Carbon Cycle Flashcards
1
Q
What do we call the ‘human impact on the enviroment’?
A
- Anthropogenic impacts
2
Q
What effects the Carbon cycle on a local scale?
A
- Plants/Vegetation
3
Q
What effects carbon cycle transfers?
A
- Photosynthesis (short term)
- Respiration (short term)
- Combustion (long to short term)
- Decomposition (short term)
- Carbon sequestration
4
Q
What are some carbon cycle stores?
A
- Sedimentary rocks (long term)
- Oceans
- Fossil fuels (Long term)
- Organic soil matter (Short term)
- Atmosphere (Dynamic)
- Plants
5
Q
What are natural processes that effect the carbon cycle?
A
- Seasonal changes
- Volcanic activity
- Wildfires
6
Q
What are human processes that effect the carbon cycle?
A
- Fossil fuel use
- Deforestation (slash and burn)
- Farming
7
Q
What is the carbon budget?
A
- The balance between inputs and outputs
- Carbon sources
- Carbon sinks
8
Q
State some positive feedback loops within the carbon cycle
A
- Wildfires more frequent due to hotter drier climates (e.g Australia)
- Albedo as ice reflects radiation from sun. Decreasing surface warming. Arctic amplification occurs as less ice means warming effect amplified
- Thawing permafrost releasing carbon dioxide and methane 20x more potent than CO2
9
Q
State some negative feedback loops in carbon cycle
A
- Increase photosynthesis due to rising temperatures allows vegetation to grow in new areas
- Higher temps increase CO2 mean greater carbon fertilisation in plants so absorb more CO2
10
Q
What are the relationships between water and carbon cycle?
A
- Permafrost melts so methane released and water from cryospheric to hydrospheric store
- Thermohaline circulation is the movement of earths ocean currents which transfer heat and organic matter around the globe. Carbon diffused in water when it cools down in northern hemisphere can be dragged down to depths in our oceans
- Ocean warming and ocean acidification
- Photosynthesis and respiration
