The Carbon Cycle EQ3 Flashcards

1
Q

What are the benefits of grasslands?

A

-Maintain natural habitats
-Terrestrial carbon store
-Carbon sink (lung effect)

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2
Q

What are the disadvantages of converting grasslands?

A

-Reduces lung effect
-Removal releases CO2 from soils
-Natural habitat reduced

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3
Q

What are the benefits of afforestation?

A

-Carbon sequestering
-Provides habitat
-Reduces flood risk due to interception

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4
Q

What are the negatives of afforestation?

A

-Modifies biomes so may introduce non native species
-Reduced revenue due to loss of agricultural space

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5
Q

What is radical technology?

A

Exciting, new methods of providing energy which may be currently underdeveloped but could be explored in the future on a large scale

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6
Q

What is carbon capture and storage (CCS)?

A

-Capturing CO2 from the source
-Gas is compressed and liquified
-Transported into permanent storage

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7
Q

What are the problems of CCS?

A

-Expensive
-May not be many sustainable sites
-Ocean acidification if CO2 is released into deep ocean

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8
Q

What are the benefits of CCS?

A

-Cut global emissions by 19%
-Create thousands of skilled jobs in the UK

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9
Q

What are hydrogen fuel cells?

A

Combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, heat and water

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10
Q

What are the benefits and problems of hydrogen fuel cells?

A

Benefits:
-Will never lose charge if hydrogen is always supplied
Problems:
-Requires large amounts of energy to get the hydrogen

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11
Q

What are the benefits and problems of hydrogen fuel cells?

A

Benefits:
-Reduce air pollution levels
-Zero carbon emissions
-Reduce noise pollution
Problems:
-Expensive to buy
-Safety concerns over no noise
-Not enough places to charge

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12
Q

What are the impacts of rising temperatures on the water cycle?

A

-Warm water flowing into arctic
-Shrinkage of sea ice
-Rising local air temperatures

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13
Q

What are the impacts of rising temperatures on the carbon cycle?

A

-Methane emissions from thawing permafrost
-CO2 emissions from forest fires due to dried out forests

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14
Q

What are the natural factors of climate change?

A

-Sun spots
-Milakovitch cycles
-Volcanic eruptions
-El nino years

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15
Q

What are the human factors of climate change?

A

-Burning fossil fuels
-Deforestation
-Industrialisation
-Population growth

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16
Q

What is a tipping point?

A

An abrupt, possibly irreversible large scale change over a few decades or less

17
Q

What are the examples of tipping points?

A

-Increased number of pests and fires in boreal forests
-Complex forests can become drought and fire adapted
-Thinner ice may increase albido

18
Q

What is positive feedback?

A

Changes taking place which amplify the original process

19
Q

What is negative feedback?

A

Changes taking place to reduce or dampen the original process

20
Q

Why is climate change so uncertain?

A

-Physical factors and sinks (oceans and terrestrial)
-Human factors
-Peatland
-Permafrost

21
Q

Why is permafrost uncertain?

A

-Uncertainty over how much the temperature of permafrost has risen
-When permafrost melts it releases trapped carbon into the atmosphere

22
Q

Why are human factors uncertain?

A

-Future population growth uncertain
-International agreements/governments may take long time to implement