Water And Carbon Flashcards
What does the availability and quantity of water help tie together
The Earths lands, oceans and atmosphere into an integrated physical system
What is the most important greenhouse gas
Water vapour
What does the poor understanding of the water cycles interactions and processes at a variety of scale lead to
Bad representation in model predications
Where is carbon stored
Everywhere: in the oceans, rocks and soil, in all forms of life and our atmosphere
What does the well-bring and functioning of our planet depend on
Carbon and how it cycles through the Earths system
How does the carbon cycle play a key role in regulating the global temperature and climate change
By controlling the amount of another greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere
What is a flow/transfer
A form of linkage between one store/component and another that involved movement of energy or mass
What is an input
The addition of matter and/or energy into a system
What is a store/ component
A part of the system where energy/ mass is stored or transformed
What is a system
A set of interrelated components working towards some kind of process
Why do geographers attempt to simplify aspects of the Earth
It is highly complex.
They want relationships between components to be better understood.
What are simplifications of highly complex processes called
Models such as the water cycle or the demographic transition model
What is a type of model that is widely used
The system
What are the three properties of systems
Elements
Attributes
Relationships
What are elements in the system
The things that make up the system
What are attributes of a system
The perceived characteristics of the elements
What are the relationships in a system
Descriptions of how the various elements (and their attributes) work together to carry out some kind of process
What are the four common characteristics of systems
- structure that lies within in a boundary.
- generalisations of reality, removing incidental detail that obscures fundamental relationships.
- they function by having inputs and outputs of material that is processes within the components causing it to change.
- involve the flow of material between components.
What are the three classifications of systems
Isolated systems
Closed systems
Open systems
What are isolated systems
They have no interaction with anything outside the system boundary. No inputs or outputs of energy. Many controlled lab experiments are this type of systems but they are rare in nature.
What is a closed system
Transfers of energy both into and beyond the system boundary but not transfer of matter
What are open systems
Matter and energy transferred from the system across the boundary into the surrounding environment. Most ecosystems are an example of this.
Specific example of an open system
A drainage basin hydrological system
When is a system said to be in a state of dynamic equilibrium
Where there is a balance between the inputs and outputs