Water and Carbon Cycles Flashcards
Describe what systems are
Systems are a set on interrelated components working together towards an end process.
Name the types of systems
Open Systems - Energy and mass can be imputed and outputted
Closed Systems - Energy can be transferred, matter can only be transferred within the system
Isolated Systems - No interactions with anything outside the system
What are the types of feedbacks found in systems
Positive feedback - Effects of action are amplified and multiplied by knock-on effects - Increasing effect of change
Negative feedback - Effects of action are nullified by subsequent knock-on effects - decreasing effect of change
Dynamic Equilibrium - Inputs and outputs the system are balanced
Describe the distribution of Earth’s water
2.5% of earths water is in freshwater
1.2% of the freshwater is found on the surface, 30.1% underground and the rest in glaciers
3% of surface water is found in the Atmosphere, 30% in lakes and 69% in permafrost
Name the important processes that occur in the water cycle
- Evaporation
- Transpiration
- Condensation
- Sublimation
Describe the Atmospheric Circulation Model
Atmosphere moved around in ‘cells’ - Polar, hadley, ferrel cells. They move warm moist air up, to higher latitudes where they cool down and sink.
Outline the features of a drainage basin
Watershed - Boundary of the Basin
Main river channel and multiple tributaries
Source and Mouth
Name the processes in a drainage basin
Inputs - Precipitation
Flows / transfers:
- Percolation (downward movement of water into permeable rock )
- Infiltration ( downward movement of water into soil )
- Overland Flow
- Stemflow
- Throughflow ( movement of water down hill slope inside the soil )
- Evaporation
- Transpiration
- Channel flow
- Groundwater flow ( Movement of water through permeable rock )
Stores:
- Interception
- Groundwater
- Surface storage
What is the Soil Water Budget
The balance between inputs and outputs within a drainage basin
P = Q + E +(S)
P - precipitation, Q - Run-off, E - Evaporation, S - Storage Change
What are the human impacts on the water cycle?
Soil drainage - Agriculture
Abstraction
Deforestation - Land use change
Factors that increase the carbon in the atmosphere
- Burning Fossil Fuels
- Decomposition
- Respiration
- Wildfires
- Volcanic eruptions
Natural processes that cause change in the carbon cycle
Wildfires
- Rapid transfer large quantities of carbon from biomass to the atmosphere
- Decrease in vegetation - decrease in photosynthesis
- Encourages new growth in long term - Can naturally balance carbon
Human Processes that cause change in the carbon cycle
Burning Hydrocarbons
- Extraction and burning releases CO2
- Without humans, fuel sources stay sequestrated for millions of years
Deforestation
- Land use for agriculture, logging, development
- Decrease in carbon store, burning causes rapid release
Agriculture
- Animals increase CO2 and methane
- Tilling releases CO2 stored in soil
- Rice paddies release large quantities of Methane
- Increased amount of machinery increases amount of released CO2
- increasing world population increases need for agriculture
Land Use Change
- Natural -> urban
- Removal of vegetation - decrease in carbon stored in biosphere
- Concrete production produces large quantity of CO2
What is the carbon budget
Difference between inputs and outputs in a subsystem
Carbon Source - Releases more carbon than it absorbs
Carbon Sink - Absorbs more carbon that it produces.
Atmospheric inputs of carbon
Volcanic eruptions
Burning fossil fuels
Respiration
Ocean loss
Decomposition
Atmospheric outputs of carbon
Photosynthesis
Sequestration
Chemical weathering
Ocean uptake
How can carbon be mitigated at different levels
Individual - People using less cars, buying efficient products
National - Decrease in reliance of fossil fuels (for energy), investment in renewable energy resources, afforestation schemes, sustainable development - Increasing greenspaces and public transport
Global - International treaties - Kyoto protocol, Paris agreement, Carbon trading schemes
State some climate change mitigation strategies
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) - Collecting carbon from atmosphere and trapping it underground / in deep water
- Expensive, not always a viable option
- Environmental impacts are not yet known
Plantation forests - Act as sinks, soft wood used in non-processed products.
- More effective sink than traditional forests
- Captured carbon is stored, allowing for more capture
- Space requirement, loss of biodiversity
Land Use Change - ‘Carbon Farming’
- Replace crops with better carbon stored - Hay and Oats
- No-till solutions
- Purchas FSC wood only
- Kyoto protocol - clean development mechanism - Earn points by planting trees
Grassland improvement - Pedospheric sequestration
- Decreased soil erosion - puts CO2 into the soil
- Avoid overgrazing
Aviation Advancements
- Fuel efficient routes, cut back on circling
- Decrease cruising speed
- Improve aerodynamics and use more biofuels
Talk about the Kyoto Protocol
What were the 3 main points?
Happened in 2005
Linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Placed heavy burdens on developed countries which are the largest polluters
- International Emissions Trading
- Clean Development Mechanism
- Joint Implementation - Countries working together to reduce emissions
Evaluation:
- Generally a success - produced legally binding contracts
- 1990 - 2012 - Reduced carbon emissions by 12.5%
Talk about the Paris Agreement
What were the 3 main points?
Happened in 2015
- Keep Global temp increase below 2
- Work against the impact of climate change and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions
- Pay suitable amounts to aid work
- Not legally binding - no way to control
- each country set their own goal
- name and shame if a country is not adhering to their target
Evaluation:
- Lead to conflict between developed and developing nations
- South Africa declared ‘loss and damage’ - developing nations receive aid from developed nations - Richer countries state their nations are disadvantaged
