Water & Carbon: EGC All Class Quizlet Flashcards
Ablation
Outputs from a glacial system due to melting (size of glacier decreases)
Accumulation
Inputs to a glacial system due to snowfall (builds a glacier)
Acidification
The gradual reduction of pH of the oceans, due to dissolving carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
Afforestation
Planting trees and vegetation in the aim of increasing forest cover
Anticyclone
A system of high pressure, causing high temperatures and unseasonably high evaporation rates.
Aquifer
A vast underground reservoir most commonly formed in rocks such as chalk and sandstone
Atmosphere
The air that surrounds the Earth
Baseflow
The groundwater flow that feeds into rivers through river banks and river beds
Biofuel
Burning crops and vegetation for electricity and heat.
Biosphere
All living things on Earth
Burial and compaction
Where organic matter becomes buried and is then compressed by the overlying sediment
Carbon budget
A way of using data to describe the amount of carbon that is stored and transferred within the carbon cycle
Carbon capture and storage (CCS)
The technological ‘capturing’ of carbon emitted from power stations. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is compressed into a liquid and is then pumped and stored several kilometres into the ground.
Carbon farming
Where one type of crop is replaced by another that has greater productivity and can absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
Carbon Fluxes
The movement of carbon between stores
Carbon Neutral
A process that has no net addition of carbon dioxide to the environment.
Carbon sink
Anything that absorbs more carbon than it releases eg the ocean
Carbon source
Anything that releases more carbon than it absorbs
Carbon Stores
Places where carbon accumulates for a period of time such as rocks and plant matter
Cattle Ranching
The practise of raising a herd of cattle on an area of land. Deforestation often occurs to provide the field space. Cattle ranching is responsible for 80% of deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest.
Channel flow
The movement of water in the river channel moving towards the sea.
Channel storage
The storage of water in the river channel. As water is being transported to the sea it is a store of water
Choke Points
Points in the logistics of energy and fuel that are prone to restriction
Clear Cutting
Loggers are interested in all types of wood and therefore cut all the trees down, thus clearing the forest. This is not sustainable.