Part 4.2

Question 1

what information does the Keeling curve provide?

Answer 1

a record of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations

Question 2

how is carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere?

Answer 2

geologic inputs (volcanes, mid-ocean ridges), biological inputs (respiration), human activities (deforestation, burning of fossil fuels)

Question 3

what processes remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

Answer 3

geologic removal (chemical weathering, carbon dioxide in rain water reacts with exposed rock), biological removal (photosynthesis)

Question 4

together, photosynthesis and respiration form a:

Answer 4

cycle that drives the short-term (days-decades) cycling of carbon through the biosphere

Question 5

what explains the regular oscillation of carbon dioxide and its correlation to seasonality?

Answer 5

higher rates of photosynthesis in summer (lower CO2 in atmosphere), lower rates of photosynthesis in winter (higher CO2 in winter)-respiration stays constant throughout the year

Question 6

what is the overall pattern of the CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere

Answer 6

there is a sustained increase

Question 7

atmosphere carbon dioxide inputs and outputs were approximately in balance until…

Answer 7

the Industrial Revolution (increased human activities)

Question 8

correlation

Answer 8

the co-occurrence of two events or processes; correlation does not imply causation

Question 9

causation

Answer 9

a relationship in which one event leads to another

Question 10

reservoir

Answer 10

a supply or source of a substance. Reservoirs of carbon, for example, include organisms, the atmosphere, soil, the oceans, and sedimentary rocks

Question 11

what are some major stores of carbon?

Answer 11

organic matter in soils reservoir, deep ocean water, reservoir, *sediments and sedimentary rock reservoir

Question 12

flux

Answer 12

the rate at which a substance, for example carbon, flows from one reservoir to another

Question 13

what determines the sensitivity of different reservoirs to change?

Answer 13

the relative size of the reservoir and the amount of movement of material into and out of it - ex. large flux relative to size of reservoir=reservoir size changes rapidly

Question 14

chemical weathering can be linked to:

Answer 14

mineral precipitation in oceans-storing in sediments as CaCO3

Question 15

biomineralization

Answer 15

the precipitation of minerals by organisms, as in the formation of skeletons

Question 16

plate tectonics

Answer 16

the dynamic movement of Earth’s crust, the outer layer of Earth

Question 17

greenhouse gase

Answer 17

a gas in the atmosphere that allows incoming solar radiation to reach the Earth’s surface, but absorbs radiation re-emitted as heat, trapping it in the atmosphere and causing the temperature to rise

Question 18

latitudinal diversity gradient

Answer 18

the increase in species diversity from the poles to the equator

Question 19

high diversity=

Answer 19

low population density

Question 20

endemic species

Answer 20

species found in one place and nowhere else

Question 21

what highlights the “hotspots” of biodiversity in tropical areas?

Answer 21

continued speciation and a limited ability to colonize new areas

Question 22

ocean acidification

Answer 22

an increase in the abundance of carbon dioxide in the oceans that causes the pH of seawater to go down