Water and Carbon Cycles

Question 1

Why are drainage basins described as open and closed systems?

Answer 1

They have both inputs of water from mountain water run off, whilst having outputs acting within them (sediments, dissolved substances and smaller channels that branch off).

Question 2

What is discharge? and how is it measured?

Answer 2

Discharge is the amount of water passing over a specific point over a given length of time

Question 3

What is water regime?

Answer 3

The variation in discharge of a river over the course of a year

Question 4

Permafrost information (4+)

Answer 4

• formed where grounds remains below 0 degrees Celsius for at least 2 consecutive years.
• thickness varies from less than 1 metres to 1,500 metres.
• most permafrost today was formed during glacial periods.
• sub-sea permafrost occurs over the Arctic continental shelf during the last glacial period on exposed shelf landscapes when sea levels were lower.

Question 5

Sea ice information (4+)

Answer 5

• formed when sea water is cooled to temperatures below freezing.
• doesn’t raise sea levels when melting
• ice platforms form where ice sheet and glaciers move out into the ocean.
  ice shelves mostly exist in Antarctica and Greenland, as well as near Canada and Alaska.
• icebergs are chunks of ice shelves and drift in the ocean, and they only raise sea levels when first entering.

Question 6

Ice caps information (4+)

Answer 6

• thick layers of ice on land that are SMALLER than 50,000 km3.
• usually found in mountainous areas such as the Himalayas and the Andes.
• tend to be dome-shaped and are centered over the highest points in high relief areas.
• they flow outwards.
• the FURTWANGLER GLACIER on Kilimanjaro is Africa’s only remaining ice cap.

Question 7

Ice sheet information (4+)

Answer 7

• mass of ice that extends over 50,000 km3.
• forms where snow falls in winter and doesn’t melt over the summer.
• snow and ice layers compress as new layers of snow pile up and accumulate.
• 2 major ice sheets reside over Greenland and Antarctica.
• they hold enormous amounts of water, so much that scientists believe that is the Antarctica ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by 60 metres.

Question 8

Alpine glacier information (4+)

Answer 8

• thick masses of ice that are found deep in valleys or upland hollows.
• most are fed from ice and ice caps, or smaller corrie glaciers.
  Glaciers are particularly important in the Himalayas where about 15,000 glaciers form a unique reservoir.
• this supports perennial rivers such as the Brahmaputra, Ganges and Indus which in turn are the lifeline for millions of people in South Asian countries (link to Sundarbans).

Question 9

Types of water stores and examples (4)

Answer 9

• Surface waters: Rivers (Amazon River, South America), Lakes (Lake Baikal, Siberia), and Wetlands (The Pantanal, South America).
• Ground water (Kola Peninsula, South America)
• Soil water (anywhere with SOIL)
• Biological water (Cacti)

Question 10

Explain why vegetation cover changes during the year (link to atmospheric circulation modal)

Answer 10

Seasonal changes influenced by the Earth’s axial tilt changes the atmospheric circulation pattern. These patterns affect temperature, precipitation and daylight duration which will influence the growth and dormancy cycles of plants in different regions.

Question 11

Is the air rising or falling where Hadley and Ferrel cells meet? Does this bring wet or dry weather?

Answer 11

• air is falling which causes high pressure.
• brings hot, dry conditions due tot he air pressure being high, creating areas of little clouds and low rainfall –> due to little clouding there are freezing temperatures at night as there’s less of a barrier from the surface of the earth to space.

Question 12

What is frontal rainfall?

Answer 12

• occurs when two air masses meet
• warm air gets forced over the colder air
• warm air cools as it rises, as well as being next to the cold air so makes it cool more
• condensation occurs and clouds form
• rain falls along the front

Question 13

What is orographic/relief rainfall?

Answer 13

• clouds and rainfall formed from the shape of the land (the topography)
• moist, warm air is forced up the sides of mountains/hills and condenses, so rain forms
• on the other side, the air descends and so it warms up and becomes drier

Question 14

What is convective rainfall?

Answer 14

• the sun causes moisture on the surface and in soils to rise, so the water vapour rises and forms clouds when it cools and condenses
• this tends to give short bursts of rain with clear spells inbetween

Question 15

What is accumulation?

Answer 15

The build up of a glacier due to snow being compacted of ice over many years

Question 16

What is ablation?

Answer 16

The melting of ice (during summer months), usually at the snout of a glacier

Question 17

What government conferences were held with the subject being climate change?

Answer 17

PARIS CONFERENCE was the first attempt to establish tough, binding greenhouse gas emission targets on all member states of the UN across the world. Member countries agreed to report every five years on their efforts, and there’s an aim for a target of no more than a 1.5 degree Celsius global average temperature rise on preindustrial levels.

The KYOTO PROTOCOL set binding targets for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It also established the concept od trading carbon emissions between member countries. HOWEVER, not all established nations signed up such as CHINA AND BRAZIL, and some subsequently withdraw, whereas others that have recognised their target but will have declined to make it legally enforceable.

Question 18

What is INORGANIC CARBON?

Answer 18

carbon found in non-living things such as sedimentary rocks and coal.

Question 19

What is ORGANIC CARBON?

Answer 19

carbon found in living things such as plants and trees (organisms).

Question 20

How much carbon is stored in the lithosphere as marine sediments and sedimentary rocks?

Answer 20

100 million GTC

Question 21

How much carbon is stored in the atmosphere?

Answer 21

700-800 GTC

Question 22

What is carbon sequestration?

Answer 22

the transfer of carbon from the atmosphere to plants, soils, rock formations and oceans. It is both a natural and human process.

Question 23

Examples of carbon sequestration

Answer 23

Carbon capture and storage involves the technological ‘capturing’ of up to 90% of the CO2 emissions produced from the use of fossil fuels in electricity generation and industrial processes.

Question 24

What is a net carbon sink.

Answer 24

When something takes in more carbon than it produces

Question 25

What is a net carbon source.

Answer 25

When something produces more carbon than it takes in

Question 26

Key data facts for Indonesia Case Study (write down)

Answer 26

• 13.7% of the regions work sector is for agriculture
• Nearly all forest fires in Indonesia are human caused. In 2015, 6.4 million hectares were burnt.
• untouched forests are becoming increasingly more threatened
• 2.4 million acres of land are cleared yearly in Indonesia.

Question 27

What is the affect of forest fires on the pedosphere and local water stores

Answer 27

Rain will wash ash into the soil, increasing carbon content within that store (pedosphere). Carbon in runoff will also increase and so water becomes more acidic.
- more acidic water means more acidic rainfall which can kill even more vegetation.
- surface flow becomes more rapid and therefore a faster output of water out of the system. As a result, the grounds become drier and people/animals struggle to find food.