Water And Carbon Flashcards
What is the water cycle
The flow of water between land, atmosphere and oceans through methods such as precipitation, evapotranspiration, run-off and ground water flow
What is the carbon cycle
Movement of carbon between atmosphere, oceans, sedimentary rocks, sea floor, soil and biomass, 99.9% of which is in sedimentary rocks. Flows between the stores include oxidation, combustion, respiration, photosynthesis and weathering
What is a closed system
No transfers of energy both into and beyond the system, so the global carbon or water cycle is a closed system
What is an open system
Systems that external input and output can be found, so the carbon and water cycle on a smaller scale are open systems
Inputs, outputs and stores of the water cycle
Stores- oceans 97%, polar ice/glaciers 2%, aquifers 0.7%, lakes, soils, atmosphere, rivers and biosphere containing 0.3% between them.
- water vapour evaporated from oceans inputs into atmosphere, vapour transpired through leaves and plants, together known as evapotranspiration
- moisture leaves atmosphere as precipitation and condensation glaciers release water by ablation
- run-off into rivers from land, rivers flow to oceans or lakes, infiltration through soil
- infiltration through soul, water under gravity may percolate into permeable rocks or aquifers, ground water eventually becomes run-off
Stores, inputs and outputs of carbon cycle
Stores- sedimentary rocks, atmosphere, oceans, fossil fuels, land plants, soil and sea floor sediment
Slow carbon cycle: carbon takes between 100-200 million years to transfer between each store, more about the transfer between the hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere, most common is shellfish when they die their shells go to bottom of the ocean and in the heat, pressure and time they become carbon rich sedimentary rocks
Fast carbon cycle: 10-1000 times quicker, between life forms and the biosphere, land plants and microscopic phytoplankton key, photosynthesis they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, respiration by plants and animals releases CO2, decomposition releases CO2
What is transpiration
Diffusion of water vapour to the atmosphere from leaf pores
How are clouds formed
- air warmed by contact with ground or sea rises as air rises and pressure falls it cools by expansion, known as convection
- air masses move horizontally across a cooler surface, advection
- warm air mixes with colder air
What is interception
Vegetation intercepts precipitation storing it on branches, leaves and stems, moisture is then evaporated or falls to the ground, throughfall, rainwater that flows down branches or stems is called stem flow
What happens to the ground in extended periods of rainfall
Soil becomes saturated and can’t store anymore water so has reached its infiltration capacity this means it becomes run-off or saturated overland flow
Precipitation impact in carbon cycle
CO2 dissolves in rainwater to form weak carbonic acid
Tundra case study basic facts
8 million km2 in Canada, Siberia and Alaska, negative heat balance for 9 months of the year, in winter 2 weeks no sun -40 degrees, low precipitation, lack of biodiversity and wildlife
Water cycle in tundra
50-350mm of annual precipitation (low)
Small stores of water in the atmosphere low temp = low humidity
Limited transpiration from lack of vegetation
Low rates of evaporation
Permafrost acts as barrier so small amounts of infiltration
Sharp increase in river flow early summer as active layer melts
Ponds and wetlands on tundra in summer as permafrost stops drainage in winter months
Carbon cycle in tundra
Contains globally 1600GT
Slow decomposition so more carbon accumulates
Carbon in tundra soil is 5 times larger
Used to be carbon sink but due to global warming becoming a carbon source
Physical factors affecting the water cycle
Temperature- below freezing so water stored as ground ice in permafrost layer. In summer thawing means water flows on the surface, lots of ponds. Poor drainage as permafrost stops infiltration.
Permeability- low owing to the permafrost and the rocks which dominate the geology in arctic
Physical factors affecting the carbon cycle
- Mainly stores as partly decomposed plants locked away for past 500,000 years
- low temp lack of water and sunlight limit plant growth so carbon in biomass is small and grows slowly, some compensation in summer months
- low temp and waterlogging slow decomposition and respiration and the flow of CO2 in the atmosphere
Oil production in Alaska impact on water and carbon cycle
- Human activity heating up surrounding area
- dust deposition along roadsides creating darkened snow surfaces so less sunlight is absorbed
- removal of vegetation cover which would insulate the permafrost
- this causes extra loss of carbon as permafrost melts more
Management strategies to prevent changes to the tundra environment
- insulated ice and gravel pads
- buildings and pipelines elevated
- refrigerated support
- more accurate technology
Impact of fossil fuel combustion on the carbon cycle
Releases 10 billion tonnes of CO2 annually
280ppm to 400ppm
87% of all energy used is non renewable
oceans become more acidic as water react with the carbon to create carbonic acid so marine wildlife may diminish
Sequestration of waste carbon (solution)
Combustion is the main driver of global warming so one possible solution is to catch the CO2 that is released and store it this is called carbon capture and storage
Diurnal changes to the cycles (daily)
Water- Low temp at night = reduced evaporation and transpiration
Carbon- daytime CO2 from atmosphere to vegetation, opposite at night, without sunlight photosynthesis turns off
Seasonal changes to the cycles
Water- evapotranspiration highest in summer months lowest in winter months, less loss of precipitation in winter months
Carbon- strong fluctuation in northern hemisphere, weaker near equator and souther hemisphere, in summer less carbon as more plants grow in summer due to the warmth leading to less carbon ppm
Management strategies to protect the the global carbon cycle
Wetland restoration- 6-9% of earth surface and contain 35% of terrestrial carbon pool
Afforestation- planting trees
Agricultural practices- intensive livestock farming produces 100 million tonnes per year
International agreements- Kyoto 1997, paris agreement
Cap and trade- businesses allocate annual quotas for emissions they emit less they get carbon credits, financial penalties for those who exceed it
