water and carbon Flashcards
carbon definition
most abundant element in earth
90% co2
humans half carbon
diamond, graphite
lithosphere and marine sediment
largest store of carbon
long term store- sedimentary rocks
covers 72% of earth surface
99.9% all carbon store here
hydrosphere
2nd largest store of carbon
organic matter and surface layer
total 40,000 million gigatonnes
cryosphere
permafrost- tundra regions contain vast stores of organic carbon in permafrost
pedosphere
soils containing rotting organic matter are imoortant carbon stores
carbon remains in soil for hundreds of years
deforestation and land use change can release co2
biosphere
vital for all life on earth
convert sun energy into carbohydrates
residence times
land plants- 5yrs
atmosphere- 3yr
soils-25
fossil fuels-650
deep ocean water-200/1000
sedimentary rocks- 150 mil
largest store in biosphere
tropical rainforest at 547.8 gigatonne
cascading sub systems
transfer of mass and energy along chain of component sub systems
atmosphere in the water cycle
mainly water vapour
0.4%
lithosphere in water cycle
continental and oceanic
hydrosphere
all liquid and frozen surfacer water
cryosphere
water locked up as ice
biosphere in water
biotic and abiotic forms in the biosphere and energy cycle within entire ecosystem
short residence time
short time spent by water in transit through the atmosphere results in short term fluctuations in regional weather patterns
long residence time
amount of water in a store divided by either the rate of addition of water to the store or the rate of loss from it.
latent heat
energy that is absorbed or released during a phase change ie. from a gas to a liquid.
arographic rainfall
relief rainfall
topography precipitation
when warm air meets moutains, its forced o rise causing it too cool. this results in orographic rainfall
other air mass precipitation
when air is less dense than cool air. as a result, when warm air is forced up above th cool sir, it cools down as it rises.
this results in frontal rainfall.
convection precipitation
when the sun heats up the ground, moisture evaportates and rises in a column of warm sir. as it gets higher it cool and results in confectionary rainfall.
sublimation
solid to a gas
desublimation
gas to a solid
accumulation- cryospheric processes
input exceeds the outputs so more mass id gained than lost over a year