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Carbon Cycle (1) > Carbon Cycle > Flashcards

Carbon Cycle Flashcards

1
Q

What is the biogeochemical carbon cycle?

A

A closed system in which carbon is moved and stored in the lithosphere, biosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere

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2
Q

What is the difference between a store and a flux?

A

A store holds carbon for a long period of time and flux is a transportation of carbon that creates a cycle and feedback

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3
Q

Why is the carbon cycle important?

A

Economic development relies on fossil fuels
Energy security and scarcity is the cause of conflict
Combustion of carbon affects the climate
The desire for carbon is destroying ecosystems

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4
Q

What is different about the willow tree as a store of carbon?

A

Sequestration and carbon release are equal in concentration so no more carbon dioxide is released that was absorbed

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5
Q

Name the four carbon stores

A

Lithosphere
Biosphere
Atmosphere
Hydrosphere

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6
Q

Describe the lithosphere including the form of carbon stored

A

The crust and upper mantle - fossil fuel and sedimentary rock deposits

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7
Q

Describe the biosphere and the store of carbon

A

Regions of the surface and atmosphere occupied by living organisms - organic molecules in living and dead organisms

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8
Q

Describe the atmosphere and type of carbon stored

A

An envelope of gases surrounding the earth - carbon dioxide

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9
Q

Describe the hydrosphere and carbon stored

A

All the water stores on the earth surface - dissolved carbon dioxide in the ocean

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10
Q

Name three rocks carbon is stored in

A

Limestone, shale and coal

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11
Q

How significant is the ocean as a store of carbon

A

It is the largest store of carbon on earth holding approx 80% of the world’s carbon

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12
Q

How are the Himalayas significant to storing carbon?

A

A large store of carbon as it started as oceanic sediment so has a lot of calcium carbonate which is actively weathered carbon and transported to the ocean

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13
Q

Fill in the gaps
80% of carbon containing rock is from shell building aka (1) organisms and plankton which is (2) to form rock such as limestone

A

1 - calcifying

2 - lithified

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14
Q

Fill in the gaps

20% of rocks contain (1) carbon formed from (2) in embedded layers of rock which is how (3) is formed

A

1 - organic
2 - heat and pressure
3 - shale

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15
Q

How do carbon fossil fuels form?

A
  • Takes 300m years
  • From organic material
  • Decays anaerobically in rivers and oceans
  • The deeper the deposit, the more heat and pressure on deposits
  • When material builds up quicker than it can decay layers of organic carbon form oil, coal and natural gas
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16
Q

How are oil and gas formed?

A
  • Remains of tiny aquatic animals and plants
  • Gas and oil in pockets of rock migrate through the crust until it meets caprocks
  • Natural has are fractions of oil molecules found in crude oil
  • Hydrocarbon deposits include oil shales, tar sands and gas hydrates
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17
Q

How is coal formed?

A

Remains of trees, plants and ferns sinking to the bottom of a swamp or damp surrounding
Over time the heat and pressure on deposits produced chemical and physical changes in plant layers which formed peat

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18
Q

Name the four types of coal

A

Anthracite
Bituminous
Soft
Peat

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19
Q

Describe anthracite

A

Highest energy content and greatest store of carbon

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20
Q

Describe bituminous

A

Forms as high pressure on lignite and is a poorer quality of anthracite

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21
Q

Describe soft coal

A

E.g. brown coal
25-35% carbon
Lower energy potential and a major global source of energy

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22
Q

Describe peat coal

A

An important carbon store of decaying trees, ferns and plants that has not yet turned to coal

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23
Q 
Volcanic activity
Increase in CO2
Loss of (1) from rocks
Increased temperature 
(2) of air
Increased rainfall from condensation 
Increase in (3)
More (4) are deposited on the ocean floor 
More carbon to be stored in (5) 
Cycle repeats
A 
1 - carbon
2 - uplift 
3 - chemical weathering 
4 - ions 
5 - rocks
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24
Q

Describe the oceanic carbon cycle

A

CO2 enters the ocean by diffusion on the surface

The volume of CO2 depends on wind, concentration of CO2 and water temperature

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25
Q

Once the CO2 is dissolved in the sea, how does it enter the carbon cycle?

A

Physical carbon pump
Biological carbon pump
Carbonate pump

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26
Q

What is the physical carbon pump

A

Oceanic circulation distributes CO2 including thermigaline circulation so the colder the water the greater the potential for CO2 sequestration

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27
Q

What is thermohaline circulation

A

The movement of seawater in a pattern of flow dependency on variations of temperature which causes change in salt content and density

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28
Q

What is the biological carbon pump?

A

Phytoplankton photosynthesise sun light at the ocean surface taking up CO2 which then enters the food chain and eventually calcifies to make shells and rock

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29
Q

What does photosynthesis create?

A

Carbohydrates created using CO2 and H2O for growth also known as carbon fixation

30
Q

What is a permafrost store?

A

Frozen land which releases carbon when it melts

31
Q

Which flux to the atmosphere emits the least CO2?

A

Volcanic eruptions

32
Q

Which flux to the atmosphere releases the most carbon dioxide?

A

Respiration and fire

33
Q

How much CO2 is released from the combustion of fossil fuels and cement production?

A

7.8 petagrams of carbon a year

34
Q

What flux inputs and outputs carbon in the atmosphere?

A

Input - combustion of fossil fuels

Output - photosynthesis

35
Q

What fluxes input and output carbon in the lithosphere?

A

Input - sedimentary rock

Output - volcanic eruption

36
Q

What fluxes input and output carbon in the biosphere?

A

Input - food web

Output - respiration

37
Q

What fluxes input and output carbon in the hydrosphere?

A

Input - dead material

Output - phytoplankton photosynthesis

38
Q

Name the stages of how carbon is released starting in the atmosphere and ending as magma

A 
Atmosphere
Transportation
Deposition
Subduction
Magma
39
Q

Describe how carbon is released in the atmosphere

A

CO2 reacts with water to form carbonic acid, this acid rain falls to the surface where it reacts with some geology such as limestone causing it to dissolve

40
Q

Describe transportation from the atmosphere in the geological carbon release cycle

A

Calcium ions travel from rivers to oceans and combine with bicarbonate ions to form calcium carbonate and precipitate

41
Q

Describe deposition from transportation in the geological carbon release cycle

A

Calcite sediment forms limestone when it is buried

42
Q

Describe subduction from deposition in the geological carbon release cycle

A

The sea floor subducts under continental margins by tectonic spreading

43
Q

Describe the final stage of the geological carbon release cycle

A

Rock rises as magma and is degassed as CO2

Diamonds are the purest form of carbon formed up to 435 miles deep in the lower mantle

44
Q

Describe terrestrial sequestration

A

Primary producers take carbon out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis and release it through respiration.
When animals eat plants carbon becomes part of it’s fats and proteins.
Micro organisms feed on waste material of dead organisms and so injest their carbon.
After plant and animal death, tissue decomposes and adds carbon to the soil

45
Q

Where is the greatest distribution of sources of carbon in ocean sequestration?

A

In the warmer areas mostly across the equator to the west of Africa

46
Q

How many stages are there in thermohaline circulation?

47
Q

The first stage of thermohaline circulation:
The (1) trade winds drive warm surface water to the (2) where it is warmed. The earth’s (3) moves the current north east towards (4)

A

1 - south east
2 - Gulf of Mexico
3 - rotation
4 - Europe

48
Q

The second stage of thermohaline circulation:

When the water gets cold (1) forms so surrounding sea water gets (2) which increases its (3) and therefore sinks

A

1 - sea ice
2 - saltier
3 - density

49
Q

The third stage of thermohaline circulation:

The (1) is recharged by extra cold, salty and dense water as it passes (2)

A

1 - current

2 - Antarctica

50
Q

The fourth stage of thermohaline circulation:

A (1) of the main current occurs northward to the (2) and the Western Pacific

A

1 - division

2 - Indian Ocean

51
Q

The fifth stage of thermohaline circulation:

The two branches (1) and rise as they travel (2) then loop back and come (3) towards Australia

A

1 - warm
2 - northward
3 - south-westerly

52
Q

The final stage of thermohaline circulation:

The warmed surface waters continue to circulate around the globe so the cycle begins when current returns to the (1)

A

1 - North Atlantic

53
Q

What is the carbonate pump?

A

Marine organisms use carbon to harden their shells so when they die they sink to the ocean floor where the soft matter decays and the shells form limestone

54
Q

What would happen if there was no carbon causing the natural greenhouse gas effect?

A

The Earth’s surface would be 16 degrees Celsius colder

55
Q

What is feedback in terms of changes in the carbon cycle?

A

Impacts of change on the carbon cycle as carbon is released from stores

56
Q

Name the four main greenhouse gases

A

CO2
CH4
N2O
Halocarbons

57
Q

20% of CO2 will stay in the atmosphere for (1) years
Accounts for (2)% of all greenhouse gases produced
Concentrations in the atmosphere have increased by (3)% since 1850

A

1 - 800
2 - 89
3 - 30

58
Q

CH4 will stay in the atmosphere for (1) years and makes up (2)% of greenhouse gases
Emitted from (3)
(4) times more powerful than CO2
Increased by (5)% since 1850

A 
1 - 10 
2 - 7
3 - cattle farming 
4 - 21
5 - 250
59
Q 
N2O will stay in the atmosphere for (1) years 
Makes up for (2)% of greenhouse gases 
Emitted from (3) 
(4) times more powerful than CO2 
Increased by (5)% since 1850
A 
1 - 100
2 - 3
3 - engines
4 - 250
5 - 16
60
Q 
Halocarbons constitute (1)% of greenhouse gas emissions 
Emitted from (2)
(3) times more powerful than CO2
A

1 - 1
2 - solvents
3 - 300

61
Q

Since 1750, greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere has increased by how much?

62
Q

What four factors influence global temperature distributions?

A

Solar insolation
Albedo effect
Wind
Ocean currents

63
Q

Describe the albedo effect

A

Light surfaces reflect more heat than dark surfaces
When the earth’a temperature dropped because of its position in orbit around the sun and tilt on its axis this caused the growth of ice sheds and so more heat was reflected and ice sheets expanded

64
Q

What factors affect global precipitation distribution?

A

Solar insolation
Pressure systems
Collision of air masses
Relief

65
Q

How much carbon do phytoplankton sequester every year?

A

5-13 pentagrams

66
Q

How much carbon does terrestrial photosynthesis sequester a year?

A

100-120 pentagrams

67
Q

Describe the greenhouse gas effect

A
  • Short wave solar radiation enters atmosphere
  • Short wave UV radiation passes through the atmosphere
  • Nearly 50% of short wave radiation is absorbed by the earth
  • Some short wave radiation is reflected back to space as long wave infrared radiation
  • Some long wave radiation is trapped by greenhouse gases and reflected back to earth
68
Q

What are the components of healthy soil?

A
  • Dark in colour and crumbly in composition
  • Worms present
  • Nutrients for plant growth
  • Sequesters carbon
  • Infiltration and retention of water
69
Q

What does the store of carbon in soil depend on?

A
  • Amount of organic carbon stored within the soil = inputs (animal waste and plant litter) - outputs (decomposition and plant growth)
  • Size of store depends on biomass
70
Q

In the Northern Hemisphere, winter’s (1) increases CO2 whereas spring’s renewed (2) absorbs it, if winters become shorter then it is possible less CO2 will be released and climate change could be (3)

A

1 - organic decay
2 - plant growth
3 - neutralised

71
Q

What carbon fluxes are happening faster because of fossil fuel combustion?

A

Carbon stored in the sea is thawing and so being released

72
Q

What carbon fluxes are slowing because of fossil fuel combustion?

A

If tropical rainforests become less productive due to drier conditions then there will be slower growth therefore the flux to soil is slowed

Carbon Cycle (1) (7 decks)

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