Water, carbon and climate change

Question 1

What is negative feedback loops?

Answer 1

A feedback which keeps a system in its original condition

Question 2

What is an example of a negative feedback loop?

Answer 2

Increase in CO2 - increase in temperature - increased plant growth - increased uptake of CO2 - reduction in CO2

Question 3

What is a positive feedback loop?

Answer 3

A feedback where there is a progressively greater change from the original condition of the system

Question 4

What is an example of a positive feedback loop?

Answer 4

Increase in temperature - increase in oceanic temperatures - dissolved CO2 released from warmer oceans - increase in CO2 - further atmospheric warming

Question 5

What are the movements of carbon?

Answer 5

Human processes and geological components, biomass processes, oceanic carbon pumps, combustion,

Question 6

What are the human processes which move carbon?

Answer 6

Burning of fossil fuels

Question 7

What are the geo-logical processes which move carbon?

Answer 7

Volcanoes, rock cycle

Question 8

What are the biomass processes which move carbon?

Answer 8

Respiration, photosynthesis, decomposition

Question 9

What is a carbon sink?

Answer 9

Store which takes in more carbon than it releases

Question 10

What is a carbon store?

Answer 10

Store which takes in less carbon than it releases

Question 11

How does the rock cycle move carbon?

Answer 11

Through weathering, burial, subduction, volcanic activity

Question 12

How does volcanic activity and subduction move carbon?

Answer 12

At plate boundaries, a tectonic plate will subduct into mantle and melt, during a volcanic eruption the mantle will come up where lava and CO2 is released

Question 13

What are the main mitigations of climate change?

Answer 13

Improving the aviation industry
Changing rural land use
Urban design
Increased use of renewable energy

Question 14

How can improving the aviation of industry mitigate climate change?

Answer 14

Shorten flight time by efficient air traffic control
Changes of routes to reduce contrail formation
Improved fuel efficiency

Question 15

How can changing rural land use mitigate climate change?

Answer 15

Afforestation and reforestation silviculture

Question 16

How can adapting urban design mitigate climate change?

Answer 16

Improve ventilation 
Green roofs
Improved insulation 
Recycling 
Capture landfill gas
Water management practices 
Sustainable urban transport systems

Question 17

How can increasing the use of renewable energy mitigate climate change?

Answer 17

Wave and tidal power
Wind power
Solar energy

Question 18

What is positive feedback example for the impact of water and carbon on climate change?

Answer 18

CO2 from human activity 
Global temperature rise 
Increased oceanic temperatures 
Warm water less able to dissolve CO2, so it releases it 
More CO2 in atmosphere

Question 19

What is the Kyoto protocol?

Answer 19

An international agreement to cut CO2 emissions to help reduce global warming

Question 20

When was the Kyoto protocol? and who made the argument made?

Answer 20

11th December in 1997 in Japan made by industrialized countries

Question 21

How much greenhouse gas emissions needed to be reduced for the Kyoto protocol?

Answer 21

5% below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012

Question 22

What did EU countries on a whole have as there targets in the Kyoto protocol?

Answer 22

8% reduction but individuelle countries had there own target

Question 23

When did the Kyoto protocol treaty become legally binding?

Answer 23

in 2005 - when all the countries who were responsibly for 55% of the total emissions had signed

Question 24

What country initial declined to sign the Kyoto protocol but eventually did in 2011?

Answer 24

USA after they got 191 signatories

Question 25

Why did poor countries not have to reduce their emissions?

Answer 25

They could trade in their carbon credits instead - the amount of greenhouses gases they are allowed to emit

Question 26

What could countries putting more pollution into the atmosphere do?

Answer 26

Buy carbon credits from a country below its agreed level