water and carbon linked?

Question 1

water and carbon linked in atmosphere

Answer 1

atmospheric CO2 has a greenhouse effect
CO2 vital in photosynthesis by plants and phytoplankton
plants store carbon and extract water from the soil and transpire it as part of the water cycle
water evaporated from from oceans to atmosphere and CO2 is also exchanges between the two stores

Question 2

water and carbon linked in oceans

Answer 2

ocean acidity icnreases when exchanges of CO2 are not balanced
solubility of CO2 in the oceans increases with lower SSTs
Atmospheric CO2 levels influence and the thermal expansion of the oceans, air temps, melting of ice sheets …

Question 3

water and carbon linked in vegetation and soil

Answer 3

water availability influences rates of photosynthesis, NNP, inputs of organic litter to soils and transpiration
water storage of soils increases with organic content
temps and rainfall effect decomposition rates and the release of CO2 to the atmosphere

Question 4

water and carbon linked in cryosphere

Answer 4

CO2 levels in the atmosphere determine intensity of greenhouse effect and melting of ice sheets…
melting exposes land and sea surfaces which more solar radiation and raise temps further
permafrost melting exposes organic material to oxidation and decomposition which releases CO2 CH4
run off, river flow and evaporation all respondent to temp

Question 5

how has human activity effected the water cycle?

Answer 5

rising demand for agriculture, irrigation and public supply has created shortages which can be seen in rivers and aquifers
eg Colorado basin in USA has diminished as water is extracted from

Question 6

how has human activity effected the carbon cycle?

Answer 6

reliant on fossi fuels
rapid industrialisation across the world in the last 30 years has made worse
1 billion tonnes emitted annually
deforestation

Question 7

what is the impact of long term climate change on the water cycle?

Answer 7

more vapour atmosphere increases global temp, increasing evaporation and precipitation
higher run off and greater flood risks
vapour is a source of energy in the atmosphere releasing latent heat on condensation
extreme weather events will become more frequent

Question 8

what is the impact of long term climate change on the carbon cycle?

Answer 8

change is dependent on rising temps and rainfall variations
increase rates of decomposition = accelerating rates of carbon transfers from biosphere to atmosphere
humid tropics climate change increases aridity and threatens the existence of forests and are replaced by grasslands
carbon stored diminishes
carbon frozen in permafrost released and peat stores oxidise and decompose
oceans are acidified
long term= more CO2 stored in atmosphere and less in oceans and biosphere

Question 9

what is a wetland?

Answer 9

area where the water table is at or near the surface causing the ground to be permanently saturated
marshes, floodplains…

Question 10

why do wetlands need to be restored?

Answer 10

urbanisation has places huge pressure on wetlands
in US, wetland area has halved since 1600
loss of biodiversity and habitats

Question 11

why are wetlands important?

Answer 11

can store 3.25 tonnes C/ha per year
in Canada 112,000 ha targeted for restoration which should eventually sequester 364,000 c/ha/ year

Question 12

what initiatives are helping restore wetlands?

Answer 12

International Convention on Wetlands
European Union Habitats Directive
Cambridgeshire is currently being restored to wetland
UK government wanted to meet restore 500ha of wetland by 2020

Question 13

how are they going to restore wetlands?

Answer 13

raise water tables to recreate water logged conditions
removing flood embankments
breaching sea defences
diverting or blocking drainage ditches and installing sluice gates

Question 14

what is afforestation?

Answer 14

plating trees in deforested areas or areas that have never been forested

Question 15

why is afforestation beneficial?

Answer 15

can help reduce atmospheric CO2 in the medium to long term
reduces flood risk and soil erosion

Question 16

what is the UN Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation scheme?

Answer 16

place a monetary value of forest conservation
stops loggers and farmers clearing forest areas

Question 17

China afforestation project

Answer 17

started in 1978
aims to afforest 400,000km2 by 2050
planted fast growing species such as birch - 30,000 km2 in 9 years
wanted to combat desertification and land degradation

Question 18

changing agricultural practices to manage global carbon cycle

Answer 18

unsustainable practices such as overcultivation and overgrazing result in soil erosion and the release of carbon
intensive livestock produces 100 million tonnes of carbon a year

Question 18

why are emissions the responsibilty of rich countries?

Answer 18

countries such as china and india are still relaitvely poor and based on industrialisation reliant on fossil fuels adn is essential to raise living standards

Europe and North America are mostly to blame for contemporary global warming and climate change

Question 18

what international agreement are there to reduce carbon emissions?

Answer 18

Kyoto Protocol : most rich countries legally binded to reduce their carbon impacts but some of the biggest polluters were exmept - china and india
Paris Climate Convention aims to reduce by 60% by 2050 and keep global warming below 2 degrees
major countries will transfer technology etc to poorer countries to help them achieve targets

Question 19

what is cap and trade?

Answer 19

offers an alternative and international market based approach to limit CO2 emissions
businesses are allocated an annual quota for their CO2 emissions
if they emit less than quota they recieve carbon credits which can be traded on international markets
businesses that exceed their quota must purchase additional credits and recieve financial penalties
carbon offsets are credits awarded to countries and companies for schemes to manage carbon

Question 20

management strategies to protect carbon cycle

Answer 20

wetland restoration
afforestation
agricultural practices
international agreements

Question 21

management strategies to protect water cycle

Answer 21

forestry
water allocations
drainage basin planning

Question 22

forestry

Answer 22

UN and World Bank fund programmes to protect tropical forests
UNs Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation fund over 50% of countries across the world to protect their forests
Amazon Regional Protected Areas programme protects 10% of the amazon basin

Question 23

water allocations

Answer 23

agriculture accounts for 70% of water withdrawals + 90% of consumption
wastage of water happens through inefficient management
better water harvesting such as reservoirs and lakes means that farmers have extra resources

Question 24

example of water allocations

Answer 24

Lower Indus Valley, Pakistan
US Colorado Basin
Pakistan, Punjab and Sindh receive 92% of flow
Colorado Basin resources given to 5 states

Question 25

drainage basin planning

Answer 25

can adopt a holistic or integrated demand to accommodate conflicting demands of different water users
targets include surface run-off, groundwater…

Question 26

example of drainage basin planning

Answer 26

England and Wales
EU Water Directive Framework, 10 river basin districts have been indentified
each district has its own management plan
sets targets of abstraction rates, groundwater levels, flood control and floodplain development and status of habitats