ELSS Carbon Glossary Flashcards
Biological weathering
The breakdown of rocks through chemical and physical action of living organisms
Carbon sink
A long term of carbon in ocean sediment, carbonate rocks, forests etc
Carbon source
Inputs of carbon to the atmosphere by respiration, combustion and decomposition
Carbonaceous rocks
Rocks mainly comprising the fossilised remains of plants, e.g. lignite and coal
Carbonate rock
Rocks comprising carbonate minerals e.g. limestone
Chemical weathering
The in situ breakdown of rocks by chemical processes such as oxidation, solution, chelation and hydrolysis
Combustion
Process of burning
Decomposer
An organism often a bacterium or fungus that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter
Diffusion
Process of spreading of particles within liquids and gases
Downwelling
The sinking of sense, salty water in the oceans
Flux
The rate of energy transfer per unit area
Gigaton
1 billion tons
Lithification
The transformation of sediment into rock
Marine snow
The remains or organisms living in the oceans upper layer, which falls to deeper water.
Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
The rate at which plants accumulate energy in the form of organic matter taking into account the energy used in respiration
Photic zone
Shallow layer of water in the ocean that light penetrates, on average to about 50m
Photosynthesis
Process by which green plants convert water and co2 into starch and sugar in the presence of sunlight
Phytoplankton
Tiny photosynthesising marine organisms in the surface waters of the ocean
Primary producer
Green plants (both terrestrial and marine) that converts sunlight , co2 and mineral nutrients into photosynthesis, into organic matter
respiration
The process in living organisms where the intake of oxygen oxidises organic substances to produce energy and release co2
Sequestration
The removal and storage of carbon from the atmosphere in carbon sinks ( such as oceans, forests or soils) through physical or biological processes
Terrestrial
On land
Thermohaline circulation
The global pattern of ocean currents driven primarily by differences in temperature and salinity
Zooplankton
Tiny marine animals living in the surface waters of the ocean
