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Geography - Carbon Cycle > Unit 1 > Flashcards

Unit 1 Flashcards

1
Q

What is the carbon cycle?

A

is a biochemical cycle by which carbon moves from one part of the planet to another

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2
Q

What is the biosphere?

A

stored within plants and animals

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3
Q

What is the hydrosphere?

A

stored in the ocean

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4
Q

What is the lithosphere?

A

fossil fuels like coal and iron

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5
Q

What is the pedosphere?

A

buried underground e.g. peat

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6
Q

What % of the planet’s biomass (living matter) is made of carbon?

A

50%

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7
Q

When carbon bonds with hydrogen it creates a molecule (of what substance)?

A

Carbohydrates

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8
Q

In the biosphere what process creates carbohydrates?

A

photosynthesis

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9
Q

What % of all the planet’s carbon is stored in the biosphere?

A

0.0012%

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10
Q

Which global ecosystems (biomes) contain the most carbon and why?

A

Rainforests, due to optimum conditions for photosynthesis

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11
Q

What % of all the planet’s carbon is stored in the atmosphere?

A

0.0017%

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12
Q

What are the two main gases in the atmosphere that contain carbon?

A

Carbon dioxide and Methane

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13
Q

By what % has carbon in the atmosphere increased by, during the last 100 years and why?

A

36% increase
due to industrialisation

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14
Q

What % of the planet’s carbon is stored in the pedosphere?

A

0.003%

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15
Q

What is peat and what % of it is made from carbon?

A

dead organic material, 60% carbon

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16
Q

How does the size of the hydrosphere store compare to the biosphere, pedosphere and atmosphere?

A

18x more carbon stored in the hydrosphere

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17
Q

What form does 90% of the carbon in oceans take?

A

bicarbonate

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18
Q

As a part of the lithosphere, where is over 99.9% of the world’s carbon stored?

A

marine sediment and sedimentary rock

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19
Q

The long term or slow carbon cycle operates over what time period?

A

100 - 200 million years

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20
Q

What type of weathering is carbonation weathering, and what type of acid does it require?

A

type of chemical weathering, that requires carbonic acid

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21
Q

How and where does carbonic acids form?

A

forms in the atmosphere
carbon dioxide + water vapor = carbonic acid

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22
Q

When carbonation weathering occurs, it can make its way into 2 different stores?

A
  • atmosphere
  • hydrosphere
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23
Q

The carbon in the oceans is used by what organisms and for what purpose?

A

goes into the shells and skeletons of marine creatures as calcium carbonate

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24
Q

What happens to the carbon stored in marine creatures as calcium carbonate when they die?

A

they sink to the bottom of the ocean floor and compact, to form sedimentary rock like limestone
(under pressure and heat carbon converted into fossil fuels)

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25
What is the name of the process in which atmospheric carbon is stored in a liquid or solid form in the lithosphere?
sequestriation
26
What happens to the carbon stored on the ocean floor at a convergent plate boundary where subduction occurs?
the carbon is released and rushes back to the surface = volcanic eruption
27
How much carbon is released annually due to volcanic eruptions (on convergent plate boundary)?
200 million tons per year
28
Where is the carbon released at convergent boundaries released to (which store)?
atmosphere
29
What are the three key processes in the slow carbon cycle?
- chemical weathering of rocks (carbonation) - carbon storage (sequestration) on ocean floor - tectonic processes and volcanic activity
30
What is the carbon movement (between stores) during chemical weathering?
carbon movement between the lithosphere and hydrosphere
31
(chemical weathering) Why is rainfall naturally acidic?
due to carbon dioxide in the air
32
(chemical weathering) What happens to rocks containing calcium carbonate, when it comes in contact with acidic solutions?
carbon dioxide would bubble up and the acid would react with the rock containing calcium carbonate
33
What is an example of a rock containing calcium carbonate?
limestone
34
(chemical weathering) What is acid rain and what effect would this have on the rate of chemical weathering?
sulfur dioxides/oxides and nitrogen are produced when burning fossil fuels, released into atmosphere -> these acidic gases mixed with water fall as acid rain
35
(chemical weathering) What is the process of carbon moving from atmosphere store to the hydrosphere store? (4 steps)
1. atmospheric C02 is dissolved in water vapor and forms carbonic acid = acid rain 2. acid rain reacts with rocks containing calcium carbonate (limestone) -> through carbonation weathering creates calcium bicarbonate 3. Calcium bicarbonate is soluble in water and is carried away in solution by runoff and percolating water 4. soluble calcium bicarbonate is transferred to the ocean by river runoff
36
What is the pH of pure water compared to acid rain?
water = pH 7 acid rain = pH 5.6
37
What is meant by a karst landscape?
areas where limestone dominates the surface rock type for millions of years experience extensive carbonation weathering, overtime leads to this landscape
38
What is an example of a karst landscape?
limestone pavements
39
What are examples of an area that has limestone pavements?
The Burren, County Clare, Ireland Malham Cove, Yorkshire, England (used in Harry Potter deathly hallows) NOT THAT YOU WOULD KNOW SHEVAUN *insert head shake*
40
(chemical weathering) What happens to the calcium bicarbonate, once it reaches the ocean?
- at the bottom of the oceans large amounts of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) accumulate (carbon sequestration) to form carbonate sediments - some of this sediment will be from the bicarbonate created by carbonation weathering
41
(chemical weathering) Who is the oceans carbonate used by and for what?
used by marine organisms (plankton and shellfish) to make their shells
42
How do limestone pavements formed?
1. limestone, sedimentary rock with vertical joints and bedding planes 2. rainfall overtime will dissolve the calcium rich limestone -> carbonation 3. vertical joint underlead = slabs of limestone = clints 4. permeable, water can pass through
43
Why do carbonate rich sediments (carbon sequestration) accumulate at the bottom of the ocean?
- bicarbonate from chemical weathering being transferred by rivers into oceans - biological carbon from the accumulation of dead marine organisms - lithification, sediments at the bottom of oceans is the largest stores of carbon
44
What is meant by lithification?
over millions of years these sediments will compact to form rocks, the upper layer of oceanic crust
45
What happens to the carbon stored on the ocean floor?
- subduction zones as convergent plate boundaries = carbon sediments are converted into magma - volcanic eruptions emit CO2 back into atmosphere
46
How do fold mountains effect the carbon cycle?
force carbonate-rich sediments and rocks upwards
47
(Fast carbon cycle) What is the process by which plants use sunlight and CO2 to produce carbohydrates (sugars)?
Photosynthesis
48
(fast carbon cycle) What is the name of the process in which organisms release CO2 as a by-product of using carbohydrates to release energy?
Respiration
49
(fast carbon cycle) Apart from CO2 what other carbon containing gas do animals release?
Methane
50
(fast carbon cycle) In dead organic matter, carbohydrates are broken down by bacteria, what is the name of this process?
decomposition
51
How much carbon typically moves through the fast carbon cycle each year?
100,000 metric tons
52
What are the key process in the fast carbon cycle?
1. diffusion (of CO2 between atmosphere and ocean) 2. Photosynthesis, respiration and decomposition 3. Combustion: forest fires and fossil fuels
53
What process is involved in the movement of CO2 in the atmosphere to the ocean?
diffusion
54
What are the two different pathways that carbon can diffuse into the ocean?
- physical (inorganic pump) - biological (organic pump)
55
How does the physical (inorganic pump)?
CO2 moved around the oceans through thermohaline ocean currents, -> carbon transferred from surface to deep ocean through downwelling -> carbon transferred from deep ocean to the surface through upwelling
56
How do thermohaline ocean currents form?
which form due to variations in ocean temp and salinity (salt content)
57
What is meant by downwelling?
in areas where cold dense surface waters sink
58
What is meant by upwelling?
where deep waters rise
59
What drives the biological (organic pump), what is it a major source?
a major source of carbon sequestration, driven by ocean phytoplankton absorbing C02 via photosynthesis
60
How does the biological (organic pump) work?
1. diffusion of co2 in to ocean surface 2. phytoplankton photosynthesise and used a diffused co2 storing it in new biomass 3. as a part of the ocean food chain, the phytoplankton are eaten by zooplankton, which are eaten by other marine organisms, passing on the carbon 4. when organisms respire they release co2, some of which will pass back from the atmosphere 5. marine organisms die and sink to seafloor adding to carbon rich sediments on the sea floor 6. over millions of years organic carbon - rich sediment can form fossil fuels
61
What is respiration?
a chemical reaction that happens in all living cells, releases glucose
62
What organisms aid in decomposition?
detritivores such as earth worms
63
How do earthworms affect infiltration rates of a soil?
make burrows and tunnels which is a clear pathway to infiltrate into the ground, helps with flood prevention
64
Why do rates of decomposition vary between tropical rainforest and a periglacial region?
1. Tropical rainforests = wet warm and dense vegetation 2. Periglacial regions = ground is frozen, no earth worms
65
What are the two main stores of carbon that combust?
- living matter through wild fires - fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas)
66
How many millions km (squared) of earth's land area is burned by wildfires?
3-4 million km sq
67
What % of total greenhouse emissions do wildfires account for?
20%
68
What are the three key components required to initiate a wildfire?
1. fuel 2. climate + weather 3. source of ignition
69
What are the natural causes of wildfires?
lightning and hot volcanic material
70
What are the human causes of wildfires?
clear land for agriculture, accidental arson (dropping cigarettes)
71
What kind of places do not experience wildfires?
- places without vegetation, like ice sheets and deserts as they lack fuel - places where it is too wet, like rainforests
72
How is human activity extending the range of areas affected by wildfires?
- deforestation and drainage reduces their natural fire resistance, more flammable environments
73
What are the two case studies for forest fires?
- Australian wildfires in 2019 - Lincolnshire UK wildfire 2022
74
What were the causes of Lincolnshire UK wildfires 2022?
- hottest temp ever recorded (compared to previous years) in Lincolnshire in July at 40.3 degrees
75
What were the impacts of Lincolnshire UK wildfires 2022?
- double the amount of wildfires broke out in 2022 vs the previous year
76
What was an example of a management strategy introduced in the UK to prevent/limit impacts of wildfires?
-> over 6 months, 1000 farmers attended fire training

Geography - Carbon Cycle (3 decks)

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