Quick W&CC recap & stats Flashcards
What does increasing CO2 levels do?
Temps rise which causes sea level rise
How do people increase CO2 levels?
Using and burning fossil fuels
Examples of people using FF?
Transportation in daily life
How much % was the gas emissions in 2021 with using transportation?
28%
What is a example of burning fossil fuels?
Coal and oil use in sectors
What does burning FF do to oceans?
Ocean acidification
What does ocean acidification do to coral reefs?
They become more brittle and less resilient
How much CO2 is released and diffused by chemical change?
30%
What does it create when co2 is released and diffused in oceans?
Creates carbonic acid and makes oceans less alkaline
What does deforestation do to the carbon cycle? Example?
Vegetation getting removed reduces carbon storage - AMAZON
What does forests getting cleared for agriculture and land use lead to?
A rapid flow of carbon from biosphere to atmosphere
What does cattle ranching do to the carbon cycle?
Animals release co2 and use land
What is permafrost?
Permanently or temporarily frozen ground / soil in the Arctic.
What happens to permafrost in the summer?
The surface layer will melt and the ice below will remain
How much Carbon is trapped in permafrost?
16726 TC
What loop is the permafrost melting?
Positive feedback
What 3 effects does carbon cycle change have on oceans?
Coral Bleaching & Warming oceans
Sea Level Rise
How much has global sea surface temperatures increased by per decade?
1.3 Celsius
What does the 1.3c temp increase affect in oceans? Why?
Ranges of fish and corals - they will have to migrate to other areas or die
What do corals contain? What does it do?
Symbiotic algae - produces nutrients which benefits the coral
What happens if water gets too warm for the algae?
Algae will leave usually killing the coral
What does white coral mean?
Nearly dead or unhealthy
What is the estimation for sea level rise per year currently?
3.6mm
What will be the sea level rise by 2100 be?
0.5m to 1m
What does sea level rise effect?
Coastal areas flood
Habitats destroyed
Cities flooded
Infrastructure damaged
What has there been a decline in the deep North Atlantic?
A decline in salinity
What could the decline in salinity caused by?
Higher rainfall or melting of ice from Greenland ice sheet
What did the decline lead to?
Slowdown in the Gulfstream
How much sea ice has been estimated to be lost?
40%
What does the lost sea ice mean?
More dark coloured sea water exposed and reflects less of the sun’s energy
What does the positive feedback effect cause?
Albebo effect
What do most predictions suggest about flood risk?
That it will worsen over the 21st century
What does every 1C of local temperature change increase ?
Increases rainfall by 15%
What will happen to winters and summers?
Wetter weather in winter
Drier summers
How much wetter was it in 2011-2020 compared to 1961-1990?
9%
What happens if emissions continue to increase?
Flood risk gets worse
What happens if emissions stabilise?Flood risk
Flood risk stays the same or worsens
What happens if emissions reduce?
Flood risk decreases
What does geology do to river discharge?
Some rocks store water ( porous and permeable) e.g sandstone
What does ground saturation do to river discharge?
If pore space is full, water will flow across the surface ( overland flow)
What does urbanisation do to river discharge?
Impermeable concrete/tarmac causes water to flow faster to the river. Storm drains carry water
What does river obstacles do to river discharge?
Bridge piers and dams - channel straightening
What does land use do to river discharge?
All land uses have an impact e.g deforestation causes additional water to flow into rivers
What does interception do to river discharge?
decreases runoff speed
What does soil type do to river discharge?
The permeability of soil varies with type which affects flow
What does gradient do to river discharge?
Steeper slopes cause a faster flow and water will flow faster
List 4 other factors that control river flow
- Precipitation - Temperature - Drainage density- Size and shape of drainage basin
Where is the Eden Basin?
North West England
Where does the Eden Basin flow through and where does it exit ?
Flows through Cumbria and exits through the Solway Firth
Is the Eden Basin rural or urban?
Largely rural - however flows through city of Carlisle
Why is the Eden Basin important to 3 rivers?
Confluence to Eden, Catlew, Petteril
Why is the Eden Basin hilly?
Around Lake District and NW Pennines so steep slopes - rapid downfall runoff
What is the geology of the Eden Basin?
Most of it is underlain by sandstone & limestone but LD is igneous and metamorphic rocks
What kind of rainfall does the Eden Basin suffer of?
Orographic Rainfall
What does orographic rainfall mean?
Higher than average annual rainfall as relief of area encourages it
What does orographic rainfall do to water?
High runoff
What does urbanisation do to the Eden Basin?
Increased run off due to no. of new developments commonly built of floodplains
How much of the area is farmland cattle between 2000 & 2009? What does this do?
30% - risk of soil compaction
What does grazing do?
Reduces hill vegetation which causes higher run off
How much of Cumbria was deforested?
17%
What did Cumbria do to stop flooding that was ineffective?
Plant tree
What does climate change do?
Increased winter rainfall
What was a significant event that happened in the Eden Basin?
Floods - 75% in Carlisle 2700 properties flooded2 fatalitiesCosted over £400 million
What does the Eden Have?
Over 60km of river defences
What transfers carbon stored in the atmospheres to biomass?
Photosynthesis
How does chemical weathering transfer carbon from the atmosphere to hydrosphere and biosphere?
Carbon reacts with water to form acid rain
What is carbon sequestration?
a slow carbon flow that takes millions of years for carbon to be sequestered in sedimentary rocks
How much carbon is found in sedimentary rocks?
99.9%
How much carbon is in the ocean?
0.04%
How much carbon is in the atmosphere?
0.001%
Is the carbon cycle a closed or open system?
Closed
