water and carbon Flashcards

Question

Runn off

Answer 1

water that arrives to the river as surface run off or throughflow Factors influencing: -precipitation -climate eg. drier climate- precipitation onto baked ground leads to run off -rock type- if its impermeable, wont be able to infiltrate and get to river as overland flow -human activity- deforestation- less interception

Answer 2

1- farming -growing demand due to consumerism -more deforestation, less interception, more overland flow -overgrazing cattle- compact the ground and make it impermeable, no infiltration and increased overland flow. 2- land use changes -increase in population and consumerism- leads to rapid urbanisation, increases deforestation, increases impermeable surfaces 3-water abstraction water is abstracted from stores when there is a high demand -as population grows, growing demand for food and irrigation, water is abstracted from lakes, rivers, undergrounds- lead to the depletion of stores

Answer 3

1- storm events- this is due to high evaporation rates eg. temperature being 27 degrees for several weeks -leads to intense low air pressure systems, falls as convectional rainfall -natural process but disrupts the dynamic equilibrium and water stores -uk-winter, us- summer 2: seasonal changes -in summer, higher evaporation, more in the atmosphere and less in lithosphere -itcz creates distinct wet and dry seasons -in winter, less vegetation so less interception -Uk faces atlantic depressions due to a change in air mass 3-Climate change -influences storm events and seasons climate has always changed, in a quaternary period -periods of glacial and interglacial -humans can induce climate change, through burning of fossil fuels -cryosphere store melting at a quicker rate, sea levels rise rapidly- a positive feedback loop

Answer 4

The river Eden is located in north west of England between lake district and pennies -some areas are 700 m above sea level Uks prevailing wind comes in from the south west. Warm air is forced to rise over mountains, and form orographic rainfall -Eden receives average 2800mm of rain, where rest of uk is 920 -steep slopes with impermeable surfaces -Highest ground is impermeable with thin soils- saturate faster -only 1% is urban -upper catchment is made of mountains- -Hellvelyn-3rd highest in england-950m above sea -Skiddaw-6th-930m -impermeable surfaces -24,000 people live there

Answer 5

Farming: -cattle has grown by 30% -compact the soil, make it impermeable -eat the vegetation Construction: -new homes being built in the floodplain of Carlisle -10,000 new homes in the Garden Village project

Answer 6

Storms storm Desmond in 2015- a village received 260mm of rain in 48h, 50 more than average for the whole month Carlisle is a floodplain where 3 rivers meet, population of 72,000, 2000 homes got flooded

Answer 7

Carbon is the most important element to make up all living matter -Continuous cycle of carbon through inputs, outputs, stores and flows -operates as a closed system -cycles from earth to atmosphere and back again

Answer 8

largest carbon store -99.9% is stored in sedimentary rock -0.004% is stored in fossil duels -has a residence time of 150 million years

Answer 9

seconds largest -0.04% of earths carbon -mainly stored in oceans, rivers, lakes -mainly stored in deep oceans as the surface gets exchanged with the atmosphere -deep ocean has a residence time of 1250 years

Answer 10

-less than 0.01% of earths carbon -stored mainly as permafrost

Answer 11

carbon is stored in -vegetation -plants -animals -peat makes up 0.04% of earths carbon

Answer 12

-photosynthesis -respiration -combustion -weathering -carbon sequestration

Answer 13

carbon dioxide is taken in by plants, during photosynthesis where they react with chlorophyll to create glucose and oxygen-stimulates plant growth -oxygen is given off as a biproduct-maintains the balance of carbon and oxygen in environment -plant growth reduces the amount of carbon in the atmosphere

Answer 14

glucose and oxygen is combined to form energy -carbon is given off as a bi product, and transferred to the atmosphere -maintains the balance between carbon and oxygen

Answer 15

organic material such as vegetation and fossil fuels get burned in the presence of oxygen, and release carbon dioxide -volcanoes and wildfires are natural drivers of combustion

Answer 16

the breakdown of rock which releases carbon

Answer 17

carbon is captured and stored to remove it out of the atmosphere-specifically human induced carbon -Human method: capture carbon released from coal fired power plants and store it in rocks able to hold enough co2 -Natural: -create natural carbon sinks peat bog: stops vegetation from decaying and allows carbon sequestration to happen naturally -takes in co2 from the atmosphere and transfers it to the ocean through diffusion -phytoplankton in the ocean also hold co2 through photosynthesis- at the bottom of the food chain so carbon moves up the food chain

Answer 18

balance between i puts and outputs of carbon although there may be short term fluctuations factors disrupting the dynamic equilibrium; -natural-wildfires, volcanoes -human-farming, deforestation

Answer 19

1800- 280 parts per million 2015-400 parts per million

Answer 20

-Permafrost melting- soil/rock/material that has been frozen for 2 consecutive years -acts as a carbon store as it contains animal matter -when it melts, it releases the stored co2 -if its water logged, there is no oxygen present so uses anaerobic decomposition which releases methane -aerobic decomposition releases carbon dioxide -this releases greenhouse gasses which further amplifies the issue of global warming

Answer 21

vegetation uses carbon dioxide to photosynthesise- locks up co2 in its biomass which is transferred from the atmosphere -higher levels of co2 in the atmosphere stimulate plant growth, leads to more photosynthesis -this takes in more co2

Answer 22

During quaternary period, the climate has fluctuated between glacial and interglacial periods. Glacial period: -Chemical weathering is more active as colder water holds more co2 -Decomposers are less active in cold weather -Less water in atmosphere, more in cryosphere due to accumulation- water being stored as snow and ice -frozen soil on land

Answer 23

-Volcanoes: Return carbon that has been stored in rocks in the earths crust for millions of years back to the atmosphere -Present- then release upto 400million tonnes of carbon a year -Lava-containes silicate which weathers -Wildfires: -Can be started by lightning or people -turns forests from a carbon sink to a carbon source -combustion- releases huge amounts of carbon back to the atmosphere Burns over land- re fertilises it- leads to more photosynthesis- more regrowth= negative feedback cycle

Answer 24

Hydrocarbon fuel extraction: -takes place for power generation and transport Increased rapidly since the Industrial Revolution, and used in NEES for economic growth -releases carbon dioxide Farming practices; -accounts for 10% of global emissions -ploughing and harvesting uses machinery fuelled by fossil fuels -artificial fertilises are the main source of carbon Urbanisation: -significant impact on local carbon cycles as stores are being covered by impermeable surfaces -accounts for 975 of human emmissions -for transport, industry and cement production -cement production releases carbon as a biproduct, and is 2.4% of emissions Deforestation: -Trees get cut down, mainly in tropical regions for farming and monoculture plantations -in a natural system, when trees die they decompose naturally, so carbon is released over many years -new vegetation grows which compensates for the carbon released, and is a carbon neutral process -when deforestation occurs, co2 is released immediately, and becomes a carbon source not a carbon store

Answer 25

balance between inputs and outputs of carbon Inputs: -volcanoes -wildfires -combustion -burning fossil fuels -respiration Outputs: -sequestration -photosynthesis -decomposition

Answer 26

Plant growth as it allows plants to photosynthesise Warmer temperatures cause permafrost to melt, and increase wildfires

Answer 27

co2 and methane trap suns long wave radiation- keeps the heat in without the natural GHE, temperature would be -17 degrees

Answer 28

co2 is dissolved in the oceans through diffusion -more co2 in oceans means that its more acidic-which can affect marine life -global warming can affect oceans- as organisms are sensitive to temperature change

Answer 29

essential for all life on earth makes up 50% of trees biomass present in humans as glucose, and is 18% of our body

Answer 30

present in the atmosphere as water vapour which is a greenhouse gas -without it, earth would be frozen and uninhabitable

Answer 31

countries have set the aim to reduce emissions to 0 by 2030 in UK, only 1% of electricity comes from coal as we swap to more renewable energy sources

Answer 32

increasingly cheap cost of production example: North Sea dogger bank largest wind farm in the world powers 6 million homes in UK by 2030, government want all homes powered by wind

Answer 33

reduces costs by around £5000 grown from 3% to 30%

Answer 34

get government subsidies to reduce cost attractive investment to homes-add value

Answer 35

1997 -first attempt to try reduce carbon emissions 41 countries signed EU reduced emissions by 8%

Answer 36

first legally binding agreement 196 countries goal was to limit global temperatures to no more than 1.5degrees above pre industrial times

Answer 37

aim was to provide 1 billion in finance to developing countries-known as the loss and damage fund -phase out burning fossil fuels -100 leaders who have 85% of worlds forests promised to end deforestation by 2030-including Brazil

Answer 38

contriversial as Dubai is one of biggest oil producers transition away from fossil fuels

Answer 39

-introducing congestion charge banning petrol and diesel cars by 2035 introducing greener transport-hydrogen buses more cycle lanes more renewable energy provide subsidies for heat source pumps

Answer 40

-eat less meat reduce waste reduce energy consumption use public transport individuals feel too insignificant to make a difference those who arent affected by it wont want to make a difference few leaders are willing to pay high economic price when benefits wont be felt for another 50-100 years some countries think that fossil fuels keep their economy going

Answer 41

worlds largest rainforest makes up 40% of Americas landmass spreads through 9 countries 63% in Brazil 13% in Peru- dry season June to November it has a hot and wet climate

Answer 42

higher temperatures means higher evapotranspiration so more rainfall half the rain that falls doesnt reach the ground, gets intercepted by trees average rain is 2300 but some areas reach 6000

Answer 43

estimate to store 80-120 billion tonnes of carbon a year through photosynthesis and vegetation acting as a carbon sink -if theres more co2- trees have a growth spurt so they live faster an die younger- reduces the effectiveness Amazon wont be an effective carbon sink in the future

Answer 44

Cattle farming: Brazil has the largest cattle heard and has been the top beef exporter since 2003 between 1996-2006, the size of portugal was cut out 40% of Brazil cattle is in the amazon region 2009- agreement called the Beef Morotorium protocol where you cant buy beef from previously deforested areas Soy production (monoculture plantation): main source of animal feed growth is linked to cattle farming increased infrastructure in area called Rondonia west of Amazon to expand production Political: president Jair Bolesonaro elected on 2019-23 stated that the amazon should be exploited for economic gain, and weakened environmental laws then got replaced

Answer 45

less interception and more runoff less evapotranspiration so less clouds, higher risk of drought

Answer 46

trees get cut down- less co2 stored and more in the atmosphere- enhances the greenhouse effect

Answer 47

-Selective logging: only cut trees down in certain areas -land use zoning: see what areas to deforest -replant new trees- 73 million trees by 2023 peru plan to plant 3.2 million hectares of land by 2020 -protect- many countries set up national parks to protect biodiversity-Amazon conservation complex -farming co-operatives such as RECA established profitable and sustainable agroforestry projects- farming within trees so not cutting down streets Cop 27- brazil with 100 other countries that are home to 85% of worlds forest aim to end deforestation by 2030

Answer 48

Madeira river- major tributary to Amazon river fell to 48 cm which is the lowest level recorded

Answer 49

Factors which change the balance of the water cycle naturally Storm events Seasonality