Water and Carbon Flashcards
what is dynamic equilibrium?
the tendency towards a natural state of balance
what can cause the dynamic equilibrium to change?
- can be upset by extreme events such as drought or storms
- human activity changing the drainage basin
> disruptions seen through flooding - the changed cause a change in the state of the system which disrupts the dynamic equilibrium
What is the role of cyospheric change in the water cycle?
- cryosphere is all of the ice and snow in the world
>major store of water - cryospheric change has a regulatory role in sea levels
- in period of cooling, cryosphere will increase in volume
> will slow the water cycle as the ice restricts water from returning to the hydrosphere/sea - in a period of warming, the cryosphere will decrease in volume
> speed up the water cycle/restarts as the water is being added to the hydrosphere - increased size of the ocean store due to increased volumes of water will cause the sea level to rise
how does farming practices effect the water cycle?
- effects flows, transfers, and stores
- irrigation will cause decrease the levels of water in store where water is coming from
> over long term may dry up river/aquifers - farming practices will change land use
>deforestation due to removing of plants
> more infiltration and run-off due to removing of plants - mention the Amazon
what are some positive feedback loops in the carbon cycle?
- positive feedback loop is multiplying effect
- increased CO2 in the atmosphere will lead to higher temperature, which will increase the risk of forest fires which will cause a release of CO2 as they burn
what are some negative feedback loops in the carbon cycle?
- negative feedback loop is the process that occurs is counteracted by an opposing process, causing the effects to cancel each other out or reduce the inital process
- higher temperature have increased the growing season for plants which has increased absorption of carbon from the atmosphere
what are some positive feedback loops in the water cycle?
- positive feedback loop is multiplying effect
- warming climate will melt the artic ice which will mean less reflection and more absorption of the heat from the sun (albedo effect) which will further melt ice
what are some negative feedback loops in the water cycle?
- negative feedback loop is the process that occurs is counteracted by an opposing process, causing the effects to cancel each other out
- increased cloud cover due to increase in temperature causing more evaporation which reflects more solar radiation which will decrease the global temperature
outline the relationship between water and carbon cycles in the atmosphere
- feedback systems interlink the two cycles
- warming climate due to GHG melting ice -> reduced albedo effect -> warmer climate
- water is a GHG, 2/3 of greenhouse warming -> as temperature rises, more evaporation -> more warming
- warming climate due to GHG, CO2 -> melting permafrost - > more CO2 in the atmosphere
- Photosynthesis increases due to warming climate -> less CO2 -> less warming
- both water and CO2 released by human activity -> allows more water and carbon to be released into the atmosphere
what are different ways to mitigate the impacts of climate change?
- mitigation is to prevent or reduce the impact of climate change
- renewable energy -> reduced the reliance on fossil fuels
- planting trees to create a carbon sink like the Amazon
- international agreements between countries to reduce emissions
-CCS stores carbon from the atmosphere and stores it deep underground
what are all of the stores in the water cycle
atmosphere: all gas water
hydrosphere: all of the liquid water
cryosphere: all of the frozen water/snow and ice
lithosphere: all of the water stored in the upper crust of the mantel
what is a feedback loop which links carbon and water cycle?
-marine phytoplankton release DMS which promote the formation of clouds
- increased population of phytoplankton is correlated with warmer temperatures
- more cloudiness will cause a decrease in global temperature as there is less solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface
- may then cause a decrease in phytoplankton population
what is the drainage basin system?
- movement of water within the drainage basin
-open system with inputs
> precipitation
open system with outputs
> runoff, evapotranspiration - in planning purposes its a closed system
how can vegetation influence the drainage basin
- more vegetation increases the amount of interception
- as much as 40% of precipitation from reaching the ground
>slows the passage of water to the surface - reduced the amount of water available of overland/surface flow
> reduces soil erosion
what is the river discharge?
- the volume of water passing a point in the river channel at a given unit of time
- expressed as cubic meters per seconds/ cumecs
what is this hydrograph showing about the drainage basin and precipitation characteristics?
- small basin lead to rapid water transfer
- high density speeds up water transfer
- impermeable rocks encourage rapid overland slow
- urbanisation encourages rapid water transfer
- steep slopes lead to rapid water transfer
- saturated soil results in rapid overland flow
- heavy rain may exceed the infiltration capacity of vegetation leads to rapid overland flow
what is this hydrograph showing about the drainage basin and precipitation characteristics?
- large basin results in a relatively slow water transfer
- a low density leads to a slower transfer
- permeable rocks encourage a slow transfer by groundwater flow
- forests slow down water transfer due to interception
- gentle slopes slow down water transfer
- dry soil soaks up water and slows down its tranfer
- light rain will transfer slowly
