Carbon Cycle and Climate Change Flashcards
Describe the overall carbon cycle
Carbon cycle: a network of interrelated processes that transport carbon between different reservoirs on Earth
- Sun and CO2 contributes to photosynthesis
- Photosynthesis creates organic compounds
- Organic compounds and O2 contribute to respiration
- O2, CH4 (Methanogenesis contributes to CH4) and fossil fuels contribute to combustion
- combustion contributes to CO2 production (CO2 contributes to Methanogensis)
- CO2 and dissolved CO2 contribute to e/o
- Dissolved CO2 and Limestone contribute to e/o
- Sedimentation contributes to Limestone and Geological Processes
- Organic Compounds contribute to Sedimentation
- Geological processes contribute to fossil fuels
INORGANIC: Sedimentaion, Limeston, Dissolved CO2, CO2, sun
-Limstone, Dissolved CO2 and CO2 cycle important for maintaining neutral PH in environment
ORGANIC: Everything else
REFER TO L15&16 SLIDE 4 FOR A VISUAL REPRESENTATION
What is Methanogenesis?
- complex biochemical processes (occurs in swamps, landfills, Anaerobic digesters)
- facilitated by anaerobic(No O2) methanogenic bacteria
What is Respiration?
Series of chemical reactions that lets organisms convert stored energy in organic food materials into energy to be used by cells
What is combustions?
A rapid chemical combustion of a substance with oxygen that releases heat and light
- combustion of fossil fuels = big source of man made CO2 emissions
What is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)?
- 1000+ international scientists, regularly review state of climate change
- organized by UN Environmental Programme and World Meteorological Organization
What are Some Predicted Effects of Climate Change
- fewer cold days and nights
- more frequent hot days and nights
- increased frequency, intensity and amount of precipitation events
- increased frequency/duration of droughts
-increased incidence/magnitude of extreme high sea levels
What is Global Warming Potential?
- measure of mass of greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming relative to CO2
GWP =(integral from T to 0 of (x(t) ax dt))/ (integral from T to 0 of (r(t) ar dt))
ax = radiative efficiency of gas x
x(t) = time-dependent decay in abundance of the substance
T = time horizon
r = the reference gas
Based on radiative forcing (RF)
- W/m^2
- simple quantitative way to compare potential response of climate change to energy balance
What are some possible solutions to Global Warming? and give them a rate and tbh
- no more fossil fuels (lol)
- use solar energy indirectly(wind, hydroelectric) (yass)
- use nuclear energy (safe??)
- stimulate photosynthesis and then use that material for fuel (cool but makes H2O :( )
- use fuel cells (Hydorgen capture) (yasss)
6.Recover energy from waste (Methanogensis) (yasss) - Use solar energy directly (yasss)
- conserve energy (yass but we been knew)
- Carbon capture (tf is that?)
What is Industrial Ecology?
- the ecology of industrial systems
-the study of interactions b/w diff industrial systems and b/w industrial systems and ecological systems - industrial systems are treated as a subsystem within an ecosystem
- Energy + raw materials -> manufacturing facility -> product + residuals
How do industrial systems emulate ecosystems?
- using renewable resources
-reduces -ve env impacts
-reduce waste material and energy
-high degree of interconnectedness
What aspects of Industrial Ecology do we want to balance?
- it is an approach to design or products and processes that evaluates them through product competitiveness and environmental interactions (want to balance them)
Environmental Interactions:
-ecological resources = economic value
- damaging env = incr product cost
- long term sustainability of raw materials = reasonable cost
How can engineering systems be applied to industrial ecology?
- conservation of mass and energy = use waste from one process as material for another (interrelated :) )
- pollution prevention = optimize operations
