EQ1 - Planetary Health Part 1 - CARBON Flashcards
1
Q
What are the 3 main Stores?
A
- Fossil and fossil fuels
- Oceans
- Flora and fauna
2
Q
What are the 3 main types of Transfers/fluxes?
A
- Decompsttion
- Respiration
- Combustion
3
Q
What are the 3 main forms of carbon?
A
- Inorganic
- Organic
- Gaseous
4
Q
What are Examples of Carbon stores ? ( in millions of tonnes )
A
- Sedemintary rocks and clans sediments - 100 million
- Oceans - 59,000
- Fossil fuels - 4,000
- Soil + peat - 1,500
- Atmosphere - 720
- Land plants - 560
5
Q
What is The Slow cycle?
A
- Long term - involves long term storage of Carbon
- Marine organism build shells and when they die they accumulate on ocean flow and compress over millions of year to form carbon and rich sedimentary rock
- Oceanic crust Containing sedimentary rock melt and and releases stored CO2, even sedimentary rock near surface also allows CO2
6
Q
What is The fast cycle?
A
- transfer of carbon between oceans, atmosphere, solis and organism is much faster than slow cycle
- plants and soil are most important
- CO2 is absorbed by plants and respiration releases CO2
- CO2 exchanged through between ocean atmosphere thru evaporation
- CO2 returned to surface via acid rain
Water and carbon cycle linked where carbon i transferred thru acid rain n dissolving in water
7
Q
What are the three main Geological origins of Carbon?
A
- Limestone and shale - largest carbon stores in the Himalayas ( 80% of carbon contains rock from steel building)
- Sedimentary rocks - millions of years of heat n reassure compress mud+carbon
- Fossil fuels - organic carbon became coal ,oil and gas
8
Q
Explain the Biological processes sequestering carbon
A
- Oceans are the biggest store - 50X greater than the atmosphere
- 93% is stored in undersea algae, plants and corals
- small changes have global impacts
9
Q
Explain the process of Carbon cycle pumps
A
- A carbon cycle pumps transfer carbon from the surface to the sea bed
- this can be done through living organisms and algae
10
Q
Explain the process of Thermohaline circulation with reference to a case study
A
- Vital component of global ocean nutrient and carbon cycle
- Warm water becomes enrich as it flows through the conveyer belt. the food chain is dependent on nutrient rich waters that support algae and seaweed growth.
- The circulation helps shift carbon from upper to deeper water
- CASE STUDY - Gulf stream - many species use the gulf stream for warm air, it drives warm water to the gulf of Mexico and releases heat. The gulf stream could stop due to climate change as salt decreases, density decrease
11
Q
Explain the process of Terrestrial sequestration
A
- based on organic carbon and takes the shortest time
- Terrestrial Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide
Terrestrial carbon sequestration occurs when the uptake of carbon by plants exceeds carbon losses through soil respiration, plant respiration, and biomass removal.
12
Q
What is Biological carbon ?
A
- store 20 - 30 % of Carbon
- two sources are : limestone and semi arid stores
- most important store is from organic sources through photosynthesis and decomposition
- all plants are made from carbon, any loss to the ground means transfer/ flux from plant to soil. decayed carbon can be stored in soils for years
13
Q
What is Volcanic outgassing
A
- pockets of CO2 exist in earths crust, volcanic eruptions
- occurs at active/passive volcanoes
- places with no current volcanic activity such as springs in national parks
- direct emissions from fractures in earths crust
14
Q
Explain the Soil capacity to store carbon
A
- stores - 20% - 30% of carbon
- the amount of Carbon depends on local conditions
- arid _ semi arid are most important stores. Soil microbes break down plants and release carbon into atmosphere
- the most long - term process is formation of Humus which contains 60% of Carbon
15
Q
Factors capacity of soil to store carbon is determined by:
A
- climate
- soil type
- management n use of soil
