Climate Change and Links

• feedback - knock on effect leading to a change in the effectiveness of processes in a cycle.
• Positive feedback - enhances

  Negative Feedback - nullified
• Interaction: plants need water and store carbon.
• THE MAIN WAY WATER AND CARBON INTERACT IS CLIMATE CHANGE
• Temperature rise leads to warming oceans, meaning more water evaporates from ocean surface, more greenhouse gases.
• Water - carbon link: the ability of water to absorb and transfer CO2. Carbon is in rainwater, which is slightly acidic.
• Carbonation weathering (breakdown of rocks in situ): a carbonate rock is rained on, carbon is dissolved and carried away.
• Water cycle feedback loop - ice has high albedo (reflecting power), as ice melts there is more absorption from exposed water which warms the water melting the ice. (positive feedback)
• water cycle feedback - will impact trading routes and global climate.
• Carbon cycle feedback loop: high temperatures melt permafrost, organic matter trapped in ground melt and decomposition occurs, releasing greenhouse gases, which means further warming and permafrost melt.
• Carbon cycle feedback loop - causes reigional changes (loss of woodland, habitat change) and contributes to enhanced greenhouse effect.
• Another carbon cycle feedback - warmer temperatures increase growing season, increasing absorbtion of carbon from the atmosphere.
• Water/Carbon feedback loop: marine phytoplankton do photosynthisis (are producers and stores of carbon) they release a chemical substance that increase condensation formation and therefore more clouds over ocean. Has a cooling effect.
• Water/Carbon feedback loop: warmer temperatures, increases in phytoplankton photosynthesis, increase in clouds, higher albedo, global cooling effect in a negative feedback loop.
• Human role in climate change: increase in intensity/frequence of heatwaves/drought. Animals struggle to adapt, extinction, impact on food web.
• Mitigation - reducing emmissions causing climate change, can also be increasing storage
• Adaptation - action to manage the risk of impacts from climate change
• There can be crossover between mitigation and adaption, Eg urban forest.
• Adaptation eg: disaster management, upgrading infrastructure, drought resistant crops
• Mitigation eg: renewable energy, energy efficiancy, sustainable transport.
• Mitigation has a upfront economic cost. Mitigation is generally better for natural systems, while humans can adapt plants struggle to do so and die out.
• Adaptation often has a future economic cost, humans in the future will need to spend increasing amounts of money to cope with the changing climate.
• Ability to adapt and mitigate climate change is linked to development - HICs are more able to adapt.
• COP 28: countries agreed on the need to transition away from fossil fuels, also recognised that more developed countries need to do this faster. No specified timescale. Agreement included global target to double renewable energy by 2030.
• Paris agreement, 2015, aimed to keep warming below 1.5 degrees
• COP 28: 'loss and damage fund': stems from idea that richer countries, the historical main contributors to global warming, pay poorer countries already facing the effects of climate change. But the details are deeply contested and only small amounts have been played so far.
• Modifying industrial combustion via Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a form of mitigating climate change
• CCS: captures carbon emissions from coal power stations/industry. It is transported and stored, to prevent it from entering the atmosphere. EG in underground aquifers in a liquid.
• Boundary dam in canada: power plant aiming to cut carbon emissions by 90%, is worlds first carbon capture coal power station. 300 highly skilled employees
• Advantages of boundary dam and CCS: can convery old power stations; the resivoir near by is used as coolant, doesnt freeze, lengthen fishing season; can sell byproduct to industry.
• Disadvantages of boundary dam/CCS: costly (economic viability can be questioned); unsure of future implications for land
• Mitigating through photosynthisis: plantation forests, comprise 7% of global forest, are very effective in absorbing carbon. Basically tree planting - they act as carbon sinks
• Mitigating through photosynthesis advantage: IPCC recognised as legitimate option, promotes biodiversity, cost effective, long term and low maintainance.
• Mitigating through photosynthesis disadvantage: requires space; time (trees take years to grow); disease can wipe a large area; could have poor climate in area meaning it is not a viable option.
• carbon farming is where one type of crop is replaced by another that has greater productivity and can absorb co2.
• Grasslands are effective carbon absorbers. Can be improved by: avoiding overusing grazing animals; adding manures/fertilizers that improve soil organic carbon, revegetation - more plants mean more absorbed.
• SOC - soil organic carbon
• Croplands, way to improve SOC: reduced or no tilling (avoids accelerated decomposition of organic matter); use of animal manure as a natural fertilizer, so biomass can be returned to the soil.
• Positives of using land use change as mitigation: cost effective.
• Negatives of using land use change as mitigation: objections to smell of manure; artificial fertilizers often more effective; lack of space to reduce grazing animals.