carbon cycle and energy insecurity Flashcards

1
Q

what is the biological pump

A

the organic sequestration of cO2 to the oceans by phytoplankton which photosynthesises it, other animals consume the phytoplankton and the CO2 is released by respiration, CO2 only reaches the sea floor when the phytoplankton die and sink where they either decompose or are turned into sediment

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2
Q

what is the carbonate pump

A

relies on inorganic carbon sequestration, marine organisms may utilise calcium carbonate to make their shells and inner skeletons, shells dissolve before reaching the sea floor when they die and the carbon becomes part of the ocean currents, shells that do reach the floor build up slowly and form limestone sediment

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3
Q

what is the physical pump

A

based on the oceanic circulation of water including upwelling, downwelling and the thermohaline current, CO2 is mixed more slowly in the oceans than in the atmosphere so there are large spatial differences in the concentrations, the colder the water the more potential for CO2 to be absorbed, warm waters release CO2

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4
Q

how much of the world’s global carbon does soil store

A

20-30%

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5
Q

what factors affect the capacity of soil to store carbon

A

climate, soil type and management and use of soils

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6
Q

what are the implications for the climate from the increase in carbon in the atmosphere due to fossil fuel combustion

A

thermohaline circulation will weaken, ice sheets will melt, stronger storms, increased precipitation and temperatures

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7
Q

implications for ecosystems from the increase in carbon in the atmosphere due to fossil fuel combustion

A

extinction as a result of habitat changes, less biodiversity, loss of plants, varied migrations due to climate zones shift

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8
Q

implications for the hydrological cycle from the increase in carbon in the atmosphere due to fossil fuel combustion

A

rivers will dry up, glaciers will disappear, humidity will increase, increased precipitation, permafrost will melt leading to flooding and release of carbon

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9
Q

definition of energy mix

A

the energy mix of a country is the proportion of each primary energy resource a country uses in a year

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10
Q

what factors affect the energy mix of a country

A

the availability, accessibility, energy needs, national and regional policies that affect energy production and consumption, financial cost

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11
Q

whats the word for human caused climate change

A

anthropogenic climate change

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12
Q

what does the UN predict the population to be in 2030

A

9 billion

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13
Q

what does the UN predict the population to be in 2050

A

10 billion

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14
Q

energy security definition

A

The ability of a nation to secure sufficient, affordable and consistent energy supplies for its domestic, industrial, transport and military requirements

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15
Q

energy equity definition

A

ensuring accessible and affordable energy for all countries

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16
Q

what is an example of a state controlled energy company

A

Gazprom

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17
Q

what is the OPEC

A

the organisation of the Petroleum exporting countries, IGO set up in 1960 to coordinate member countries’ oil policies, aims to create a stable income for oil producing nations by controlling output and prices when selling oil to consuming nations

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18
Q

how many members did OPEC have in 2016

A

12 member countries in three continents with Saudi Arabia being the most important player

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19
Q

how much of the world’s oil does OPEC control

A

40%

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20
Q

what percent of Denmark’s energy is produced by wind turbines

A

40%

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21
Q

how many deep water oil rigs were there in the Gulf of Mexico in 2014

A

63

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22
Q

how quickly can new technology detect an oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico

A

45 seconds

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23
Q

where is the largest tar sand reserve

A

Alberta Canada

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24
Q

where are there large oil shale reserves

A

Green River Formation of rocks in Colorado and Utah

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25
what are the negatives of fracking
lowered groundwater levels, chemical contamination of water, methane gas leaks
26
what are the negatives of oil shale
expensive and releases greenhouse gases when heated to release the oil, disturbance of land and vegetation cover, lots of waste produced and air and water pollution
27
what are the negatives of tar sands
large amounts of energy needed, results in an estimated contribution to global warming three times higher than conventional oil, scars the landscape leaking into water supplies, infringements of indigenous people's treaty rights
28
what are the five examples of radical technologies
hydrogen fuel cells, electric vehicles, carbon capture and storage, nuclear fission, nanotechnology
29
what are the positives and negatives of hydrogen fuel cells
only waste product is water, processes to separate it from other components require large amounts of energy and may emit large quantities of greenhouse gases
30
what are the positives and negatives of electric vehicles
can only travel short distances, high initial cost, energy still required which might be produced unsustainably, low noise pollution, zero carbon emissions and cheap to run
31
what are the positives of carbon capture and storage
lowers pollution, climate benefits, extends use of fossil fuels and improves efficiency, CO2 leakage could affect human health, underground pressure can cause small earthquakes and increased water usage affects natural environments
32
what are the positives and negatives of nuclear fission
clean with no greenhouse gas emissions or radioactivity, can use common elements, far away from becoming a reality as the technology is still developing
33
what are the positives and negatives of nanotechnology
can be used to make solar fuels which would replace fossil fuels, zero carbon emissions
34
how much of the Earths surface do forests cover
30%
35
what is half of all current deforestation for
soy, palm oil, beef and paper production
36
what is the size of the area of rainforest lost in the Amazon in the last 40 years
Germany and France
37
what percent of the Amazon has been lost in the past 40 years
12.5%
38
what percent of the Amazon rainforest is in a degraded state
38%
39
how much of Indonesia's rainforest has been cleared or burnt in the past 25 years for palm oil and logging
25%- highest rate in the world
40
what is China's Three-North Shelterbelt Project
a 4,500 km green wall of trees designed to reduce desertification (example of afforestation)
41
when was the biofuel rush in America
2007-2015
42
what happened during the biofuel rush in America
farmers were encouraged to grow corn, soya, canola and sugar cane in order to boost the economies of rural US states
43
how many hectares of natural grassland disappeared in the biofuel rush in the American Midwest
5.5 million
44
what are the implications of the rising acidity of the oceans
shells of marine organisms unable to form as they will dissolve and bleached coral reefs
45
what are the five adaptations to climate change
water conservation and management, resilient agricultural systems, land-use planning, flood-risk management, solar radiation management
46
how long does it take carbon to enter and leave rocks and sediments in the geological cycle
100,000 years
47
how much CO2 was emitted each day by the Icelandic volcano eruption in 2010
150,000-300,000
48
how much carbon does phytoplankton sequester to the deep ocean
2 billion tonnes
49
how much larger is the ocean a carbon store than the atmosphere
50 times larger
50
a rise of 1.5 degrees will put what percentage of species at risk of extinction
20-30%
51
how much less in France's energy consumption than the USA's
one-tenth less
52
what percent of the USA's energy mix is made up of fossil fuels
80%
53
what percent of the UK's energy mix is made up of fossil fuels
33%
54
how much renewable energy makes up the USA's energy mix
10%
55
how much renewable energy makes up the UK's energy mix
42%
56
what is the name of the nuclear power station that would provide 7% of the UK's electricity
Hinkley Point C
57
how many hectares of land are deforested annually
13 million
58
in the 2005 droughts how much CO2 was released from the Amazon basin
5 billion tonnes
59
in the 2010 droughts, how much CO2 was released from the Amazon basin
8 billion tonnes
60
how many formal and informal jobs are provided from forests globally
13.2 million formal, 41 million informal
61
what percent of marine species do coral reefs shelter
25%
62
inflows to the river Yukon have increased by what percent since 2000
39%