Water and carbon weaker cards

Question 1

State the three main flows in a drainage basin

Answer 1

River flow
Percolation
Vapour Transport

Question 2

Define the falling limb

Answer 2

The period where discharge is decreasing and the level of the river is falling

Question 3

State the climatic factors influencing a storm hydrograph

Answer 3

Precipitation type, amount, duration and intensity, temperature, evaporation, transpiration and antecedent conditions

Question 4

What do basins with lots of streams and rivers do to the lag time?

Answer 4

basins with lots of streams and rivers have a short lag time and fairly steep falling limb because water drains out of them quickly

Question 5

define overland flow

Answer 5

the flow of water over the ground surface

Question 6

define throughflow

Answer 6

horizontal movement of water downslope through soil

Question 7

Name the second condition after condensation nuclei required for precipitation to form

Answer 7

Cooling of the air below the dew point. The temperature at which condensation occurs is called the dew point and is dependant on the humidity of the air.

Question 8

State the four physical factors which cause excess runoff

Answer 8

Prolonged rainfall (Feb 2020 UK)
Intense storms (Boscastle)
snowmelt (Red River of Fargo)
monsoon rain

Question 9

How is a drought linked to meteorological causes of a water deficit?

Answer 9

a drought is linked extended periods of high pressure over a region

Question 11

State the two meteorological causes of a water deficit

Answer 11

seasonal variations (1976 UK drought) and long term climate change (megadrought)

Question 12

Describe decomposition as a carbon movement in the fast carbon cycle

Answer 12

plants and animals die and decompose. This process of decomposition carried out by organisms known as detritivores such as earthworms aid decomposition as they feed on dead organic matter. Decomposition releases co2 and methane back into the atmosphere.

Question 13

What percentage do wildfires contribute to greenhouse gas emissions?

Answer 13

20%
Lincolnshire 2020
Australia 2019

Question 14

Define a biome

Answer 14

a biome is an ecological community whose global distribution corresponds with climatic regions of the earth

Question 15

Describe the distribution and climate of tropical rainforests?

Answer 15

Equatorial regions such as the Amazon and Malaysia
Wet and warm

Question 16

Describe the distribution of temperate grasslands and their climate?

Answer 16

high altitude regions 30 - 60 degrees north and south of the equator. Predominantly to the north of the tropic of cancer. Chine, Argentina, Middle-East
Climate varies

Question 17

State the size of the carbon stored in a tropical rainforest?

Answer 17

2kg carbon annually per metre squared.
Trees store twice as much as they release - 200% efficiency
Up to 5000 tonnes of carbon per hectare per year

Question 18

How much carbon does a primary forest store per hectare?

Answer 18

300

Question 19

How much carbon is stored in a temperate grassland compared to a tropical rainforest?

Answer 19

compared to tropical rainforests where NPP averages around 2kg per metre squared per year, temperature grasslands store around 600 grams per metre squared per year

Question 20

State the three influences on a carbon store in either tropical rainforest or temperate grassland

Answer 20

temperature
precipitation
light

Question 21

Describe the distribution of peat formation

Answer 21

Peat is mostly found in the northern hemisphere including parts of north America and northern Europe. countries include Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Russia.

Question 22

What are the three main types of peatlands in the UK?

Answer 22

Fen Peatlands - where groundwater meets the surface
Blanket peatlands - occur on flat hill tops where rainfall is high
Raised Bogs - occurs in valley bottoms where soils saturated
(Whixhall Moss)

Question 23

State the two ways the carbon store in peat is reduced

Answer 23

peat extraction and drainage

Question 24

What are the causes of recent increases in the atmospheric carbon store. What did IPCC say?

Answer 24

According to the Inter-governmental panel on climate change (IPCC) in so23, ‘human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming, with global surface temperatures reaching 1.1 degrees above 1850-1900 in 2011-2020.

Question 25

Give a specific cause for the increase in atmospheric carbon

Answer 25

linked to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases, namely carbon dioxide and methane. Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas. It is 25x more potent than CO2.

Question 26

Define the energy budget

Answer 26

The balance between incoming radiation from the sun and outgoing radiated heat plus reflected radiation from the sun.

Question 27

State the impacts of recent increases in the atmospheric carbon store on the water cycle and oceans

Answer 27

Collectively, we have had 8/10 of the warmest year since 2002 and 7/10 wettest years since 1998
Flooding (River Fargo)
Extreme rain (Boscastle)
Drought (1976 UK)
Forest fires (Lincolnshire 2020)

Question 28

What’s a feedback system?

Answer 28

A feedback system is a series of responses that change the ‘steady-state equilibrium’ of a system.
Positive feedback - increases or amplifies the initial change
Negative feedback - stops or reverse the initial change

Question 29

Name the four types of feedback loops

Answer 29

Methane feedback
Cryosphere feedback
Marine carbon feedback
Terrestrial ecosystem feedback

Question 30

Describe the methane feedback loop (5 steps)

Answer 30

High levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere cause global temperatures to increase
Increasing temperatures cause permafrost to thaw
Thawing exposes previously frozen organic matter to decay
As organic matter decays it releases CO2 into the atmosphere
Atmospheric CO2 and methane levels increase

Question 31

State the cryosphere feedback loop (4 steps)

Answer 31

Increase in atmospheric temps
Melting of sea ice and glaciers
Reduced albedo of earths surface
Increased insolation absorption

Question 32

State a marine feedback loop (7 steps)

Answer 32

Warmer ocean water absorbs less atmospheric carbon by diffusion
There is less carbonate ions for shell production and for producers to survive on
Impacts entire food chain
Kills marine life
Decomposition
Releases CO2 and CH4
Greenhouse effect
Global warming

Question 33

Define ocean acidification

Answer 33

As oceans absorb CO2 by diffusion, surface water becomes more acidic. Carbonic acid is created when water diffuses with carbon.

Question 34

Terrestrial feedback loop

Answer 34

Deforestation of tropical rainforests (Borneo)
Deforested trees release CO2 - IPCC statement
Increaseses greenhouse conc

Question 35

Does the carbon or water cycle affect the plant most?

Answer 35

Carbon cycle seen as most effects of the water cycle is a result of the carbon cycle.