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Geography - Physical - Paper 1 > Carbon - EQ1 - > Flashcards

Carbon - EQ1 - Flashcards

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1
Q

What is carbon

A
  • a common element on earth
  • it exists in gas, liquid & solid forms
  • in both biotics & abiotic forms
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2
Q

Where can carbon be found

A
  • living material
  • rocks & sediments
  • oceans & rivers
  • atmosphere
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3
Q

In the carbon cycle, the exchange of carbon is between _ main stores

A

4

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4
Q

What are the 4 main stores in the carbon cycle

A
  • biosphere - plants & animals
  • lithosphere - rocks & sediments
  • hydrosphere - oceans
  • atmosphere - the air
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5
Q

Like in the (1), there is (2) amount of carbon on earth

A
  1. hydrological cycle
  2. only a certain
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6
Q

What are the 3 forms of carbon

A
  • inorganic (found in rock)
  • organic (found in plant material)
  • gaseous (CO2, CH4)
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7
Q

Carbon cycle - Fluxes

stores ____ in size

A

vary

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8
Q

What is a carbon flux

A
  • the process of transferring the carbon between these reservoirs
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9
Q

What do fluxes usually involve

A
  • a biogeochemical reaction (photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition & combustion)
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10
Q

What can fluxes be measured in

A

Pg - Petagrams
GT - Gigatons
(both equal 1 billion tonnes)

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11
Q

What are the different timescales of carbon fluxes

A
  • seconds to minutes
  • annual
  • 10-500 years
  • millions of years
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12
Q

Give an example of a carbon flux on a time scale of seconds to minutes

A
  • plants absorb carbon through photosynthesis then transpire this back into the atmosphere
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13
Q

Give an example of a carbon flux on a time scale of annual

A
  • seasonal variations in the biosphere (e.g autumn leaves)
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14
Q

Give an example of a carbon flux on a time scale of 10-500 years

A
  • carbon from dead plant material can be incorporated into soils,
  • where it may stay for years, decades or centuries,
  • before being broken down by soil microbes, & released back into the atmosphere
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15
Q

Give an example of a carbon flux on a time scale of millions of years

A
  • organic matter that becomes buried in deep sediments & protected from decay)
  • was slowly transformed into deposits of coal, oil & natural gas, the fossil fuels we use today
  • when we burn these substances once again to the atmosphere in the form of CO2
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16
Q

What is the scientific view of how old the earth is

A

4.6 billion years old

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17
Q

When did dinosaurs exist

A
  • The Mesozoic period,
  • in the Triassic & Jurassic eras
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18
Q

When did humans first evolve

A
  • 300,000 to 400,000 years ago
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19
Q

What are Cyanobacteria & Stromatolites

A
  • Primitive bacteria, which started photosynthesising, adding oxygen to the atmosphere & absorbing CO2
  • This happened un the Cambrian era & this evolutionary step enabled life as we know it to evolve
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20
Q

Why is the carboniferous so significant

A
  • From 360 mya to about 300 mya, in the middle fo this period, the carboniferous rainforest collapsed, resulting inn the depostion of many coal beds
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21
Q

Where does the word ‘Carboniferous’ come from

A
  • The latin word, ‘carbo’, meaning coal
  • Carboniferous means coal-bearing
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22
Q

The global carbon cycle, one of the major…………. cycles, can be divided into….

A
  • biogeochemical
  • geological & biological compounds
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23
Q

Describe the ‘Geological carbon cycle’

A
  • Slowest reservoir turnover rate - at least 100,000 years
  • The rate carbon enters & leaves is very slow
  • Carbon is stored in rocks/sediment & only leaves through volcanic emissions or through chemical weathering of rocks
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24
Q

Describe the ‘Biological carbon cycle’

A
  • Faster reservoir turnover rate
  • Carbon is not sequestered for long & flows between oceans, atmosphere & vegetation
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25
Q

Define sequestering

A
  • the natural storage of carbon by physical or biological processes, such as photosynthesis
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26
Q

Explain the ‘Geological Carbon Cycle’
1. Volcano

A
  • Terrestrial carbon, held within the mantle, is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide when volcanoes erupt
  • This is known as ‘outgassing’
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27
Q

Explain the ‘Geological Carbon Cycle’
2. rainfall

A
  • CO2 within the atmosphere combines with rainfall
  • to produce a weak acid (carbonic acid aka acid rain)
  • that dissolves carbon-rich rocks, releasing bicarbonates
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28
Q

Explain the ‘Geological Carbon Cycle’
3. Rivers

A
  • Rivers transport weathered carbon & calcium sediments to the ocean, where they are deposited
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29
Q

Explain the ‘Geological Carbon Cycle’
4. organisms

A
  • Carbon in organic matter from plants & from animal shells & skeletons,
  • sinks to the ocean bed when they die,
  • building up strata of coal, chalk & limestone
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30
Q

Explain the ‘Geological Carbon Cycle’
5. tectonics

A
  • Carbon-rich rocks are subducted along plate boundaries & eventually emerge again when volcanoes erupt
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31
Q

Explain the ‘Geological Carbon Cycle’
6. metamorphism

A
  • The presence of intense heating along subduction plate boundaries, metamorphose (or alters) sedimentary rocks by baking, creating metamorphic rocks
  • CO2 is released by the metamorphism of rocks rich in carbonates during this process
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32
Q

In the carbo cycle there is a natural…

A

balance between carbon production & absorption within the cycle

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33
Q

In the carbo cycle there can be occassional ……….. e.g…

A
  • disruptions
  • major volcanic eruptions emit large quantities of carbon into the atmosphere
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34
Q

What is the impact of volacnic eruptions in the atmosphere

A
  • extra CO2 sent into the atmosphere
  • which leads to rising temperatures, increased evaporation & higher levels of atmospheric moisture
  • this increases aci rain & therefore chemical weathering which slowly rebalances the cycle
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35
Q

Most of the earth’s carbon is ………….

A

geological

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36
Q

Most of the earth’s carbon is geological, & results from:

A
  • the formation of sedimentary carbonate rocks in the ocean
  • carbon derived from plants & animlas in shale, coal & other rocks
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37
Q

In the oceans today, ….% of carbon-containing rock is from….

A
  • 80%
  • shell-building (calcifying) organisims e.g corals & plankton
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38
Q

How does the fromation of sedimentary rock form th earth’s carbon
-limestone

A
  • After organisms die, they sink to the sea floor
  • Overtime layers of shells sediment are cemented together & lithified (turned to rock), storing the carbon in stone - limestone & its derivatives
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39
Q

Define calcifying

A
  • to make someting hard, especially by the addition of substances containing calcium
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40
Q

How is shale a geological store of carbon

A
  • The remaining 20% of rocks contain organic carbon from organisms that have been embedded into layers of mud
  • Over millenia, heat & pressure compresses the mud & carbon, forming sedimentary rock like shale
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41
Q

How is coal a geological store of carbon

A
  • fossil fuels were made up to 300 million years ago from the remains of organic material
  • organisms once dead, sank to the bottom of rivers & seas, & were covered in silt & sand & then started to decay anaerobically
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42
Q

How is coal a geological store of carbon
-Anaerobic decay operates over ……..

A
  • millenia
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43
Q

How is coal a geological store of carbon
-what are the products of anaerobic decay

A

methane and carbon dioxide

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44
Q

How is coal a geological store of carbon
-the deeper the deposit, the more…

A

heat & pressure is exterted on the deposits

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45
Q

Define soil respiration

A
  • a measure of carbon dioxide (CO2) released from the soil from decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) by soil microbes
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46
Q

Define respiration

A
  • a process in living organisms involving the production of energy, typically with the intake of oxygen & release of CO2
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47
Q

Define photosynthesis

A
  • the process by which green plants & some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize nutrients from carbon dioxide & water
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48
Q

Define diffusion

A
  • the process by which CO2 interacts with the ocean, either being released or absorbed
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49
Q

Define sinking

A
  • descend from a higher to a lower position; drop downwards
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50
Q

Define decomposition

A
  • process by which dead organic susbtances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide
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51
Q

Define rock cycle

A
  • the basic concept in geology that describes transitions through geological time among the three main rock type: sedimentary, igneous & metamorphic
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52
Q

Molecules of CO2 enter the ocean by…

A
  • dissolving into the ssea surface waters via diffusion
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53
Q

The amount of CO2 that diffuses & dissolves in the sea surface water depends on…

A

variables such as wind, sea surface mixing, concentration of CO2 & the temperature of the water

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54
Q

Once dissolved in surface seawate, how can CO2 enter into the ocean carbon cycle

A
  • Through 3 different mechanisms:
  • the physical carbon pump
  • the biological carbon pump
  • the carbonate pump
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55
Q

Thermohaline Circulation

What is a conveyor

A
  • warm currents tends to be at the surface & cold currents tend to be deep in ocean currents travelling back along the bottom of the ocean
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56
Q

Thermohaline Circulation

Why is an oceanic converyor important

A
  • it balances the climate, responsible for moving carbon & also heat
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57
Q

Themohaline circulation only happens because of…

A
  • brine rejection –> if we turn this off, all ocean currents will cease to exist
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58
Q

What is brine

A
  • really salty water
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59
Q

Where does brine rejection take place

A
  • really cold parts of the world, around Greenalnd, near the Artic Ocean
60
Q

Summarise what takes place in brine rejection

A
  • It is the process that occurs when salty water freezes,
  • the salts do not fit in the crystal structure of water ice,
  • so the salt stays in the water beneath the ice
61
Q

The Physical Carbon Pump Process

  1. Where does Brine Rejection occur
A
  • It occurs when warm water in oceanic surface currents are carried from the equator to the poles (high latitudes) where it cools
62
Q

The Physical Carbon Pump Process

  1. Explain the process of brine rejection
A
  • Brine rejection makes the water vert salty,
  • the salt makes the water dense enough to sink in some places all the way to the deep ocean floor,
  • where it can remain for hundreds of years
63
Q

The Physical Carbon Pump Process

  1. What happens once the seawater is cool
A
  • When seawater is cool it takes up more CO2,
  • so when cold water upwells to the surface & warms up again,
  • it loses CO2 to the atmosphere (carbon flux)
64
Q

The Physical Carbon Pump Process

  1. Thermohaline circulation
A
  • the thermohaline circulation ensures CO2 is constantly ebing exchanged betwee the ocean & the atmosphere, acting as an enornmous carbon pump
65
Q

Explain the issues of the Physical Carbon Pump

Coral bleeching

A
  • especially along the equator, more carbon in the atmosphere, which goes into the coral, & too much bleaches it
66
Q

Explain the issues of the Physical Carbon Pump

ice sheets

A
  • ice sheets melting
  • brings more freshwater into the ocean
  • so thsi freshwater dilutes the salty water
67
Q

Explain the issues of the Physical Carbon Pump

Gulf Stream affected

A
  • During 2004, the North Easterly Atlantic current, the Gulf Stream, appeared to stall for 10 days,
  • evidence shows that the speed of oceanic circulation between the Gulf of Mexico & Europe had slowed by 30% since 2000
68
Q

What drives the Biological carbon pump

A

organisms, in particular, phytoplankton

69
Q

The biological carbon pump involves….

A
  • marine organisms, photosynthesising, respiring, consuming, producing waste, dying & decomposing
70
Q

What are phytoplankton

A
  • microscopic, single-celled organisms that drift in the sun-lit surfaces of the world’s oceans
71
Q

What is generated through photsynthesis by phytoplankton

A

Phytoplankton, use sunlight to turn carbon into organic matter

72
Q

The carbon generated by phtoplankton in photosynthesis then enters…

A

the marine food web

73
Q

Living organisms move carbon from the atmosphere to…

A

the shallower ocean, then the deep ocean when they die & sink down as marine snow

74
Q

Define marine snow

A

a shower of organic material falling from the upper waters, to the deep ocean (twilight zone)

75
Q

The biological pump doesn’t move as much carbon as its very….

A

seasonal

76
Q

In certain areas of the palnet, you aren’t going to get much……..occurring in these areas, where its really…

A
  • photosynthesis
  • dark, in the cold ocean
77
Q

In winter months, more carbon being….

A

absorbed & more death occurring

78
Q

The carbonate pump

What can be found in the ocean which is important to the ocean carbon cycle

A
  • the ocean naturally contains many dissolved chemicals which are especially important to the ocean carbon cycle, & the sheel building organisms that live in the oceans
79
Q

Give examples of species that use calcium carbonate to build their shells

A

coral, oysters, lobsters & some species of plankton

80
Q

Some marine organisms use …….. to make shells

A

Calcium Carbonate, CaCO3

81
Q

What are the calcium carboante ions in the water a result of

A

Chemical reactions that take place when C02 dissolves in the water

82
Q

When these organisms die, they sink…… , so the carbon….

A

to the ocean floor
enters the deep ocean

83
Q

Eventually, tectonic processes of ………..&…….. transform these sediments into……

A

high heat & pressure
limestone

84
Q

Why can carbon fluxes vary

A
  • Biological carbon can be stored in soils in the form of dead organic matter, or returned back to the atmosphere as a form of decomposition
  • depending on the nature of the soil, this process can be relatively quick (e.g a few years), or as in tundra soils, very slow
85
Q

What can trigger rapid releases of carbon stores

A

deforestation & land use change

86
Q

Mangroves as a carbon sink

Where can mangroves be found

A

along tropical & sub-tropical tidal coasts in Africa, Australia, Asia & the Americas

87
Q

Give a statistic that shows that magroves can be a carbon sink

A

They are vital processors, sequestering almost 1.5 metric tonnes of carbon per hectare, every year, as CO2 is taken in during photosynthesis

88
Q

What can be found in mangrove soils

A
  • thick organic layers of litter, humus & peat, which contain high levels of carbon - over 10%
89
Q

Undisturbed mangroves grow………& absorb……..

A
  • quickly
  • large amounts of carbon
90
Q

Mangroves can be carbon sources

Mangroves soils are…..

A

anaerobic

91
Q

How are mangrove stores anaerobic

A
  • soils are submerged below high tides twice a day
92
Q

How can mangroves be carbon stores

A
  • Bacteria & microbes cannot survive without oxyden, so the decomposition of plant matter is slow, as a result, little of the carbon store can be repired back to the atmsophere & the store remains in tact
93
Q

What enhances the long jevity of mangrove carbon stores

A
  • Any plant matter trapped by tree roots tend to stay as it decomposes slowly, & may remain stored for thousands of years
94
Q

However, if mangroves are drained or cleared,….

A

carbon can be released back to the atmosphere

95
Q

Give a statistsic which describes how mangroves can be carbon sources

A
  • If just 2% of the worlds mangroves are lost, the amount of carbon released will be 50 times the natural sequesteration rate
96
Q

Why are mangroves being cleared throughout the tropical world

A
  • tourism, shrimp farms & agriculture
97
Q

How can tundra soils be carbon stores

A
  • much of the soil in the tundra region is permanently frozen & contains ancient carbon
  • microbe activity is only active in the surface layer of the soil when it thaws
  • the rest of the time the roots, & dead & decayed organic matter are frozen locking any carbon into an icy store
98
Q

Tundra soils contain carbon that has been trapped for…

A

hundreds of thousands of years

99
Q

Tropical forests are huge carbon sinks, but are …….&…………………..

A

fragile & can disappear

100
Q

Where is carbon within rainforests mainly stored

A
  • trees, plant litter & dead matter
101
Q

Describe the soil composition in rainforests

A

Relatively thin & lacking in nutrients, because litter layers that cover them, though very deep, decompose rapidly & the nutrients released are rapidly consumed by vegetation

102
Q

Why does a carbon store in the soil not develop in the rainforest

A
  • As the litter & dead wood decay, they are recycled very quickly
  • Even carbon given off by decomposers is rapidly recycled
103
Q

Give a statistic to evidence that rainforests are major carbon sinks

A
  • Tropical rainforess absorb more atmsopeheric CO2, than any other terrestrial biome,
  • accounting for 30% of global net primary production,
  • although they cover just 17% of the earth’s surface
104
Q

Define positive feedback

A

when a change leads to a strengthening of a system

105
Q

Give 2 examples of positive feedback

A
  • dying forests & warming oceans emit CO^2 which in turn warms the planet further
106
Q

Define negative feedback

A
  • when a change leads to the diminishing of a system
107
Q

Give an example of negative feedback

A
  • warmer temperatures result in increased vegetation growth which reduces atmospheric carbon
108
Q

What is the goldilocks zone

A
  • the earth is described as being in the Goldilocks zone in the solar system
  • because Earth’s temperature is just right,
  • the heat from the sun has warmed the planet to a point that can support life
109
Q

What is the natural greenhouse effect responsible for

A
  • For keeping our planet at a suitable temperature; the earth’s average temperature is 15 degrees
  • Without the GHE, it would be -6 degrees
110
Q

Explain the Natural Greenhouse Effect

  • Sun enters earths atmopshere
A
  • As the sun’s energy enters the atmosphere, clouds reflect some of it back
  • only about 1/2 of it reaches the earth’s surface & lower atmosphere
111
Q

Explain the Natural Greenhouse Effect

  1. Lower atmosphere
A
  • this energy is able to pass through the denser gases of the lower atmosphere because of it short wavelength
112
Q

Explain the Natural Greenhouse Effect

  1. heat energy
A
  • Infrared is then emitted back towards space from the earth’s surface, but at a longer wavelength
  • which means that it has difficulty travelling through the denser gases such as CO^2 & methane
  • so the atmosphere absorbs the heat
113
Q

Explain the Natural Greenhouse Effect

  1. warming
A
  • this warms the lower atmosphere, the land & the sea
114
Q

The natural greenhouse effect is felt the most at the….. & least at the…..

A
  • poles
  • equator
115
Q

What is radiative forcing

A
  • the difference between isolation (sunlight), absorbed by the earth & energy radiated back to space
116
Q

What is the current rate of the enhanced greenhouse effect

A
  • it usually takes the planet around 5,000 years to warm up again after an ice age (by 4-7 degrees)
  • the present warming rate is estimatedly 8 X faster
117
Q

Nmae 3 global controls of climate

A
  • latitude
  • ocean currents
  • atmospheric circulation
118
Q

Name 2 local controls of climate

A
  • albedo
  • altitude
119
Q

Describe the air in low pressure systems

A
  • warm air rising
  • which cools & condenses to form clouds & rain
120
Q

Describe the air in high pressure systems

A
  • cool dense air sinks
  • dry clear weather
121
Q

Almost all life on earth depends on….

A

photosynthesis

122
Q

Why does almost all life on earth depend on photosynthesis

A
  • Producers, who make their own energy by photosynthesis, form the base of the foodchain
123
Q

Oceanic & Terrestrial Photosynthesis

How are carbohydrates formed

A
  • In the cells of autotrophs (producers) by combining CO^2, water & light energy from the sun
124
Q

Oceanic & Terrestrial Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis & respiration both cycle….

A

CO^2 & O^2 between the oceans, atmosphere & the biological world

125
Q

Terrestrial Photosynthesis

CO^2 is stored in ………… that is buried in the ……

A
  • organic matter
  • soil
126
Q

How does carbon move through terrestrial ecosystems

  1. producers
A
  • Primary producers - plants take carbon out of the atmospheer through photosynthesis & release CO^2 back into the atmosphere trhough respiration
127
Q

How does carbon move through terrestrial ecosystems

  1. consumers
A
  • When consumer animals eat plants, carbon from the plant beomes part of its fats & proteins
128
Q

How does carbon move through terrestrial ecosystems

  1. organisms die
A
  • After plant & animal death, tissues such as leaves decay further than more resistant structures such as wood
129
Q

How does carbon move through terrestrial ecosystems

  1. waste
A
  • Micro organisms & detritus feeders (such as beetles) feed on waste material from animals & this becomes part of these as micro-organisms
130
Q

How does carbon move through terrestrial ecosystems

  1. decomposition
A
  • decomposition is fastest in tropical climates with high rainfall, temperatures & oxygen levels
131
Q

Why is carbon vital in soils

A
  • organic matter is the medium by which carbon passes through the system
  • & it also supports micro-organisms that
  • maintain the nutrient cycle, breakdown organic matter & enhance plant growth
132
Q

List some characteristics of healthy soils

A
  • retain moisture
  • contain more carbon or organic matter
  • improve resilience to wetter weather
  • contain many worms & other organisms
  • sequester carbon
133
Q

What has been the single greatest change to the balance of the carbon cycle

A
  • burning of fossil fuels
134
Q

The IPCC estimates that current rates of warming are …. times faster than the naturally changes previously experienced by the planet

A

8

135
Q

What are the possible implications of a 2degree global rise in temp

Hydrological Cycle - precipitation

A
  • rivers will dry up in areas of reduced precipitation,
  • & contrastingly, heavy precipitation events may occur more often too
136
Q

What are the possible implications of a 2degree global rise in temp

Hydrological Cycle - shifts in air pressure

A
  • a shift of sub-tropical high pressure areas northwards will cause a 20-30% decrease in water availability in Mediterranean climate zones
137
Q

What are the possible implications of a 2degree global rise in temp

Hydrological Cycle - glaciers

A
  • small glaciers will dissappear, decreasing river discharges once they have gone e.g the Himalayas
138
Q

What are the possible implications of a 2degree global rise in temp

Hydrological Cycle - humidity

A
  • humidity levels in the atmosphere will increase, consistent with what warmer can hold
139
Q

What are the possible implications of a 2degree global rise in temp

Ecosystems - extinction

A
  • habitat land changes wil mean 10% of land species with limited adaptability will face extinction as the climate gets warmer & either wetter or drier
  • rates of extinction could rise to 15-40% of all regions
140
Q

What are the possible implications of a 2degree global rise in temp

Ecosystems - habitats

A
  • biodiversity will be affected as habitats shift poleward or into deeper ocean waters or higher altiitudes
  • e.g tunda biome will be affected by thawing permafrost
141
Q

What are the possible implications of a 2degree global rise in temp

Ecosystems - consequences of shifting climate zones

A
  • the shift northward of climate zones is at a rate of 6.1 km per decade
  • marine diversity may be lost as fish move away from warming sea temperatures
142
Q

What are the possible implications of a 2degree global rise in temp

Ecosystems - coral

A
  • about 80% of coral reefs could be bleached
  • acidification of seawater (carbonic acid) will threaten corals & the shells of marine creatures will get smaller & thinner
143
Q

What are the possible implications of a 2degree global rise in temp

Ecosystems - plants

A
  • plant changes will lag behind animal changes, as they cannot move, & they will face pests & diseases wheer there is less cold weather to kill them
144
Q

What are the possible implications of a 2degree global rise in temp

Climate - Artic temperatures

A
  • the Artic’s average temperature has already increased at twice the global average over the last 200 years
  • -snow & ice will contract with the abolition of glaciers
145
Q

What are the possible implications of a 2degree global rise in temp

Climate - drought

A
  • drought will become more common in the tropics & subtropics, but some uncertainties will remain e.g El Nino
146
Q

What are the possible implications of a 2degree global rise in temp

Climate

A
  • precipitation patterns will change:
  • will increase in higher latitudes & decrease in lower latitudes
147
Q

What are the possible implications of a 2degree global rise in temp

Climate - storm activity

A
  • temperature & tropical ones may experience stronger storm activity as a result of more heavy heat energy & moisture in the atmosphere
  • inc more intense tropical cyclones & stronger mid-latitiude westerly winds

Geography - Physical - Paper 1 (13 decks)

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