Water And Carbon Flashcards
1
Q
What is a system?
A
A set of interrelated events or components working together
2
Q
Define “Energy”
A
Ability to do work.
In physical geography the primary source is the sun.
3
Q
Define flow/transfer
A
The movement of energy and/or mass between stores/components
4
Q
Define “Input”
A
Addition of matter and/or energy into a System
5
Q
Define “output”
A
Results of matter/energy from a system
6
Q
Define “store/component”
A
A part of the system where energy is transferred
7
Q
What is an open system
A
Where there and both inputs and outputs of energy/matter
Example - drainage basin
8
Q
What is a closed system
A
Where there are inputs of energy and matter but not outputs
Example - Earth
9
Q
What is an isolated system
A
No interactions with anything outside the system boundary. No input of energy or matter
10
Q
What is the difference between a closed system and isolated system
A
A closed system is where there are inputs and outputs of energy but not matter, in an isolated system there are neither.
11
Q
What are the parts of a system.
A
Elements
Attributes
Relationships
12
Q
Define “dynamic equilibrium”
A
A system in which input equals output
13
Q
Define “positive feedback”
A
When a chain of events amplifies the impacts of the original event
14
Q
Define “negative feedback”
A
A chain of events that nullifies the impacts of the original event
15
Q
Example of negative feedback
A
Increased use of fossil fuels ↳ Increased atmospheric co2 ↳ increase in global temperatures ↳ More plant growth ↳ Reduced atmospheric concentration
16
Q
What is the lithosphere
A
All the rocks and top layer of the mantle on earth
17
Q
What is the biosphere
A
All living things on earth
18
Q
Give two ways the atmosphere and biosphere are linked
A
Plants take in co2 from the atmosphere
Plants release oxygen into the atmosphere through respiration
19
Q
Give two ways the hydrosphere and lithosphere are linked
A
Water infiltrates into the soil
Water percolates into the groundwater
20
Q
What percentage of the earth’s water is salt water
A
97%
21
Q
What percentage of fresh water is surface and atmospheric water
A
0.4%
22
Q
How much would sea level rise if the ice over Antarctica was to melt
A
60m
23
Q
Where is Africa’s only ice cap and what is happening to it
A
On Mount Kilimanjaro
Melting rapidly and will soon disappear
24
Q
Where is Africa’s only ice cap and what is happening to it
A
On Mount Kilimanjaro
Melting rapidly and will soon disappear
25
What is permafrost
Soil which has been frozen for at least two years
26
What is permafrost
Soil which has been frozen for at least two years
27
Give an example of how permafrost melting can create a positive feedback loop
Permafrost melts
Releases co2 into the atmosphere
Increase temperatures due to greenhouse effect
Permafrost melts
28
Give an example of how permafrost melting can create a positive feedback loop
Permafrost melts
Releases co2 into the atmosphere
Increase temperatures due to greenhouse effect
Permafrost melts
29
What percentage of the worlds water is found in rivers
0.0002%
30
How much of the worlds total river flow is found in the Amazon
1/5
31
What is the water table
The depth at which pore spaces or fractures become completely saturated
32
What is happening to levels of groundwater and why
Ground water levels are declining due to human extraction such as for farming
33
Which four factors affect the amount of evaporation
Amount of solar energy
Availability of water
Humidity of air
Temperature of air
34
What is dew point
The temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapour
35
What is the process of ice turning to vapour known as
Sublimation
36
What is the process of water vapour turning to ice known as
Deposition
37
Define Adiabatic cooling
Volume of air increases without heat, happens when air rises and expands
38
Give 2 scenarios where adiabatic cooling leads to precipitation
- Air is forced to rise over hills known as relief rainfall
- Masses of air of different temperatures and densities meet. The less dense warm air rises over the denser cold air (frontal effect)
39
What is accumulation and ablation
Accumulation- Input of snow/ice into an area
Ablation- The removal of snow/ice out of an area
40
What is a drainage basin
The area which supplies a river with its supply of water
41
What is infiltration
Downward movement of water from the surface into the soil
42
What is percolation
Downward movement of water within the rock under the soil surface.
43
What is interception
The precipitation the falls on vegetation surfaces and is temporarily stored there
44
Give two transfers of a drainage basin system
Throughfall
Throughflow
Infiltration
Percolation
Surface run off
Groundwater flow
45
Define decomposition
Living organisms are broken down by decomposers when they die
Decomposers respire which releases co2
Some carbon is also returned to soil
46
What is combustion
Burning fossil fuels, wildfires etc
47
What is diffusion/acidification
The oceans absorb co2 however this harms aquatic life through coral bleaching
48
What is weathering and erosion?
Rock particles broken down and transferred to the ocean
Carbon used by marine organisms to create shells
49
What is sedimentation
Sea shell fragments compacted over time to form limestone and organic matter may form fossil fuels
50
What is carbon sequestration
Transfer of carbon from the atmosphere and can be both natural or artificial
51
The slow carbon cycle
Carbon moved through atmosphere, lithosphere and oceans
Moves around 10 to 100 million tonnes of carbon every year
Takes between 100 and 200 million years for carbon to move
52
The Fast Carbon Cycle
Living Things
Happens over years or decades
Moves around 1000 times more carbon per year than the slow carbon cycle
53
Flows of carbon between the atmosphere and biosphere
Respiration and decomposition releases carbon into atmosphere
Plants photosynthesise and take in carbon dioxide
Forest fires release carbon into the atmosphere
54
Flows of carbon between the atmosphere and lithosphere
Weathering releases carbon into the atmosphere
Volcanic eruptions release carbon trapped inside the earth and carbon released by metamorphosing rocks
55
Flows of carbon between the lithosphere and hydrosphere
Erosion and weathering release carbon into rivers and streams and eventually into seas and oceans
Carbon diffuses into the oceans and forms carbonic acid and carbonate ions
56
Flows of carbon between the biosphere and lithosphere
Plankton from sea creatures sink to the ocean bed and are compressed into hydrocarbons
57
Flows of carbon between the hydrosphere and biosphere
Plankton and other marine producers take up carbon in ocean water
58
Flows between the hydrosphere and atmosphere
Carbon released from the oceans back into the atmosphere in warmer waters
59
What is the difference between a net carbon source and net carbon sink?
A net carbon source - more carbon leaves than enters
A net carbon sink - more carbon enters than leaves
60
How is carbon moved through the rock cycle
1. Carbon dissolves in water to form carbonic acid or acid rain, this reacts with minerals at the earths surface through chemical weathering
2. The ions are carried within streams and rivers and settle as minerals in oceans
3. Dead coral or other organisms build up on the sea floor, carbon is stored in these buried layers
4. Tectonic forces cause plate movement to push the sea floor under continental margins (subduction), Sea floor deposits heat up and melt
5. This molten rock can rise back up through volcanic eruptions, returning co2 to the atmosphere
61
How does deforestation affect the water cycle at a localised scale
Before: Much of the precipitation is returned to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration
Overland flow is minimal
Most of the water that reaches the forest floor infiltrates into the soil and travels slowly to the river by throughflow, maintaining a steady flow in the river
After: Precipitation stays the same, evapotranspiration lower as replacement vegetation has smaller leaves and the roots are less dense
Overland flow and throughflow occur because of the lack of vegetation. Leads to increased discharge and flashiness, therefore localised flooding occurs
62
How does deforestation affect the water cycle at an extensive scale
Positive feedback can occur in the drainage basin.
Due to evapotranspiration being low a lot of the water leaves the area in the river channel, instead of constantly being recycled between the forest floor and the atmosphere
Once the water has left the area there is less water vapour in the atmosphere for precipitation and so precipitation levels fall. less water gets to river channel, flow is reduced
63
How land use changes can affect the water cycle: water abstraction
Problem occurs when demand exceeds availability of water
Most frequently in areas with low rainfall and high population
Result is a sinking water table, and intrusions of saltwater from the sea degrading the groundwater
64
Water abstraction from the chalk of Southern England
85% of the 200 chalk streams in the world are in England
Fed with water from a chalk aquifer - clear cold water and stable flows
Biggest problem is due to overabstraction
Amplified in summer months as more demand
Leads to problems such as inability to fish and enjoy river views
65
What is the water balance
balance between inputs and outputs in a drainage basin
Precipitation = evapotranspiration + streamflow +- storage
66
Water surplus
when precipitation is greater than evapotranspiration creating saturated soil
67
Water deficit
when precipitation is less than evapotranspiration, dry soil
68
What is latent heat
Energy absorbed or released by a substance during a phase change
69
Carbon stored in the lithosphere
Marine sediments and sedimentary rocks - 100 million Gtc
Soil organic matter - 1500-1600 Gtc
Fossil fuel deposits - 4000 Gtc
Peat - 250 gtc
70
Carbon stored in the hydrosphere
Oceanic stores
Surface layer - 900 gtc
The twilight zone - 37100 Gtc
Living organic matter (fish, bacteria etc) - 30 Gtc and dissolved organic matter 700 Gtc
When organisms die they sink , sometimes right to the bottom forming layers of carbon rich sediment. This forms rocks which can store carbon for millions of years.
This sediment layer is estimated to store 100 million Gtc
71
Carbon in the biosphere
Tropical forest - 20%
Boreal forest - 26%
Tundra - 8%
Desert - 5%
72
The carbon in the terrestrial biosphere - Living vegetation
19% of carbon in earths biosphere in plants
half of the carbon in forests occurs in high latitude forests, little more than a third in low latitude forests
boreal forest in russia holds roughly 25% of the world's forest carbon
Amazon basin contains about 20%
73
The carbon in the terrestrial biosphere - Plant litter
Fresh, decomposed plant debris (leaves, cones, twigs, bark etc)
Leaf tissue accounts for about 70% of litter in forests
74
The carbon in the Terrestial biosphere - Soil humus
In all the forests in the world 31% of the carbon is stored in the biomass whereas 69% is stored in the soil
Altogether the worlds soils hold 2500 Gtc which is more than the vegetation
Organic - 1550 Gtc
Inorganic - 950 Gtc
75
What is decomposition
When living organisms die they are broken down by decomposers which respire, returning co2 to the atmosphere.
76
What is acidification
The oceans can absorb co2 from the atmosphere but this harms aquatic life through coral bleaching.
77
What is erosion
Rock particles broken down and transferred to the ocean where the carbon is used by marine organisms to create shells
78
What is carbon sequestration
Transfer of carbon from the atmosphere and can be both natural and artificial
79
The carbon cycle - Weathering
Carbon reacts with water vapour to form acid rain.
When this acid rain falls onto rocks it dissolves them
The molecules from this reaction are washed into the sea where they react with dissolved co2 in the water to form calcium carbonate, then used by sea creatures to make shells
80
The carbon cycle - Ocean uptake and loss
Co2 transferred to oceans when taken up by organisms living in them ie plankton
Also transferred from the ocean to the atmosphere when carbon-rich water from deep in the oceans rises to the surface
81
The carbon cycle - sequestration
Carbon from the atmosphere can be sequestered in sedimentary rocks or fossil fuels.
82
Fast carbon cycle
Only takes minutes, hours or days
Includes photosynthesis, respiration, combustion, and decomposition
83
Slow carbon cycle
Takes millions of years
ie sequestration in sedimentary rocks
84
Natural factors affecting carbon cycle - Wildfires
Every year they burn 3 to 4 million km^2 of the earth's surface and release more than a billion tonnes of carbon
Rapidly transfer large quantities of carbon and the loss of vegetation mean less is removed from the atmosphere
Long term fires can encourage growth of new plants due to soil being more fertile, depending on scale may cancel each other out.
The significance of this varies as there are counties such as England which dont experience wildfires often and other countries such as Portugal which experience them annually.
85
Natural factors affecting the carbon cycle - Volcanic activity
Amount of co2 released by recent volcanic eruptions has not been enough to be detectable
Recorded eruptions only account for 1% of the co2 currently released by humans
86
Human factors affecting the carbon cycle - Cement manufacture
900kg of co2 for every 1000kg of cement produced
Estimated that the cement industry produces 5% of global anthropogenic co2 emissions - 50% of this is from chemical processes and 40-% from the fuel burning
This is significant on a temporal scale as co2 emissions did not even see a sufficient drop during a pandemic compared to other businesses
87
Human factors affecting the carbon cycle - Farming practices
When soil is ploughed and air mixes in soil microbial activity dramatically increases which results in soil organic matter being broken down much more rapidly so carbon lost to atmosphere quicker too.
Agriculture and foresty cause 1/4 of all human greenhouse gas emissions
Spatial scale - quite a few countries still have agriculture based economies
88
Human factors affecting carbon cycle - land use changes
Account for up to 30% of anthropogenic emissions
Deforestation
- According to Global Forest Watch there was a total of 361 million hectares of tree cover lost globally between 2001 and 2008
Urban Growth
Urban population expected to reach 60% of global population by 2030 growinf at a rate of 1.3m people per week
89
The river brock case study - background information
17.8km long
Myescough Agricultural College has a license to abstract maximum 45.46m^3 daily
and an annual maximum of 16592 m^3
90
Mitigating climate change - Carbon capture
AO1:
Gas captured and stored before injected in liquid form into aquifiers or deposits of fossil fuels
Boundary dam - Saskatchewan aims to cut emissions by 90% and expect to reduce emissions by 1m tons per year
AO2:
Suspicion by environmental campaigners- have to use up reserves through the burning of fossil fuels in order to make space for CCS - counter productive
Cant do it in areas where there are lots of earthquakes as the ground breaking would release co2 into the atmosphere or hydrosphere
91
Mitigating climate change - Modifying photosynthesis
AO1:
Trees remove co2 from atmosphere and also reduce moisture which regulates temperature
Plantation forests which make up 7% of global forest area are more effective than natural forests
Land use - Carbon farming is when one type of crop is replaced by another with greater productivity and can absorb more co2
AO2:
Not everywhere has the capacity for afforestation due to topography and soil fertility
Governments may be reluctant due to social issues such as housing shortages
A much cheaper and safer strategy than carbon capture- can do on a larger scale therefore it is likely to be more effective than carbon capture aswell
92
Mitigating Climate change by modifiying photosynthesis in sri lanka
AO1:
Protecting mangroves in sri lanka - absorb more co2 than other forests and store in soil for hundreds of years
The project will cost ÂŁ2.2m over 5 years and protect over 21000 acres of mangrove forest. A further 9600 acres will be planted
A02:
Only one country so has regional impacts but not global
However cost effective as 2.2m in 5 years is reasonable
93
Mitigating climate change - Government policies in Brazil
AO1:
2005 - Government introduced a plan to dramatically reduce rates of deforestation
Landowners were required to preserve 10% of virgin forest, this was punishable by fines
AO2:
Unreliable as be easily reversed if somebody else (Bolsonaro) goes into power or if there is corruption
94
Mitigating climate change - Political incentives
AO1:
Paris agreement - 195 countries which have aimed to limit temperature levels to 1.5 degrees above pre industrial levels
And also strengthen the ability to adapt to and be resilient towards impacts and support developing countries
AO3:
Positive that developing countries are being supported
95
What is a carbon budget?
A carbon budget takes into account how much carbon is emitted against how much is absorbed or captured by nature
96
Impacts on the land (of a changing carbon budget)
More co2 in atmosphere - more plant growth due to photosynthesis (Carbon fertilisation)
Carbon dioxide taken up by plants has increased since 1960. 25% of enissions removed by plants
Agriculture becoming more intensive increasing co2 take up
Farmland in mid latitudes was abandoned in the early 20th century. Replaced by trees which store much more than crops
97
Effects of a changing carbon budget - Ocean acidity
Since 1750 the pH of the ocean's surface has dropped by 0.1, a 30% change in acidity
Carbonic acid reacts with carbonate ions that shell building creatures use, making their shells thinner and damaging coral
Example - Great Barrier Reef Australia
However a benefit of this in the long term is more acidic seawater will dissolve calcium carbonate rocks which will release more carbonate ions and increase oceans capacity to absorb co2
98
Effects of a changing carbon budget - ocean warming
Phytoplankton grow better in cooler nutrient rich waters
An increase in temps could decrease the abundance of them therefore reducing amount of carbon held in oceans
A study on phytoplankton changs in the Indian Ocean shows a decline of 20% in madine phytoplankton during the past 6 decades
This would reduce the biological pump, reducing the effectiveness of the ocean as a carbon sink
99
Water cycle feedback loop and how it impacts life
Arctic ice shrinking more quickly in recent years, exposing more water (less reflective surface)
Warms the water from sun absorption further melting snd reducing ice coversge
Affects precipitation patterns and availability of fresh water
AO2 / Dry reigons ie the Sahara will be harder hit than those already water secure
100
Water/carbon cycle feedback loop
Phytoplankton in oceans used solar energy and carbon dioxide in photosynthesis
Primary producers (aquatic ecosystems) therefore they sustain food web and are important stores of carbon
They release a chemical called DMS - promoting the formation of clouds
This could lead to an increase in cloudiness and global cooling as clouds reduce the amount of solar radiation reaching the earth
But less sunshine may mean less phytoplankton which would reduce cooling effect
Difference species of phytoplankton react differently (AO2)
101
How do water and carbon support life on earth?
Plants form the base of food chains and they require inputs of both water and carbon for photosynthesis
Water vapour and carbon dioxide are greenhouse gases, create a natural greenhouse effect that prevents some energy from escaping into space
Without this the earth would be frozen and inhabitable
102
Interactions between water and carbon cycle in atmosphere
Carbon combines with water in atmosphere which allows chemical weathering therefore removing carbon from atmosphere
The amount of co2 in the atmosphere affects global temps affecting the amount of evaporation and precipitation which will occur
103
Change in magnitude of stores of water - Evaporation
Lots of solar radiation = more evaporation therefore varies by location and season
104
Changes in magnitude of stores of water - Cloud formation and precipitation
Frontal precipitation - Warm and cool air meet, warm air rises over cool air as it is less dense and cools down as it rises
Relief rainfall - warm air meets mountains and is forced to rise over them
Convectional rainfall - The sun heats up the ground, moisture on the ground evaporates and rises up in a column of warm air. As it gets higher it cools
105
Changes in magnitude of stores of water - Cryospheric processes
Glacial periods inputs are greater than outputs in the cryosphere - Water transferred to snow and less water transferred away due to meltibg
When its warmer the store is reduced due to melting
The earth is emerging from a glacial period which reached its peak 21000 years ago, extensive stores of ice on land in Antartica and Greenland
Long term variations - changes in global temperature over thousands of years
Short term variations - Annual temperature fluctuations mean more snow falls in winter than summer
106
Changes in water cycle - Storm events
Intense storms = more precipitation = greater peak discharges
Larger input of water causes more flow and stores increase in size
107
Changes in water cycle - Seasonal changes and vegetation
During winter temps may reach below 0 degrees reducing the size of flows through drainage basins while frozen water stores increase
In summer this ice will melt increasing flows and outputs through drainage basins again
Vegetation dies in winter, interception is at its highest when lots of deciduous trees have their leaves
108
Changes in water cycle - Farming practices
Ploughing breaks up surface so more water can infiltrate
Crops increase infiltration and interception, evapotranspiration also increases = more precipitation
Livestock trample and compact soil, drecrasing infiltration and increasing runoff
Irrigation can decrease groundwater stores through water abstraction
109
Changes in water cycle - Water abstraction
More water abstraction in areas where population density is high in order to meet demand
During dry seasons even more is abstracted due to consumption and irrigation, depleting stores further
110
Outline the distribution of major stores of water
Oceans - 97% (salt water)
Fresh water - 3%
Cryosphere (glaciers and ice caps) - 61% of the 3% fresh
Remaining 39% in rivers or lakes however only 0.0002% in rivers so insignificant
