Unit 1

• How much carbon does the biosphere contain?

  560 billion tonnes
• What percentage of carbon is contained in the biosphere?


  0.0012%
• How much carbon is in the atmosphere?

  750 billion tonnes
• By what percentage has atmospheric carbon increased in the past 100 years?


  36%
• How much carbon does the hydrosphere contain?

  38,000 billion tonnes
• What percentage of carbon in the hydrosphere exists as bicarbonate?

  90%
• What percentage of carbon is found in the pedosphere?

  0.0031%
• What percentage of all carbon is contained in the lithosphere?

  99.9%
• What is the time span of the slow carbon cycle?


  • 100 - 200 million years
• What causes chemical weathering of rocks in the slow carbon cycle?

  Carbonic acid from CO2 and water vapor
• How is acid rain formed?

  When sulfur or nitrogen oxides mix with water
• What happens when acid rain hits calcium carbonate (limestone)?

  1. CO2 and calcium bicarbonate are created
  2. Bubbles can be seen
  3. The rock is calved, creating karst landscapes
• Where does the calcium bicarbonate go after being transported by rivers?

  To the sea where it is used in shells
• What happens to shells when animals die?

  They sink and accumulate on the ocean floor
• What is the process called when shells compact to form rocks?

  Lithification
• How much carbon is returned to the atmosphere annually through subduction and volcanic activity?

  200 million tonnes
• What is the life span of carbon in the fast carbon cycle?


  • 109,000 million tonnes of carbon move through it annually
• How does CO2 move in the ocean during the fast carbon cycle?

  It diffuses and is moved by thermohaline currents
• What is the process called when CO2 is transferred down to the ocean floor?

  Downwelling
• What role do phytoplankton play in the biological pump?

  They photosynthesize and absorb carbon
• What percentage of greenhouse gas emissions are accounted for by wildfires?

  • 20%
• What would happen to wildfires if global average temperatures rise by 1.5 °C?


  Wildfires would increase by 40%
• What percentage of wildfires is caused by physical factors?

  10%
• What percentage of global energy comes from fossil fuels?

  85%
• By how much have global average temperatures risen since 1880?


  1. 2 °C
• What were the consequences of the 2019 wildfires in Australia?


  • 3 deaths
  • 150 hectares destroyed
  • 850,000 acres burnt
  • Strong winds and drought
  • Temperatures over 30 °C