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Biology 1020 > Carbon Cycling > Flashcards

Carbon Cycling Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the Carbon Cycle?

A

Key process and ecology
An intricately-linked network of biology chemical and physical processes
Moves carbon among lithosphere (rocks and soil), hydrosphere (oceans lakes rivers) and atmosphere (air)

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2
Q

Rank the components of this major biogeochemical cycle from slowest to fastest

A

Geology (very slow)
Chemical (slow)
Biology (fast)

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3
Q

What causes CO2 levels in the atmosphere to fluctuate over short term (seasonal) and long term (decades) time scales?

A

A complex combination of biological chemical and geological processes all operating over various times skills contribute to carbon movement through ecosystems (and CO2 in the atmosphere)

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4
Q

List the 3 ways to add CO2 to the atmosphere

A
  1. Biological inputs (respiration/decomposition)
  2. Geological/Chemical inputs (volcanoes, mid-ocean ranges, weathering, erosion)
  3. Human impacts (deforestation, fossil fuels, urbanization)
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5
Q

List the ways to remove CO2 from the atmosphere

A
  1. Biological removal (photosynthesis, biomineralization)

2. Geological/Chemical removal (sedimentation, fossilization, mineralization)

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6
Q

What is the fastest/shortest component of the carbon cycle?

A

Biological processes – photosynthesis and respiration
—photosynthesis—>
6CO2 + 6H2O C6H12O6 + 6O2

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7
Q

What happens during respiration?
What happens during photosynthesis?
How do consumers play a role?

A

Carbon as CO2 is released during cellular respiration and is returned to the atmosphere
Carbon and CO2 is removed from the atmosphere during photosynthesis and is incorporated into plants which use or store it; it is then passed onto consumers via the food chain

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8
Q

CO2 patterns in the atmosphere

A

CO2 levels in atmosphere show season or oscillations in the northern hemisphere

  • photosynthesis is seasonal (higher rates in spring/summer lower rates in fall/winter)
  • respiration remains constant throughout the year
  • seasonal oscillations are more significant in northern hemisphere
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9
Q

CO2 concentration in the atmosphere

A
  • Pattern of seasonal oscillation (spring high/fall low)
  • Summer removal of CO2 does not balance winter addition leading to increase [year to year]
  • CO2 levels have increased from 315 ppm in 1958-407 PM in 2017
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10
Q

Why is there an increase in atmospheric CO2 levels?

A
  • started in 1800s
  • coincides with the onset of the industrial revolution
  • correlates with increased use of fossil fuel
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11
Q

How are humans affecting the carbon cycle?

A
  • Increase in atmospheric CO2 levels since 1958 (1960s increase of 1 ppm/year from 2001 to 2010 increase of two ppm/year
  • levels of atmospheric CO2 are 25% higher than 50 years ago (highest level in last 650, 000 years)
  • human activity equals the driving force behind climate change (burning of fossil fuel, forest fire, deforestation)
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12
Q

Proxy measures are used to prove that human action is causing climate change, what are som proxy measures?

A
  • Ice cores
  • sediment cores preserve pollen grains and other plant remains
  • tree rings indicate age, wetness of season, droughts and seasonal growth
  • coral reefs provide data on past ocean conditions
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13
Q

Using carbon isotopes 12 C, 13 C, 14 C as evidence

A
  • Atmospheric CO2 levels are approximately 40% higher than 150 years ago
  • scientists have noted decrease in 13 C and 14 C over last 40 years [even though overall CO2 bracket with 12 C levels are increasing]
  • ratios of 13 C to 12 C have decreased over the past 200 years
  • current ratios of 13 seed to 12 C are too low to be from volcanoes or oceans
  • reduction of 13 C levels suggest a non-geological source
  • current ratios of 13 C to 12 C are close to levels in vegetation when it is burned (suggests biological source)
  • reduction of 14 C levels in atmosphere have been observed
  • because of higher levels of 14 C in modern vegetation burning it would cause an increase in 14 C levels in the atmosphere
  • vegetation loses 14 CE overtime
  • this suggest that burning a lot of ancient vegetation would give the 14 C values observed
  • fossil fuel have right isotopic ratios of all carbon isotopes to explain observed results
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14
Q

Fate of CO2 from human activities

A

Only about half of the CO2 generated by human activities ends up in the atmosphere the rest accumulates in the oceans or in vegetation and soils

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15
Q

What is the long term carbon cycle?

A

Chemical processes and geological processes drive wrong term carbon cycling

  • volcanic omissions and oxidation of a ancient organic matter introduce CO2 into the atmosphere
  • subduction carries CaCO3 and organic matter down to the mantle providing a source of carbon for volcanos that will return CO2 to the atmosphere
  • weathering of ancient rocks effectively remove CO2 from the atmosphere and deposits it in the oceans as CaCO3
  • The amount of organic matter buried in sediments affectively reflects the excess of photosynthesis over respiration only a small portion of this organic matter will become coal or oil
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16
Q

What chemical processes regulate long-term CO2 cycling?

A
  1. Volcanism and mid ocean ridges
  2. slow oxidation of organic matter
  3. chemical weathering
  4. biomineralization [form carbonates and silicates]
17
Q

How have the atmospheric CO2 levels changed over time?

A
  • fluctuations over the last 400,000 years involved gradual change in 20 by longer-term chemical and geological processes
  • for the past 400,000 years temperatures have followed a pattern similar to that of CO2 levels
  • cold glacial and warm interglacial periods correlate with minimum and maximum atmospheric CO2 levels respectively
  • fluctuations over 542 million years involve gradual change influenced by longer-term chemical and geological processes
  • atmospheric CO2 levels are thought to have been high before about 350 million years ago
18
Q

Why is carbon cycling important to understand ecology and evolution?

A

– food webs trace carbon cycling through biological communities

  • bacteria fungi and certain animals consume waste/dead organisms making their carbon and nutrients available to primary producers
  • primary producers [plants, algae, photosynthetic bacteria] generate organic molecules by photosynthesis
  • primary consumers or grazers obtain the carbon by eating primary producers
  • secondary and tertiary consumers obtain their carbon by eating primary consumers
  • link ecology and evolutionary diversity
19
Q

Carbon cycling is the link to other cycles

A

– Carbon cycling link to oxygen cycling
– change is an oxygen levels link to evolutionary changes and biological diversity
– evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis by cyanobacteria – key to O2 accumulation in atmosphere
- earths atmosphere contains little or no oxygen gas for the first 2 billion years
-oxygen rose to 1%-10% of modern levels about 2.4 billion years ago
-oxygen levels did not increase to levels that humans could breath until about 580 million years ago coinciding with the first appearance of animals in the fossil record

Biology 1020 (9 decks)

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