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Geography > Water & Carbon Systems > Flashcards

Water & Carbon Systems Flashcards

1
Q

What’s an input?

A
  • Material or energy moving into the system from outside
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2
Q

What’s an output?

A
  • Material or energy moving from the system to outside
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3
Q

Energy

A
  • Power or driving force
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4
Q

Stores/Components

A
  • The individual elements or parts of a system
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5
Q

Flows/transfers

A
  • The links/relationships between the components
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6
Q

Positive feedback

A
  • Cyclical sequence of events that amplifies or increases change.
  • Positive feedback loops exacerbate the outputs of a system, driving it in one direction and promoting environmental instability
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7
Q

Negative feedback

A
  • Cyclical sequence of events that damps down or neutralizes the effects of a system
  • Promoting stability and a state of dynamic equilibrium
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8
Q

Dynamic equilibrium

A
  • Represents a state of balance within a constantly changing system
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9
Q

What are the Earth’s subsystems? [5]

A

Cryosphere - cold enough to freeze
Lithosphere - outermost part of Earth e.g. crust & upper mantle
Biosphere – where all living things are found
Hydrosphere - includes all the water on Earth
Atmosphere - layer of gas between Earth’s surface & space

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10
Q

What % of carbon is stored in sedimentary rocks e.g. limestone?

A

99.9%

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11
Q

What % of the carbon in the earth is stored in fossil fuels?

A

0.004%

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12
Q

What % of carbon is stored in the cyrosphere?

A

0.01%

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13
Q

What % of carbon is stored in the atmosphere?

A

0.001%

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14
Q

What type of system is the carbon cycle and why?

A

Closed system:

There are inputs & outputs of energy, but the amount of carbon in the system remains the same.

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15
Q

Name the stores of the carbon cycle [7]

A
  • Atmosphere
  • Vegetation
  • Soils
  • Fossil fuels
  • Earth’s crust
  • Oceans
  • Sediments
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16
Q

What are the fast carbon flows? [4]

A
  • Photosynthesis
  • Respiration
  • Combustion
  • Decomposition
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17
Q

What is sequestration? [2]

A
  • Carbon from the atmosphere can be sequestered (captured & held) in sedimentary rocks or as fossil fuels- dead animal & plant material = compacted
  • Carbon in fossil fuels is sequestered until we burn them
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18
Q

What is photosynthesis? [2]

A
  • Transfer of carbon stored in the atmosphere to biomass

- Plants convert co2 into glucose & oxygen

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19
Q

What is respiration? [2]

A
  • Transfers carbon from living organisms to the atmosphere

- Plants & animals release carbon dioxide & methane

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20
Q

What is combustion? [2]

A
  • Transfers carbon stored in biomass into the atmosphere by burning
  • Wildfires can cause carbon flow
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21
Q

What is decomposition? [2]

A
  • Transfers carbon from dead biomass into the atmosphere & soil
  • After death bacteria & fungi break organisms down - releases co2
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22
Q

What is ocean uptake & loss? [2]

A
  • CO2 is directly dissolved from the atmosphere into the ocean
  • CO2 is transferred from the ocean to the atmosphere when carbon-rich water from deep oceans rises and releases CO2
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23
Q

What is weathering? [4]

A
  • Transfers CO2 from atmosphere -> hydrosphere -> biosphere
  • Atmospheric carbon reacts w/ water vapour to form acid rain
  • Acid rain dissolves the rocks & molecules from this reaction may wash into the sea
  • Molecules react with CO2 dissolved in water to form calcium carbonate which is used by sea creatures e.g to make shells
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24
Q

What are the main carbon flows at plant scale? [2]

A
  • Respiration

- Photosynthesis

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25
Q

What are the main carbon flows at ecosystem scale?

A
  • Combustion

- Decomposition

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26
Q

What are the main carbon flows at continental scale?

A
  • Sequestration
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27
Q

How can wildfires affect the magnitude of carbon stores? [3]

A
  • WF’s rapidly transfer large quantities of carbon from biomass into the atmosphere
  • Loss of vegetation decreases photosynthesis so less carbon is removed from the atmosphere

However in long term: fires can encourage new plant growth = neutral effect on amount of atmospheric carbon

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28
Q

How can volcanic activity affect the magnitude of carbon stores? [3]

A
  • Carbon stored w/i Earth in magma is released during eruptions
  • Majority of carbon enters the atmosphere as co2
  • Recent eruptions have released much less co2 than human activities - however there’s potential for a large eruption to disrupt the carbon cycle significantly
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29
Q

What has happened since the industrial revolution? [2]

A
  • Human impact on the carbon cycle has dramatically increased
  • Causing carbon flows from lithosphere and biosphere to the atmosphere to happen much faster than they would naturally
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30
Q

How has hydrocarbon (fossil fuel) extraction & use affected the carbon cycle? [2]

A
  • Extracting + burning of fossil fuels releases co2 into atmosphere
  • W/o human intervention, the carbon would remain sequestered in the lithosphere for millions of years
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31
Q

How has deforestation affected the carbon system? [2]

A
  • Clearance reduces the size of the carbon store

- If cleared forests are burnt, there’s a rapid flow of carbon from the biosphere into the atmosphere

32
Q

How have farming practices affected the carbon system [3]

A
  • Agricultural activities release co2 into the atmosphere:
    Animals release CO2 and methane
    Ploughing can release CO2 stored in soil
    Growing rice in paddies releases methane

Will increase impact as world’s population increases.

33
Q

How have land use changes affected the carbon cycle? [2]

A
  • Vegetation is removed to make way for buildings - reducing carbon stores
  • Concrete production releases lots of CO2, especially in urban areas
34
Q

What is the carbon budget?

A
  • The difference between inputs of carbon into a subsystem and outputs of carbon from it.
35
Q

Name some inputs of the carbon system? [3]

A

Volcanic eruptions
Burning fossil fuels
Ocean loss

36
Q

Name some outputs of the carbon system?

A
  • Photosynthesis
  • Sequestration
  • Decomposition
  • Chemical weathering
  • Ocean uptake
37
Q

What’s a carbon source?

A
  • The outputs of carbon outweighs the inputs
38
Q

What’s a carbon sink?

A
  • The inputs of carbon outweigh the outputs, so it absorbs more carbon than releases
39
Q

What’s the impact of the carbon cycle on the atmosphere? [3]

A
  • Carbon cycle affects the amount of gases containing co2 in the atmosphere (greenhouse gases, trap sun’s energy)
  • As concentrations increase temperatures are expected to rise - global warming
  • Changes in temp. will affect other aspects of climate, e.g. more tropical storms.
40
Q

What’s the impact of the carbon cycle on land? [3]

A
  • Allows plants to grow - with no CO2, no photosynthesis or decomposition
  • Changes in cycle can reduce amount carbon stored in land e.g. melting of the permafrost releasing carbon into atmosphere
  • An increase in global temps could increase frequency of wildfires
41
Q

What’s the impact of the carbon cycle on oceans? [5]

A
  • CO2 is dissolved directly into oceans from the atmosphere
  • > used by organisms e.g. phytoplankton & seaweed during photosynthesis to form skeletons
  • Increased CO2 in ocean can increase ocean acidity, damaging marine line
  • Global warming could kill organisms e.g. phytoplankton
  • Warmer water less able to absorb CO2 so less can be dissolved in the sea decreases
42
Q

What contains carbon?

A

All living things

43
Q

How do plants form the base for food chains? [2]

A
  • When photosynthesis occurs they use energy to convert co2 to biomass
  • Requires inputs of both water and carbon - photosynthesis.
44
Q

What is water present in the atmosphere as?

A

Water vapour and water droplets

45
Q

What is carbon present in the atmosphere as?

A

Carbon dioxide and methane

46
Q

What do water & carbon in the atmosphere cause?

A

A natural greenhouse effect that prevents some energy from escaping to space & reflects it back to Earth -> higher temperatures

47
Q

What is an enhanced greenhouse effect?

A
  • Where additional greenhouse gases reflect more energy back to Earth than in the natural greenhouse effect, so temp. increases even further
48
Q

Example of positive feedback in the carbon cycle [4]

A

Temperatures rise -> Evaporation increases

-> Amount of water vapour in atmosphere increases -> Greenhouse effect increases

49
Q

Name 3 greenhouse gases

A
  • Water vapour
  • Carbon dioxide
  • Methane
50
Q

Example of a negative feedback loop in the water cycle [5]

A

Temperatures rise-> evaporation increases

  • > amount of water vapour in atmosphere increases, causing more clouds to form
  • > increased cloud cover reflects more of sun’s energy back to space
  • > temperatures fall
51
Q

Example of a positive feedback loop within the carbon cycle [4]

A

Temperatures rise-> plant respiration rate increases

-> amount of co2 in atmosphere increases -> greenhouse effect increases ->

52
Q

Example of a negative feedback loop within the carbon cycle [5]

A

CO2 in atmosphere increases -> Extra CO2 causes plants to increase growth

  • > Plants remove and store more CO2 from atmosphere
  • > Amount of CO2 in atmosphere reduces
53
Q

How do the carbon & water cycles depend on each other? [3]

A
  • Carbon combines with water in the atmosphere - allows chemical weathering, which removes carbon from atmosphere
  • Water is needed for photosynthesis, which removes carbon from the atmosphere
  • Amount of CO2 in the atmosphere affects global temperature, which affect the amount of evaporation that can take place, which affects the amount of precipitation
54
Q

How might climate change affect precipitation?

A
  • Wet areas are expected to get wetter & dry areas are expected to get drier
  • Could lead to conflicts in future
55
Q

How might climate change affect weather events?

A
  • Extreme weather events may get more frequent (e.g. tropical storms)
  • Less developed countries will be worst affected as may be unable to deal with impacts
56
Q

How might climate change affect agricultural productivity?

A

It will decrease in some areas, which could lead to food shortages

57
Q

How may climate change affect sea levels?

A
  • Sea levels are expected to rise further.

- This will flood coastal & low-lying areas

58
Q

How may climate change affect some species? [2]

A
  • Geographical range of some species may change e.g. migrating birds
  • The arrival of new species in an area may damage the ecosystem, and some species may become extinct
59
Q

How may climate change affect plankton?

A
  • Plankton numbers may decline if temperatures increase, which will have a knock-on effect on marine food chains
60
Q

How much more CO2 is there than in 1750?

A

40% more in the atmosphere

61
Q

What is the IPCC?

A

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

- international organisation set up by UN to share knowledge about climate change

62
Q

How can individuals mitigate climate change? [2]

A
  • People can choose to use their cars less and buy fuel efficient cars
  • Make homes more energy efficient e.g. double glazing
63
Q

How can regional/national governments mitigate climate change? [4]

A
  • Governments can reduce reliance on fossil fuels and reduce costs of renewable energy sources e.g. wind
  • Afforestation and restoring degraded forests can increase carbon uptake
  • Improving public transport (reduce car use) and creating more green spaces
  • CCS (Carbon capture and storage) - CO2 is captured and stored underground
64
Q

How can we mitigate climate change globally? [2]

A
  • Kyoto Protocol 1997 & Paris Agreement 2015 - International treaties to control emission limits
  • International carbon trading schemes- countries & businesses are given a limit on the emissions they can produce
65
Q

What is the Amazon Rainforest? [3]

A
  • World’s largest tropical rainforest, covers 40% of South America
  • Home to up to 1 million plant species, 500 mammals and over 2000 species of fish
  • Endangered species e.g. Black caiman, pirarucu
66
Q

What is the average rainfall in the Amazon basin?

A

3000mm/year

67
Q

How is the Amazon a carbon sink?

A

It stores a lot of carbon in its vegetation and soil

68
Q

What has the increasing concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere led to in the Amazon?

A

Increased productivity in the Amazon rainforest because the vegetation is able to access more CO2 for photosynthesis

69
Q

What has increased biomass in the Amazon rainforest caused?

A

The amount of CO2 sequestered by the rainforest has increased, making it an even more important carbon store.

70
Q

What has happened to trees in the rainforest? [2]

A

Growing more quickly

Dying younger

71
Q

How is human activity affecting the carbon cycle? [3]

A
  • Without roots to hold soil together, heavy rain washes away the nutrient-rich top layer of soil -> transferring carbon stored in the soil to the hydrosphere
  • Deforestation = less leaf litter so soil can’t support new growth, limits carbon being absorbed
  • Trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere & store it, so fewer trees means more atmospheric CO2 - enhances greenhouse effect
72
Q

How can climate change impact the Amazon Rainforest? [3]

A
  • Temperature increasing and rainfall increasing leads to droughts, e.g. in 2005
  • Many species die in dry weather due to moist adaptation
  • A 4 degrees temp. rise could kill 85% of the rainforest -> lots of carbon into atmosphere
73
Q

How can selective logging limit human impacts on the Amazon? [2]

A
  • Only some trees are felled - most are left standing

- Less damaging than felling all the trees, forest is able to regenerate

74
Q

How can replanting limit human impacts on the Amazon? [2]

A
  • New trees are planted to replace ones cut down

- Variety of trees is maintained as same types are replanted

75
Q

How can Environmental Laws limit human impacts on the Amazon? [2]

A
  • Laws ban excessive logging

- Laws that control land use e.g. the Brazilian Forest Code - says landowners have to keep 50-80% of land as a forest

76
Q

How can protection limit human impacts on the Amazon? [2]

A
  • Many countries have set up national parks & nature reserves to protect rainforests, e.g. the Central Amazon Conservation Complex in Brazil 2003 - protects biodiversity

Geography (13 decks)

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