ELSS Mock Flashcards
how do oceans moderate temps ?
oceans moderate temps by absorbing, stroing and slowly releasing heat
why are clouds impottant ?
reflect incoming solar radiation and lower surface temps
why is water vapour important ?
absorb long wave radiation rom the earth and maintain global temps 15 degrees higher than they usually would be.
what are the uses of water on earth ?
makes up 65-95% of living organisms and is vital for their growth , reproduction and metabolic functions
water is used in all chemical reactions in human and animals
why do plants needs water ?
for photosynthesis, repsiration and transpiration
what are the jhuman uses of carbon ?
economic resource , used in fossil fuels which power global economies
agriculture, crops and forest trees store lots of carbon
why is life carbon based ?
built on large molecules such as proteins , carbs and nucleic acid
why is earth the only planet which can support life ?
temps dont go from one extreme to another
all plants recieve light 4 photosynthesis
water isnt acidic
sun
what is the composition of the atmosphere ?
21% oxygen
0.04% of CO2
how is the atmosphere kept on earth ?
by gravity
what is the goldilocks zone ?
just the right distance from the sun to allow the presence of liquid water on Earth
where is 99.9% of all carbon on earth stored ?
long term storage in sedimentary rocks
what does carbon move through ?
atmosphere, oceans, soil and biosphere
what are systems ?
groups of objects and the relationship that bind the objects together
how much global water is stored in oceans ?
97%
how much global water is stored in ice sheets ?
2%
how much global water is stored in groundwater ?
0.7%
how much global water is stored in lakes ?
0.01%
how much global water is stored in soils ?
0.005%
how much global water is stored in atmosphere ?
0.001%
how much global water is stored in rivers ?
0.0001%
how much global water is stored in biosphere ?
0.00004%
how much global carbon is stored in (billion tonnes) sedimentary rock ?
60,000-100,000,000
how much global carbon is stored in (billion tonnes) ocean deep layer ?
38,000
how much global carbon is stored in (billion tonnes) fossil fuels ?
4130
how much global carbon is stored in (billion tonnes) soil ?
2300
how much global carbon is stored in (billion tonnes) ocean surface
700
how much global carbon is stored in (billion tonnes) atmosphere ?
600
how much global carbon is stored in (billion tonnes) land plants
560
how much global water circulates between the stores ?
505,000km cubed
what is evapotarnspiration ?
H20 evaporates from surface water and land and transpires through leaves
what is condensation and precipitation ?
vapour becomes liquid and is transferred to land as precipitation
what is ablation and sublimation ?
whe snow, ice melts
what is run off and filtration ?
precipitation ends up as run off after infiltration in soil
what is percolation ?
transfer of H20 to ground water stores (aquifers) , returned to earth surface as springs
how is precipitation connected to carbon cycle ?
atmospheric co2 dissolves in rainwater to form a weak carbonic acid , when precip happens CO2 flows back to lands and oceans
imcreased burning of fossil fuels increases acidity of rain and ocean water
how is photosynthesis linked to carbon cycle ?
plants and phytoplankton convert co2 and water to glucose and oxygen
how is decompostion connected to the carbon cycle ?
carbon released as co2 when organsisms die by microoorgansism carrying out respiration whhich also put mineral ions in soil
how does combustion link to the carbon cycel ?
organic material burns, co2 locked up in the material is released with other gases like co2
what are the inputs and outputs of the carbon cycle ?
precipitation, photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, combustion
what is percolation ?
downward movement of water through soil and rock ue to gravity
what is the slow carbon cycle ?
carbon stored in rocks, sea floor sediment and fossil fuels
what is the residence time of sedimentary rocks ?
150 million years
what happens in chemical weathering (slow cycle) ?
carbonation (results of precipitation cherged with co2 from atmosphere , which forms weak acid).
acid attacks carbonate minerals in rock, releasing co2
how does partly decomposed organic matter link to the carbon cycle ?
buried beneath younger sediments to form carbonaceous rocks such as coal and oil.
these fossil fuels act as carbon sinks
how much carbon is circulated thru the slow carbon cycle a year ?
10-100 million tonnes
what is the slow carbon cycle in the sea ?
co2 diffuses into oceans where marine organisms make their shells by fixing dissolved C together with calcium to form calcium carbonate
on death, remains sink to ocean floor
accumulate over millions of years , heat and pressure convert to sedimentary rocks
what is the fast carbon cycle ?
between atmosphere, oceans , living organisms and soils
how faster is the fast carbon cycle than the slow one ?
10-100 times faster
what part does phytoplankton play in the fast carbon cycle ?
thru photosynthesis they absorb co2 from atmos and combine it with h20 to make carbs
what part does decomposition play in decomposition ?
dead organic matter by microbial activity returns co2 to atmos
how are the atmos and oceans interlinked ?
atmospheric co2 dissolves in ocean surface while oceans ventilate co2 back to atmos
through this idividual c atoms can be stored by natural sequestrion in oceans for about 300 years
what is the water balance equation ?
precip= evapotranspiration +streamflow +- storagr
how can precip vary ?
high latitudes +mountanous catchments - precip often falls as snow - therfore large time lag between snowfall and run off
what is transpiration ?
diffusion of water vapour to the atmosphere from leaf pores (stomata) of plants. influenced by temp and wind speed q
what do cumuliform cloud look like ?
flat bases
what is dew point ?
when condensation will occur
how do cumuliform clouds form ?
when air is heated locally through contact with earths surface
- causes heat particles ro rise freely thru atmos , expand and cool
as cooling reaches dew point , condensation = clouds
when do stratiform clouds form ?
when air mass moves horizontally across a cooler surface (ocean )
where do cirrus clouds form ?
high altitudes
what are the key features of cirrus clouds ?
consist of tiny ice crystals
wispy
dont produce precip , so little influence on water cycle
what does condensation near the ground produce ?
dew and fog
what are clouds ?
visible aggregates of H20 and ice that float free in air
when do clouds form >
when water vapour is cooled at dew point
when does cooling occur ?
air warmed by contact with ground rises thru atmos. As air rises and pressure falls it cools by expansion
vertical movement of air is known as convection
when does cooling also occur /
- air masses move horizontal across cooler surface (advection)
- air masses rise as they cross mountain barrier
- relatively warm air masses mixes with a cooler one
what are lapse rates ?
describe vertical distribution of temp in lower atmos and temp changes that occurs within air parcel as it rises vertically away from ground
what is elr ?
environmental lapse rate
what is dalr ?
dry adiabatic lapse rate
what is salr ?
saturated adiabatic lapse rate
explain the elr ?
Rate at which temperate falls with increasing Altitude
Every 1km gained temp falls by 6.5 degrees
epxplain the dalr ?
The rate at which the temperature of a parcel of dry air decreases as the parcel is lifted in the atmosphere is approx 10 degrees / km
explain the salr ?
rate at which saturated parcel of air cools as it rises thru atmos
bcos condensation releases latent heat , the SALR, at around 7 degrees/km is lower than DALR
what is dry air ?
less than 100% humidity so condensation is not taking place
what is saturTED AIR ?
one in which condensation is occuring
explain the formation of clouds by convection ?
1) ground heated by sun heats air
2)air warmer that surroundings so less dense + bouyant
3) atmospheric instability - results in air rising freely in a convection current
4) when internal temp reaches DP , condensation occurs and cloud starts to form
5) air continues to rise as long as its higher remp than surroundings
what are the ways in which interception loss is affected by ?
interception storage capacity
wind speed
veg type
tree species
What does interception depend on
interception depends on duration and intensity of a rainfall event
what is wind speed, to do with interception loss ?
rate of evaporation increase with this
what is veg type , to do with interception loss ?
interception loss interception losses greater than grasses than agricultural crops
what is trees, to do with interception losss ?
larger surface area and aerodynamic roughness
what is tree species , to do with interception loss ?
loses greater from evergreen conifers than broadleavened, decidious trees
what does water emerge at the surface as ?
springs and seepages
how is carbon exchanged through precipitation ?
atmospheric co2 dissolves in rain to form weak carbonic acid
rising conc of co2 in atmos have increased acidity fo rainfall - harmful 4 marine life
how is carbon excganged thru photosynthesis ?
using suns energy , co2 from atmos , green plants and phytoplankton convert light energy to chemical energy (glucose)
how is carbon exchanged thru weathering ?
involves rain whihc onctains dissolved co2
rain is weak carbonic acid which dissolves in limestone and chalk in process called carbonation
release from limestone to streams, rivers, oceans and atmos
how much carbon does chemical weathering transfer ?
0.3 billion tonnes of carbon to the atmos and oceans every year
how is carbon exchanged thru respiration ?
glucose converte to co2 and h2o.
volume of carbon exchanged by respiration + photosynthesis each year is 1000 times greater than that moving thru slow carbon cycle
how is carbon exchanged thru decomposition ?
bacteria and fungi breakdown dead organic matter , extracting energy and releasing co2 to atmos and mineral nutrients to soil
when is decomposition fastest ?
warm, humid environments
how is carbon exchanged thru combustion ?
organic material burns in the presence of O
releases co2 too and sulphur dioxide
also results from deliberat firing of forest to clear land for farming
how much co2 a year goes from geological store to the oceans, atmos +biosphere ?
10 billion tonnes
what is carbon sequestrian ?
process in which the oceans take up carbon by two mechanisms
what is the physical inorganic pump ?
mixing of surface and deep ocean waters by vertical currents, creating a more even distribution of C in the oceans
co2 enters oceans from atmos by diffusion
surface ocean currents the transport the H2o and its dissolved cos2 polewards here it cools, becomesdense and sinks
where does downwelling occur ?
N atlantic between greenland and iceland
what is downwelling ?
carries dissolved C to ocean depths where individual C molecules may remain 4 centuries
eventually deep ocean currents transport C to areas of upwelling
how many tonnes of C is drawn from atmos by biological pump every year
50 billion tonnes
what is the biological pump driven by ?
marine organisms
what os the process of biological pump ?
phytoplankton combines sunlight , water and dissolved co2 to produce organic material
C locked in phytoplankton accumulates in sediments on the ocean floor or it decomposes adnd is released to ocean as co2
how large is the amazon rainforest
6,000,000 km squared
what is the pop of the amazon rainforest
30 million people
what percent of the amazon is in Brazil ?
70%
what other countries is the amazon in ?
peru
ecuador
colombia
what type of trees are in the amazon rainforest ?
tall, evergreen , hardwood trees
what is the avg temp in manaus ?
26.5 degrees
what is the max and min temp in manaus ?
31
23
when is precip lowest and what month
trf
august
60mm
when is precip highest and what mm ?
march
312mm
what are the main flows in hte amazon water cycle ?
precip
evapotrans
run off
what are the main stores in the amazon water cycle ?
groundwater
vegetation
amazon basin
rivers
atmos
what do the high temps of the amazon rainforest help with ?
allow atmos to store large amount of moisture
relative humidity is also high
what stimulates the primary productio of carbon ? trf
high temps, high rainfall and intense sunlight
what is the NPP od the amazon rainforest ?
2500 g/m squared /year
what percentge dpes th amazon account for all NPP in terrestrial ecosystems ?
15-25 %
what heps the rapid decompositon of organic litter by bacteria / fungi ?
high temps and humid conditions
what is the geology like in the amazon rainforest /
impermeable catchments
permeable and porous - limestone and sandstone
why are limestone and sandstone good in amazon ?
store rain and slow run off
what are the effects of impermeable catchments in the rainforest amazon ?
minimal storage capacity reulting in rapid run off
what is the relief like in the amazon ?
most comprises extensive lowlands
west andes - steep catchments = rapid run off
how does high temps all year impact the amazon ?
generate high rate of evapotranspiration
how does convection impact the amazon ?
convection = strong = high atmospheric humidity = developemtn of thunderstorm clouds
what happens if there is less trees in the amazon ? Not interception
less evapotranspiration = less precip
what happens if run off speeds increased ?
flood risk increased
what are the impacts of deforestation ?
reduced water storage in forest trrees , soils (eroded), permeable rocks (more rapid run off).
how much carbon is locked up in trees amazon ?
100 billion tonnes
how much tonnes of carbon is absorbed and released by trees a year ?
absorb 2.4 billion
release 1.7 billion
what minerals are in the trf /
calcium
potassium
magnesium
how does deforestatio reduce nutrients in the amazon ?
destroys main nutrient stroe (tree)
washed out soil by rainwater
no canopy layer = heavy rain 2 leach remaining nutriensts in soil
soil nutrient fertility level to become even lower
why are rainforests impotant to protect ?
national + international important role regarding climate change
indiginous people - maintain their habitat and livelihoods
what is the impact of deforestation on evapotranspiration ?
no evapotranspiration - little precip - no ground surface cover
then conditions are unfavourable for decomposers and plants to grow for the carbon cycle
by 2030, how much of the rainforest are they committed o restoring ?
120,000km squared
how much does amazon regional protected areas protect ?
cover an area 20 times the size of Belgium
what is the parica project /
helps to develop 1000km squared commecrial timber plantation on government - owned , tropical hardwood seedlings , to mature over a period of 25 years
who are the surui people ?
plant seedlings bread in local nurseries in deforested areas around their villages - UN’s reducing emissions from deforestation + degradation scheme provides payment to the tribe
what are the positives of reforestation ?
habitats for animals return
H2o and carbon cycle return
increase in biodiversity
food source for indiginous surui people return
what is diversification ?
soil fertility can be maintained by rotational cropping and combining livestock and arable operations
what rae human engineered soils ?
creating ‘dark soils’ made from inputs of charcoal , waste and human manure - attracts microorganisms and fungi - allow soils to retain fertility long term
how much deforestation happened in amazon fom 1970 to 2013 ?
averaged 17,500 km squared / year
What happened in the Port Vehlo flood ?
river reached levels of 19.68 m above normal
60 people died, 68,000 farms evacuated
hpw much bolivian rainforest was cleared between 2000 and 2012 ?
30,000 km squared for sustaiable farming and cattle ranching
in an undisturbed forest how much carbon is absorbed fro trees ?
30.4 tonnes/ha/yr
in ten years after deforestation how much carbon is absorbed by trees ?
12.3 tonnes/ha/yr
how large is the artic tundra ?
8 million km squared
in canada, alaska and siberia
when is the avg temp below freezing artic tundra ?
8 or 9 months a year
how frozen is the ground ?
ground permanently frozen with only op layer thawing during summe
what is the biodiversity of the artic tundra ?
low
apart from few dwarf species
the ecosystem is treeless
what are conditions like in the southern areas of artic tundra ?
conditions less severed , vegetation - continuous ground cover
what is the highest temp in Iqualit ?
16 degrees
what is the lowest temp in Iqualit ?
-27 degrees
when is the highest precip in Iqualit ?
july and august
how much annual precip is in tundra ?
50-350 mm
mostly snow
why is there limited transpiration in the tundra ?
sparseness of veg cover and short growing season
why is there low evaporation in tundra ?
suns energy melts snow to gorund temps remain low + inhibit convection
why is there limited groundwater and soil moisture stores in the tundra
permafrost - barrier to infiltration , percolation, recharge and groundwater flow
how much carbon does the permafrost hold globally ?
1600 billion tonnes
how does the permafrost hold so much carbon ?
accumulation due 2 low temps which slow decomposition of dead plant material
what is the NPP of the tundra ?
less than 200 g/m squared/ year
what is the tundra biomass ?
small - between 4-29 tonnes / ha depeding on density of veg cover
what happens in summer in the tundra ?
activity of microorganisms ibcreases - releasing co2 to atmos than respiration
what happens in winter in the tundra ?
process of unfrozen soil + h2o in permafrost act as a source of co2 + CH4
why is snow cover important to the tundra ?
insulate microbial organisms and allow some decomposition to happen despite the low temps
what are the physical factors that affect the tundra ?
temp
relief
rock permeabolity
how does relief impact the tundra ?
minimal relief and chaotic glacial deposit impede drainage and contribute to water logging during summer months
how does rock permeability impact the tundra ?
permeability is permafrost and the crystalline rocks which dominate the geology of the tundra in artic and sub arctic canada
when was oil and gas discovered in prudhoe bay ?
1968
what are the challenges for the oil and gas industry at prudhoe bay ?
harsh climate
low temps
long periods of darkness
poor accessibility
why did production still go ahead there ?
driven by the US gov policy to reduce oil imports
what happened in the 1970s-1980s (prudhoe)?
large facilties
pipes
power lines
roads BUILT
what happened in the 1990s (north slope alaska)?
north slope accounted for nealry 1/4 of US domestic oil production
how much us domestic oil production does the north slope account for ?
6%
why has there been a decline in recent years at prudhoe bay ?
high production costs in north slope + massive growth of oil shale industry inSA
in 1985 how many barrels of oil did north slope produce every day compared to USA ?
1,779,000
out of 8,971,000
in 2014 how many barrels of oil did north slope produce every day compared to USA ?
479,000 out of 8,653,000
what has distrupted the permafrost in tundra ?
constric5ion and operation of oil and gas installations
settlements and infrastructure diffuses heat into environment
dust deposition along roadside creating darkened snow surfaces - increases absorbance of sunlight
removal of vegetation cover which insulates pfrost
what does pfrost melting release ?
co2 and methane
how much co2 has been lost from the permafrost ?
vary from 7.40 million/tonnes/yr
how does melting of permafrost affect the water cycle ?
increased run off and river discharge making flooding more likely
in summer - wetlands, ponds and lakes have become more extensive , increasing evaporation
how does melting of pfrost impact the carbon cycle in tundra ?
thawing of soil - increased microbial activity , decompand emissions of co2
what is the management stratey of insulated gravel and ice pads ?
prevents heat from above ground going into ground below
prevents pfrost melting
what is the management of buildings and pipelines elevated on piles ?
allows cold air to circulate beneath heat generating infrastructure that could melt the permafrost , thus insulating it
stops heat from building melting the pfrost layer
what are the positives of drilling laterally beyond drillinbg platforms ?
allow for oil and gas to be accessed km from the drilling site
they now go horizontally underneath the ground to find the oil , only one drilling site is now used
why should you drill laterally beyond drilling platforms ?
fewer drilling sites needed so less veg is distrupted and pfrost is protected
impacts above ground is minimised
why would you use refigerated supports ?
used on trans alaskan pipeline to stabilise temp of permafrost
doesnt warm the pfrost so it doesnt melt
what are the positives of using powerful computers to detect oil and gas bearing geological structures remotely ?
fewer explration wells needed so environment is less distrupted
computers can now find sources of oil and gas easier
fewer infrastructure needed - fewer wells - less of an impact
what are some ways in which the carbon cycle is being managed ?
wetland restoration
afforestation
agricultural practices
cap and trade
international agreements
what are some wetland restoring methods?
reconnecting an area of land to a river
to remove the drains and allow those areas to flood and be saturated again
how does urbanisation impact the carbon cycle ?
removal of vegetation and ots replacement with urban surfaces results in reduced amounts of organic carbon
developemt of factories - carbon emissions
how does urbanisation impact the water cycle ?
drainage systems designed to remove surface water rapidly - increases run off
development on floodplains - reduced water storage capacity in drainage basins , increasing river flow and flood risks
how does farming impact the water cycle ?
crop irrigation diverts surface water from rivers to cultivated land
interception of rainfall is less than in forest ecosystem s
less evaporation and transpiration from leaf surfaces
ploughing inreases evaporation and soil moisture loss
how does farming impact the carbon cycle ?
soil carbon storage reduced by ploughing and exposure of soil organic matter by oxidation
what are some changes to the water cycle due to forest management in plantations ?
higher rates of rainfall interception
why do conifers have high rates of interception ?
needlie lie structure leaf
evergreen habit
high desnity of planting
why is there increased evaporation due to forest managament in plantations ?
large proportion if intercepted rainfall is stored on leaf surfaces and is evaporated directly into atmos
how does forestry increase carbon stores ?
forest rees extract co2 from atmos and sequester it for hundreds of years
in a typical plantation in the UK how much carbon do mature forest trees contain ?
170-200 tonnes C/ha
(10 times higher than grassland)
how much carbon is in uk forest soil ?
500 tonnes C/ha
where is most of the carbon stored in a tree ?
wood of the tree stem
where is River Kennet and what case study is it for ?
southern england
water extraction
how much water does river kennet drain ?
area of around 1200 km squared in Wiltshire and Berkshire
what does River Kennet supply water for ?
swindon - with pop of over 220,000
local industries, agriculture and public use
how has water extraction from river kennet impacted the regional water cycle ?
- rates of groundwater extraction have exceeded rates of recharge , and the falling water table has reduced flows in the River Kennet by 10-14 percent
what is an aquifer ?
permeable or porous water bearing rocks such as Chalk and New Red Sandstone
in 2019 , what percent of global energy consumption did fossil fuels account for /
84 percent (compared to 5 % renewables)
how much co2 does fossil fuel consumption release annualy ?
10 billion tonnes
what is CCS ?
carbon capture and storage
explain the process of CCS ?
co2 is seperated from power station emissions
co2 is compressed and transported by pipeline to storage areas
finally - injected into porous rocks deep underground where its stored permanently
in the UK where is a CCS pilot project underway ?
Peterhead - NE scotland
what are the negatives of CCS ?
involved big capital costs
uses large anmount of energy
requires storage reservoirs with specific geological conditions
what is positive feedback ?
occurs when an initial change causes further change
what is a negative feedback ?
counters systems change and restores equilibrium
what is a positive feedback in the water cycle ?
warmer - evaporation rates increases and atmos holds more vapour
reuslt is greater cloud cover and more precipitation
because water vapour is a greenhouse gas, more vapour in the atmosphere increases absorption of long wave radiation from the Earth, causing further rises in temp
what can induce negative feedback in the water cycle ?
more atmospheric vapour can induce negative feedback
what is the process of negative feedback in the water cycle ?
more vapour creates greater cloud cover which reflects more solar radiation back into space
as smaller amounts of solar radiation are absorbed by atmosphere , oceans and land, avg temps fall
what are the diurnal changes within the water cycle ?
lower temps at night reduce evaporation and transpiration
convectional rainfall dependant on direct heating of the ground surface by the sun
what are the diurnal changes to the carbon cycle ?
daytime - co2 flows from the atmosphereto vegetation
night- flux is reversed
withouth sunlight, photosynthesis switches off, and veg loses co2 to the atmosphere
in the uk when does solar radiation intensity peaks ?
mid-june
what has phytoplankton got to do with seasonal changes of carbon ?
phytoplankton are stimulated into photosynthetic activity by rising water temps , more intense sunlight and the lengthening photoperiod.
what happens every year in the north atlantic ?
explosion of microscopic oceanic plant life which starts in March and peaks in mid summer. the resulting algal blooms are so extensive , they are visible from space .
