong winds spread the fires
76
what were the impacts of the Indonesia 2019 wildfires
the region was covered in a haze
77
how many people got respiratory illnesses due to the 2019 wildfires in Indonesia
900k people
78
what did the WB estimate losses incurred by the 2019 Indonesia wildfires were
$5.2 billion USD
79
how many hectares were burned in hte 2019 wildfires in Indonesia
850,000 hectares
80
how does volcanic activity affect the carbon cycle
atmosphere is released from rocks that has been trapped for millions of years
81
What time period were volcanos more active?
Palaeozoic era
82
how many tonnes of carbon is released annually form volcanoes
between 130 and 180 million tonnes
83
how many tonnes of carbon do humans release annually
30 billion tonnes
84
how much Anthropogenic carbon is fossil fuels as a %
90%
85
how much has atmospheric carbon increased over the last 50 years as a %
30%
86
How old are most of the rocks we extract fossil fuels from
70-100 million years
87
how much does land use change contribute to carbon emissions
10% of global carbon humans release
88
how much have rice yields risen in North America due to increased atmospheric carbon
25%
89
what is the issue in NA with the increase in rice productivity
40% methane increase
90
how much land to humans take up compared to their emission
2% of land accounts for 97%
91
What % of global emissions are from concrete
7%
92
how is land important in the carbon budget
soil formation Large Biosphere
93
how is the ocean important in the carbon budget
shellfish absorb carbon into shells Phytoplankton perform large amounts of photosynthesis
94
how is the atmosphere important in the carbon budget
the greenhouse effect keeps the earth warm enough for survival Increase in the volume in this store due to anthropogenic activities Forests affect the atmosphere a lot
95
how does vegetation affect climate
evaporation creates clouds
96
Why do plants grow so well in TRFs
the warm and wet climate provide ideal conditions
97
what process occurs at a very high rate in TRFs
decomposition Due to bacteria and fungi thriving in the conditions
98
what ecosystem stores the most carbon
coral reefs
99
what ecosystem stores the most carbon on land
TRFs
100
what effects does deforestation have in TRFs on the carbon cycle
photosynthesis stops so no carbon is sequestered Plant and animal respiration goes to 0 Rain washes ash into the ground increasing its carbon content Decomposers are absent
101
what does replacing TRFs with alternative land use do?
reintroduces some stores and flows but not at the previous scale
102
What is the comparison between grasslands and TRFs carbon stored
4x in TRFs
103
104
What area has been deforested total of the Amazon
1.5x the size of California

Geography Physical (4 decks)

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