EQ1 6.1 TERRESTRIAL STORES

Question 1

what does the carbon cycle play a key role In balancing

Answer 1

The carbon cycle plays a key role in balancing the Earth’s systems.

Question 2

where is carbon stored

Answer 2

Carbon is stored in the atmosphere, on land, and in oceans, and is moved between these by various processes.

Question 3

why are there no inputs or outputs in the carbon cycle

Answer 3

It is a closed system

Question 4

what is a store

Answer 4

where carbon is held

Question 5

what is a flux

Answer 5

The flows of carbon between different stores. Fluxes differ in size

Question 6

what are processes

Answer 6

• The physical ways in which carbon fluxes happen.

Question 7

what are carbon stores measured in

Answer 7

Carbon stores are measured in petagrams of carbon (PgC)

Question 8

what is the hydrosphere

Answer 8

dissolved carbon dioxide in bodies of water.

Question 9

how many petagrams of carbon are in the hydrosphere

Answer 9

38,000 PgC

Question 10

what is the lithosphere

Answer 10

rocks like calcium carbonate and fossil fuels.

Question 11

how many petagrams of carbon are in the lithosphere

Answer 11

100,000 PgC

Question 12

what is the biosphere

Answer 12

animals and plants (dead and living)

Question 13

how many petagrams of carbon are in the biosphere

Answer 13

2,000 PgC

Question 14

what is the atmosphere

Answer 14

gases like carbon dioxide.

Question 15

how many petagrams of carbon are in the atmosphere

Answer 15

750 PgC

Question 16

which different forms can carbon be found in

Answer 16

a liquid (i.e. dissolved in bodies of water), as a gas (e.g. carbon dioxide) and as a solid (i.e. calcium carbonate).

Question 17

Carbon is found within every living organism on the planet. On the land, every plant and animal is an example of a …

Answer 17

carbon store

Question 18

what happens when plant or animal matter decays

Answer 18

it can be converted into other carbon stores by going into the soil

Question 19

where can other terrestrial carbon be stored

Answer 19

Other terrestrial carbon is stored within the mantle

Question 20

how can terrestrial carbon from the mantle be converted into atmospheric carbon

Answer 20

terrestrial carbon is stored within the mantle and can be converted into atmospheric carbon via the process of ‘out-gassing’ by volcanoes, where they let out carbon dioxide during eruptions

Question 21

what does photosynthesis do

Answer 21

plants remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to produce energy for plant growth.

Question 22

what does respiration do

Answer 22

all living organisms release carbon dioxide as they breathe and grow.

Question 23

what does decomposition do

Answer 23

when living organisms die, they are broken down, releasing carbon dioxide into the soil.

Question 24

what does combustion do

Answer 24

the burning of biomass or fossil fuels, both by man and in natural wildfires, releases carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere.

Question 25

what happens to carbon stored in the ocean

Answer 25

Aquatic plants and animals (organic matter) fall to the ocean bed after death.
Due to compression and cementation, they form into sedimentary rock.
During these processes, crude oil and natural gas can form.

Question 26

what happens to carbon stored in the atmosphere

Answer 26

Carbon dioxide is stored as a gas in the atmosphere.
Carbon can leave the atmosphere when mixing with water vapour. When precipitation happens this falls as carbonic acid (commonly referred to as acid rain).

Question 27

what do fluxes vary in

Answer 27

size

Question 28

The carbon cycle can happen at …

Answer 28

different scales and timeframes

Question 29

what is the quickest cycle

Answer 29

The quickest cycle is completed in seconds during photosynthesis

Question 30

what can take years to take place

Answer 30

dead organic material to be returned

Question 31

what will happen to some organic material which is an extremely long process

Answer 31

Some organic material will be buried in the sea and form into sedimentary rock, which is an extremely slow process.

Question 32

In the formation of sedimentary rock, carbon can be found in several different forms including …

Answer 32

limestone, crude oil, coal and natural gas.

Question 33

an example of a natural gas

Answer 33

Methane (CH4) is an example of natural gas and is created as a by-product during the formation of coal and crude oil.

Question 34

what happens in the formation of natural gas

Answer 34

Methane (CH4) is an example of natural gas and is created as a by-product during the formation of coal and crude oil.
Natural gas is trapped within the same sedimentary layers that coal and crude oil are found in.

Question 35

what happens in the formation of limestone

Answer 35

Phytoplankton have carbon-based shells. Other marine organisms also have shells or skeletons that are formed from calcium carbonate.
When these aquatic organisms die, they sink to the bottom of the ocean.
As more sediment falls on top of them, they are compacted. When the sediment has reached around 100 metres in depth, the pressure and chemical reactions cause cementation to take place. This leads to the formation of limestone rock.

Question 36

what type of shells do phytoplankton have

Answer 36

carbon-based

Question 37

what happens in the formation of crude oil

Answer 37

Crude oil starts with the settling of fine-grained sediments and biologically degraded materials. There needs to be a minimum of 2% organic carbon.
A series of anaerobic reactions (reactions happening without oxygen) happen to turn the majority of the organic carbon into a liquid (crude oil).
Due to its light density, crude oil may migrate upwards through layers of permeable or porous rock. But a layer of impermeable rock will result in the crude oil being trapped.

Question 38

what happens in the formation of coal

Answer 38

Coal is formed on land, unlike limestone and sedimentary rock which are formed in the oceans.
When land-based plants die and enter into swamps, they slowly settle and compact to form peat and coal.
Coal takes millions of years to form, depending on the temperatures and pressures.

Question 39

through what cycle can carbon be released into the atmosphere

Answer 39

the rock cycle

Question 40

what is chemical weathering

Answer 40

Chemical weathering is the wearing away of rock by chemical reactions, causing material to dissolve through solution, hydrolysis and oxidation.

Question 41

what happens in the chemical weathering of rocks

Answer 41

Slightly acidic rain (a carbonic acid) forms from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere being dissolved into rainwater.
When acidic rain hits carbon-rich rocks (e.g. limestone) it can dissolve material and form calcium carbonate.
These dissolved materials are then transported down rivers and deposited into the sea, forming into sedimentary rock.

Question 42

what is volcanic outgassing

Answer 42

Extreme heat from tectonic processes leads to sedimentary rock undergoing chemical changes, causing CO2 to be released into the atmosphere.

Question 43

which two types of plate boundaries has this volcanic activity

Answer 43

Constructive plate boundaries, where two plates move apart.

Destructive subduction zones, when an oceanic plate subducts under a continental plate.

Question 44

what does volcanic activity at these plate boundaries cause

Answer 44

CO2 to be released in out-gassing.

Question 45

where is outgassing common

Answer 45

Out-gassing is common in geothermal locations like New Zealand.