Carbon Cycle Flashcards
Name some long term carbon stores
Sedimentary rocks,
Short term stores
Terrestrial soil
Oceanic surface
Atmosphere
Terrestrial ecosystem
How does the carbon cycle operate to maintain planetary health
Food webs
Hydrosphere
Atmosphere
Lithosphere
Name the main processs which moves carbon from stores in the carbon cycle
Photosynthesis
Death and sinking
Weathering and erosion
Decomposition
Wildfire
Compaction
Respiration
Volcanic eruption
Oceanic diffusion
The slow carbon cycle
The proceses which have moved carbon around the world for billions of years
Name some slow cycle processes
The subduction of plates which release carbon through eruptions
The sinking and compaction of sea organisms creating new seabed and rock
The weathering and erosion of rock on the earths surface
The creation of underground hydrocarbons
What is shale
Shale is a fine grated sedimentary rock formed as a result of the compaction of clay, silt, mud and organic matter over time
Some shales mix with kerogen mixing with material forming oil and gas shale
What is limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed primarily of calcium carbonate and is an example of carbon between hydro and lithosphere
How is coal formed
Before dinosaurs many giant plants died in swamps in the Carboniferous period
Over millions of years the plants were buried under water and dirt
Heat and pressure turned the dead plants into coal
Where does oil and gas tend to be formed
Formed from marine rather than vegetation over millions of years the organic material is compressed and the pressure eventually creates oil and gas
How does weathering and erosion effect the carbon cycle
Chemical erosion between air and rock or landforms such as glaciers creating pressure and therefore abrading the land
Chemical weathering involves the slow breakdown of rock through interaction with rainfall and the carbon inside can be washed into water systems
What is the terrestrial carbon cycle
The fast carbon cycle refers to the processes which moves carbon around the living world often on the surface or the atmosphere
The role of the carbon sinks o. The surface of the earth
The physical pump of the oceans
The biological pump of the oceans
Biological pump
These move carbon dioxide from the ocean surface to the marine plants called phytoplankton through photosynthesis
This effectively converts carbon dioxide into food for zooplankton and their predators
Most of the carbon dioxide taken up by the phytoplankton is recycled near the surface
Physical pumps
These move carbon compounds to different parts of the ocean in downwelling and upwelling currents
Downwelling occurs in parts of the ocean where cold denser water sinks
These currents bring dissolved carbon dioxide down to the deep ocean
Once there it stayes there for hundreds of years
Eventually these deep ocean currents become part of the thermohaline currents
And return to the ocean surface In warm upwellings
Carbonate pumps
These form when sediments from dead organisms fall to the ocean floor
Especially the herd shells and skeletons as these are rich in calcium carbonate
What are some alternative fossil fuels
Tar sands
Shale gas
Deep sea drilling
What are tar/oil sands
A lot closer to the surface than conventional oil
Less than 100 meters deep
In thin layers and multiple layers
How are oil sands extracted
Top soil is removed
The oil sands is extracted
Then crushed and mixed with water
The bitumen floats to the top
The waste water is called tailings
What are pros of oil sands
Allows for economic growth and activity
Allows country’s to have there own source
Continue to use fossil fuel technology
Allows energy economies to continue
What are cons of oil sand
Land scaring
Removal of fertile top soil
Tailings damages wildlife
Still are very carbon intensive process
Decouple of energy and fossil fuels
What is fracking
Horizontal drilling into the rock
Shale is thin and contains layers of oil /gas
Chemicals are pumped down at high pressures
The water and gas is collected then further processed
What are cons of fracking
Mini earthquakes can be created due to high pressure
The chemical water can leech into groundwater
What are the pros of fracking
Leads to cheaper energy prices
Shale gas is abundant everywhere
What does deep sea oil extraction entail
Done is alternate environments such as north Alaska and Antarctica
Drilling in areas never drilled before
What are the cons of deep sea oil extraction
Deep sea oil rigs are far about at sea therefore susceptible to storms and waves increasing risk of breakdown
More extreme and therefore more expensive
Little research as its new
Hard to find workers due to extreme conditions
Disrupts ecosystems
What happened at the deepwater horizon oil spill
The plug which was in place to keep oil contained broke therefore oil continued to spill out, due to extreme conditions hard to reach the plug was unable to be filled
This had huge environmental impacts
Tar oil in Canada
Athabasca oil sands
Large oil sand deposits rich in bitumen , which is highly composed of hydrocarbons
The oil sands are the third largest proven oil reserves in the world accounting for 97% of candadas oil barrels
What are radical technologies
Radical technological innovation involves creating new-to-the-world technology that brings about revolutionary changes. It often creates new industry or market structures or involves dramatic changes to the existing ones.
Why are electric cars seen as radical tec
Movement away from fossil fuels to a whole new technology
Has been made more accessible in recent years due to technological advances
Culturally more accepted due to environmental
The range for electric cars has increased making them more appealing
High speed charging has made it easier
Who are the leaders in electric cars
China 3rd of new sales are electric
What does the future of electric cars
Predicted they will become cheaper to build than ICE cars
What are the negative impacts of electric cars
Wide scale production causes environmental damage
The resources needed to create create the car require metals like lithium
What is nanotechnology
Name human impacts on the carbon cycle on land
Mineral extraction causes large scale removal of top soil and land scaring
Deforestation
Fracking
Removal of top soil for oil sands
Urbanisation
Channellisation
Dam construction
Land fill agriculture
Human impacts on the carbon cycle on sea
Pollution of water sources from industrial- tailings
Increase in Acidity from high co2 levels in atmosphere
Oil extraction risk of spills
Desalination changing the composition of sea
Human impacts on the carbon cycle atmosphere
More greenhouse gases from industry
Acid rain
Change in weather patterns
Increase in extreme weather
Planes in atmosphere
recycleable fuel future
Nuclear
Wind
Solar
HEP
Biomass
What affects a country’s ability to have reyceable energy’s
Geophysical conditions
Weather conditions
Cost
Social attitudes
Economically viable
Who uses lots of nuclear energy
France
What causes insecurity with renewable energy mixes
Daily variation with weather
Nuclear is getting more expensive due to cost of jobs and infrastructure
How do human activities effect water and carbon
Ocean acidification
Leads to breakdown of ecosystems
Meaning the ocean is unable to process carbon
How does ocean acidification effect the carbon and water cycle
The change in acid levels cause change in habitat for aquatic life they may not be able to survive this disrupts the biological pump of carbon
What are the consequences of warming sea temps
Warmer temps causes more evaporation increasing precipitation in areas
Coastal flooding can cause sailinasation of fresh water
How does rapid climate change effect the biological pump
Flora and fauna are able to evolve however due to rapid climate change be they are unable to evolve fast enough therefore meaning they die off
How does rising sea temps cause a disruption to physical pumps
Changes to ocean currents such as the thermohaline physical pump this effects the exchange of deep water and shallow water
What are the 3 forests
The boreal forest
Temperat deciduous
Tropical rainforest
