Major carbon stores Flashcards
a gigatonne of carbon dioxide equivalent is …………..and has units
1,000,000,000 GtC or 1 billion GtC
trasnfers (flux) of carbon within the cycle is measured in
Gt of carbon per year (GtC/year)
anthropogenic CO2 is
carbon dioxide generated by human activity
biosphere is
the total sum of all living matter
carbon sequestration is
the capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphrere or sapturing anthropogenic CO2 from large scale stationary sources like power plants before it is released to the atmosphere. once captured, the co2 gas is put into long term storage
carbon sink is
a store of carbon that absorbs more carbon than it releases
green house gas is
any gaseous compound in the atmosphere taht is capable of absorbing infrared radiation, thereby trapping and holding heat in the atmosphere
lithosphere is
the crust and the uppermost mantle; this constitutes the hard and rigid outer layer of the earth
weathering is
the breakdown of rocks in situ by a combination of weather, plants and animals
the pedosphere is
the uppermost part of the lithosphere, the layer that chemically reacts to the atmosphere and biosphere through the soil forming soil process
carbon is stored in the lithosphere in both…and…forms
inorganic and organic forms
inorganic deposits of acrbon in the lithosphere include
fossil fuels and carbon based sedimentary deposits like limestone
organic forms of acrbon in the lithosphere include
litter, organic matter, humic substances
carbon in the lithosphere is distributed between these stores (4 items) :
marine sediments and sedimentary rocks 100 million GtC
soil organic matter 1,500 GtC
fossil fuels deposits of coal, oil and gas 4,100 GtC
peat (dead but undecayed organic matter found in boggy areas) 250 GtC
how many GtC stored in marine sediments and sedimentary rocks?
100 million GtC
how many GtC stored in fossil fuels?
4,100 GtC
the three ocean stores of carbon are
surface layer (euphotic zone) 900 GtC intermediate layer (twilight zone) 37,100 GtC living oranic matter 30GtC and dissolved organic matter 700 GtC
the total oceanic carbon is between
37,000 and 40,000 GtC
when an ocean organism dies……
its shell and dead cells sink into deep water, where decay releases co2 and some material sinks to the bottom to form layers of carbon rich sediment
over millions of years, chemical and physical process turn layers of dead organic matter into
sedimentary rock
the total amount of C in the terrestrial biosphere is
3,170 GtC
the three largest carbon stores in the biosphere are
boreal forests 26%, tropical forests 20% and temperate grasslands 10%
the boreal forests hold………% of carbon in the terrestrial biosphere
26%
living vegetation represents a carbon store because
19% of the biospheric carbon store is in plant matter. the amount fo carbon which a plant stores depends on its location and plant type. high latitude forests hold the most carbon
plant litter represents a carbon store because
this is the dead matter from an ecostystem, which depends on location and plant species presnt, grassland will have a low plant litter
plant litter is
fresh, undecomposed plant debris
soil humus is
a thick brown or black substance that originates from litter decomposition and gets dispersed in the soil by organisms such as earthworms
soil humus represents a store of carbon in the biosphere because
in all forests, 69% of the carbon is stored in the soil. the world’s soil contains more carbon than vegetation at 2,500 GtC against 1,550 GtC.
peat is
the accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter that is unique to natural areas.
peat represents a store of carbon in the biosphere because
the anaerobic conditions in peat bogs prevent complete decomposition, so plant and animal matter does not decay, and an estimated 25GtC is stored in this way, covering 4 million km2 of the planet
animals represent a carbon store in the biosphere because
they are important in the generation of movement of carbon through the carbon cycle,, though do not store much carbon
around 500 million years ago (Cambrian period), co2 levels were (ppm)
7,000 parts per million
for the last 2 million years (Quaternary glaciation), the carbon dioxide levels are at their lowest at
180ppm
co2 makes up % of the atmosphere, or ….GtC or….ppm
0.04% or 800GtC or 400 ppm
co2 is a potent
greenhouse gas
since the industrial revolution, where carbon dioxide atmospheric stores were 280ppm, co2 concentration increased to ..ppm in 2015
400 ppm
the Keeling Curve shows
how co2 concentrations have increased
the average increase of co2 concentration in the atmosphere is …ppm/year
2 ppm/year
