The Carbon Cycle and Energy Security Flashcards
What is the hydrosphere?
Dissolved carbon in water
What is the lithosphere?
Coal, oil and gas
What is the biosphere?
Living and dead organisms
What are some carbon stores?
Crustal/terrestrial/ geological
Oceanic (deep)
Terrestrial soil
Oceanic (surface)
Atmospheric
Terrestrial ecosystems
What is the greatest flux and least flux?
Greatest= photosynthesis
Least= volcanic eruptions
Why do stores last different lengths?
Due to how hard and long the process is to move between stores.
What is geological carbon?
Created through a number of chemical reactions in the rock cycle.
What is biologically derived carbon?
Carbon in organic matter due to respiration which is later stored in shale, coal and other sedimentary rock
What is outgassing?
When volcanoes erupt and release C02 in the atmosphere.
What is a source doing?
Shrinking and releasing emissions.
What is a sink doing?
Growing in size and storing more carbon
What is the negative feedback loop?
1.Rise in CO2 emmissions and loss of carbon from rocks
2.Temperature rises
3. More uplift of air, condensation and rain
4. More chemical weathering and erosion of rocks.
5. More ions deposited on ocean floors
6. More carbon stored in rocks
7.Increased volcanic activity
What is photosynthesis?
CO2 is absorbed therefore making it a sink
The carbon becomes part of the plants biomass
What is respiration?
A chemical process where glucose is used and carbon is released back into the atmosphere through CO2
What is decomposition?
When carbon is released into surrounding soil or the atmosphere
It is a source.
What is combustion?
Something being burnt which releases C02
It is a source
What is the biological pump?
This is the sequestration of CO2 to oceans by phytoplankton.
Carbon is then passed up the food chain by consumers which in turn release CO2 back into the atmosphere
What is the carbonate pump?
When organisms die and starts to sink, many shells dissolve before they reach the ocean floor entering the deep ocean currents
This forms carbonic acid which in turn reacts with hydrogen ions to form bicarbonates and then further reactions form carbonates which are stored in the upper ocean.
Some organisms use these carbonates to make their shells or skeletons.
When these organisms die some material sinks to the ocean floor and forms the sea bed sediment store
Over time, the carbon is transformed into rocks such as limestone
What is the physical pump?
Dissolved CO2 is then taken from the surface down to the intermediate and deep ocean stores through downwelling currents (96 GtC per year)
The thermohaline circulation then distributes the carbon around the planet
Cold water absorbs more CO2, therefore, as the equatorial waters move toward the poles, more CO2 is absorbed
Salinity increases at the same time, making the water denser, therefore, the water sinks (downwelling) taking CO2 from the ocean’s surface to the deep ocean stores
Allowing more diffusion to occur at the surface and helping to regulate the carbon stored in the atmosphere
What factors affect carbon sequestration in soil?
Climate- Warmer soils release CO2 due to microbe activity.
Soil Type- Clay soils have higher carbon content than sandy soils.
Management and use of soil
What is the albedo effect?
Albedo is an expression of the ability of surfaces to reflect sunlight (heat from the sun).
What are some causes of greenhouse gas emissions?
Industry
Deforestation
Wetland/ Peatland loss
Farming
Burning of fossil fuels
Cement production
What does the heating of the atmosphere control?
Temperature
Pressure
Movement
Moisture content
What is the IPCC?
An intergovernmental panel for climate change, they can prove climate change is currently due to human activities.
How long does carbon remain in the atmosphere for?
200 years- therefore clime change will continue for some time
How does burning fossil fuels affect carbon cycling?
Creates fast carbon cycling
What factors affect energy consumption?
Physical availability
Technology
Climate
Cost
Economic development
Environmental priories
How does physical availability affect energy consumption?
Imported energy is more costly therefore likely to decrease consumption.
How does technology affect energy consumption?
Can help with energy exploitation
Likely to increase energy consumption
How does climate affect energy consumption?
High consumption to make extreme temperatures more comfortable.
How does cost affect energy consumption?
Relatively low energy costs may be expected to boost consumption
How does economic development affect energy consumption?
As a country becomes more developed, there is a higher demand for food, leading to more intensive farming techniques. These techniques require additional energy to power machinery, provide lighting and heating.
How does environmental priorities affect energy consumption?
Restricting trade in energy commodities helps reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and thus improve environmental quality.
What is the relationship between economic development and energy consumption per capita?
Higher GDP’s cause higher energy consumption due to higher paid jobs , expensive products and better quality infrastructure.
What is the definition of an energy mix?
The proportion of each primary energy resources it uses per year. These may be domestic or imported.
What is recyclable energy?
Reprocessed uranium and plutonium from nuclear power plants and heat recovery systems.
What is carbon capture?
The process of trapping carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels or other chemical or biological processes and storing it in such a way that it is unable to affect the atmosphere, with the aim of mitigating the effects of global warming.
What is primary energy?
Natural resources that havent been converted into another form e.g oil and gas.
What is secondary energy?
What the primary source has been converted into, usually electricity.
What percentage of the UK’s energy mix is coal and oil?
less than 1% combined
What percentage of the UK’s energy mix is natural gas?
38%
What percentage of the UK’s energy mix is wind?
20%
What percentage of the UK’s energy mix is biomass?
12%
What percentage of the UK’s energy mix is solar?
6%
What percentage of the UK’s energy mix is nuclear?
19%
What is the definition of energy security?
The ability to be able to access reliable and affordable energy sources either domestically or from friendly overseas countries.
Why is the UK not energy secure?
Because the UK imports more energy than it produces domestically due to a decrease in the North Sea Oil and Gas Reserves.
Why is importing energy dangerous?
Countries who we import from may use this as political leverage
