Key Terms- The Carbon Cycle Flashcards
Carbon Capture and Storage
The process of trapping carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels and storing it so it is unable to affect the atmosphere.
Anthropogenic
Processes and actions associated with human activity
Petagrams
the units to measure carbon, 1 PG is equal to 1 trillion kilograms
IPCC
International Panel on Climate Change leading organisation for the scientific assessment on climate change.
Sequestering
The natural storage of Carbon but physical or biological such as photosynthesis
Photosynthesis
The use of energy from sunlight to produce nutrients from carbon dioxide and water
Greenhouse Effect
The warming of the atmosphere as gases such as CO2, CH4 and water vapour absorb heat energy radiated from earth
Carbon sink
A carbon reservoir that takes in and stores (sequesters) more carbon than it releases. Carbon sinks can serve to partially offset greenhouse gas emissions. Forests and oceans are both carbon sinks.
Carbon pool
A system that has the capacity to store or release carbon (of which there are five)
Carbon Fixation
The incorporation of Carbon into organic compounds by living organisms, chiefly by organisms in green plants.
Critical threshold
point at which damage becomes reversible
Energy mix
the proportion of each primary energy resource used in a year for a particular country
Energy security
the extent to which a country experiences uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an available price.
Energy transistion
the long term structural change in energy resources, such as fuelwood to coal
Flux
the rate of exchange between resevoirs
Fracking
Drilling into bedrock, usually sedimentary, which contains methane in small air pockets. Firing a high pressure mixture of water, Chemicals, and sand to break down the rock to release gas.
longwave radiation
radiation returning from the earth in the form of infared radiation or heat
long term security
a countrys ability to ensure investments are made to supply energy in line with economic developments
LNG
Liquefied Natural Gas: Methane that has been cooled until it becomes a liquid.
Peak Production
A date where maximum production has been reached, beyond which production rates will diminish
Primary energy
natural resources that have not been converted into another form of energy
secondary energy
what the primary resource has been converted into (electricity or use of petrol to power vehicles.)
recyclable energy
the energy recovery process of utilising energy that would normally been wasted, usually by converting into electricity or thermal energy.
Short term security
ability to react promptly to sudden changes in balance between energy demand and supply.
Shortwave radiation
Solar radiation from the sun in form of visibl light and ultraviolet radiation
Tonnes of oil equivalent
Unit that includes all forms of energy by comparing them with oil in terms of energy production.
Albedo effect
Light surfaces reflect more heat than dark surfaces, growing of ice sheets means that they reflected the suns heat instead of absorbing it, allowing them to grow faster.
Anaerobic
The lack of or without oxygen
Anthracite
Highest rank of ignitable coal used for fuel.
Arctic Amplification
Any change in global temperature (due to greenhouse effect etc) tends to produce a larger effect at the poles than the planetary average.
Atmospheric Circulation
The way thermal energy is redistributed on the surface of the earth due to large scale movement of air in conjunction with ocean circulation.
Biogeochemical carbon cycle
the cycle of which carbon is exchanged throughout the planet
Biological carbon pump
The oceans biologically driven sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere to deep seawater and sediment
Biomes
Large ecological areas on the earths surface adapting to their environment including fauna and flora (animals and plants)
Boreal forest/ tiaga biome
Biome consisting of coniferous forests, pine spruces etc. It is known as a terrestrial subarctic biome.
Calcareous ooze
General term for muddy calcium carbonate bearing rock typically found on the seafloor.
Calcium carbonate precipitate
usually formed from the shells of molluscs and other shellfish, layering at the bottom of the ocean to form limestone.
Carbonate pump
The cycling of carbonate usually formed from the protective coating of phytoplankton and molluscs.
Carbonation weathering (chemical)
Carbonation is the mix of water with carbon dioxide to make carbonic acid. This type of weathering is important in the formation of caves
Carbonic acid
Considered to be a solution of carbon dioxide in water
Compaction
The process of porosity of a sediment is reduced to it being compressed due to the increase of overlaying sediment
Consumers
An organism that generally obtains food by feeding on other organisms or organic matter
Coral bleaching
When water is too warm, corals expel algae living in their tissues causing the coral to turn white and bleach.
Cyanobacteria
Bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis, usually found in the ocean.
Decomposers
Organisms that breakdown dead or decaying organisms
Flux
The action or process of flowing or flowing out
Fossil Fuels
Formed from natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of dead organic matter trapped in-between layers of sediment to form oil, coal etc.
Gaseous carbon
Carbon found in the form of a gas e.g. carbon dioxide
Geologic carbon
Carbon found in soli rock form e.g. in limestone
Humus
Organic component of soil, formed by the decomposition of leaves and other plant material.
Litter Layer
decayed to mostly decayed matter on the top layer of soil, broken down into the soil by micro organisms, insects and earthworms.
Mangrove Forests
Mangroves are a shrub or small tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water
Metamorphism
It is the alteration of the composition or structure of a rock by heat, pressure or other natural agency.
Methane
It is a colourless, odourless flammable gas which is the main constituent of natural gas
Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
It is a measure of the rate of photosynthesis in an ecosystem and therefore gives a measure of the size of a carbon sink.
Ocean acidification
It refers to a reduction in the ph of the ocean lover a prolonged period of time, caused by the primary uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere.
Organic carbon
It is carbon which has been biologically derived, found in plant material (e.g. trees)
Peat
It is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter that is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs.
Permafrost
It is a thick subsurface of soil that remains below freezing point throughout the year, occurring chiefly in polar regions
Phytoplankton
They are microscopic marine algae, similar to terrestrial plants in that they contain chlorophyll and require sunlight in order to live and grow. They are buoyant and found in the upper part of the ocean
Producers
They are organisms which is a part of the first level of a food chain
Proportional flow diagram
A flow diagram in which the width of the arrows is shown proportionally to the flow quantity
Physical pump
Known as the solubility pump , it is a physiochemical process that transports carbon (as dissolved inorganic carbon) from the oceans surface to its interior
Positive Feedback
It is a circumstance in which performing an action causes more performance of an action
Radiative forcing
It is the measurement of the capacity of a gas or other forcing agents to affect the energy balance
Respiration
The process in living organism involving the production of energy, typically with the intake of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide.
Sedimentation
The process of settling or being deposited as sediment
Shortwave radiation
Shortwave radiation(SW) is radiant energy with wavelengths in the visible (VIS), near-ultraviolet (UV), and near-infrared (NIR) spectra.
Soil Carbon Storage
It is a process in which co2 is removed from the atmosphere and stored in the soil carbon pool. This process is primarily mediated by plants through photosynthesis.
Subduction zones
It is a region in the earths crust where tectonic plates meet
Terrestrial
Of or on dry land
Thermohaline Circulation
Also, known as the global ocean conveyor belt. It is the movement of seawater in a pattern of flow dependent on variations in temperature, which give rise to changes in salt content and hence in density.
Tundra Soils
It is soil in a tundra region which suffers from permafrost
Upwelling
It is a process in which deep/cold water rises to the surface
Zooplankton
Plankton which consists of small animals and the immature stages of larger animals
