ELSS SG2 Flashcards
What are three ways carbon is used by the natural world?
Photosynthesis, Sea creatures use it to make shells, Carbon from plants becomes part of fats and proteins in animals when eaten
What are three ways carbon is used by humans?
Economic resource e.g. burning fossil fuels, Oil used in manufacturing e.g. plastic, Agricultural crops
What % of carbon is stored in sedimentary rocks?
68.6% (100,000 tonnes)
What % of carbon is stored in oceans?
26.5% (39,000 tonnes)
What % of carbon is stored in fossil fuels?
2.7% (4,000 tonnes)
What % of carbon is stored in soils/peat?
1% (1,500 tonnes)
What % of carbon is stored in the atmosphere?
0.5% (720 tonnes)
What % of carbon is stored in land plants?
0.4% (560 tonnes)
How much carbon is stored in deep oceans?
38,100 GT
What % of oceanic carbon is stored in oceanic sediment?
0.38%
How does carbon storage in the atmosphere change between summer and winter?
More carbon in atmosphere in winter as plants die so there is little photosynthesis
How is CO2 monitored in the atmosphere?
Monitored by NOAA in the Mauna Loa Observatory (Hawaii) by sampling gases, NASA uses satellites
How much carbon is stored in terrestrial ecosystems?
2100 GT (3x the amount in the atmosphere)
What are the seven flows in the carbon cycle?
Photosynthesis, Respiration, Decomposition, Combustion, Fossilisation, Sedimentation, Weathering
Define Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
The amount of carbon sequestered by plants per metre squared per year
Define Biological Pump
Carbon is exchanged between the ocean and atmosphere through the actions of marine biota
What is the process of the biological pump?
Phytoplankton absorb CO2 via photosynthesis. They are consumed by other marine biota in the food chain. When marine biota die their remains fall as marine snow to the ocean floor which, over millions of years, turns into sedimentary rocks
Define Physical Pump
Carbon is exchanged between the surface ocean and deep ocean by currents
What is the process of the physical pump?
CO2 is transferred into the water through the process of diffusion. The CO2 rich surface water is taken to the deeper sections of the ocean due to downwelling. In the deep ocean, deepwater circulation occurs. The water is taken back to the surface through upwelling
What are the fast carbon cycles?
Transfers between the atmosphere, oceans, living organisms and soils
How much faster is the fast carbon cycle than the slow carbon cycle?
100 to 1000 time faster
What are the slow carbon cycles?
Chemical weathering of silicate rocks (carbonation), Subduction, Mountain uplift
How long does the slow carbon cycle take?
10,000 to millions of years
