Water and carbon cycle

• Water and Carbon have 36 marks on the exam, with 426 markers and a useful systems approach.
• A systems approach is a set of interrelated components that form a working unit.
• Key components of a systems approach include flows, inputs, stores, components, matter, and output.
• An open system allows energy and matter to be transferred into the surrounding environment.
• A closed system transfers energy into and beyond the system but does not allow matter to be cycled between stores.
• An isolated system has no interactions with anything outside of the system boundary.
• The drainage basin is an example of an open system as it receives energy from the sun and water is an input that comes from precipitation.
• The carbon cycle is a closed system as energy comes from the sun by methods like photosynthesis and output comes in the form of respiration.
• Dynamic equilibrium is when inputs and outputs in a system are in balance.
• The water balance affects how much water is stored within the drainage basin.
• Land use change and deforestation can drain pearl surfaces, funneling water into the river, and can result in blockages.
• The River Eden and its drainage were impacted by Storm Desmond in 2015.
• The water balance is important in managing water resources and understanding the hydrological cycle.
• Deforestation can lead to less transpiration, ultimately resulting in drier air.
• A case study for the water balance can be a river catchment at a local scale, such as the River Eden and its drainage.
• Soil drainage from farming practices can increase through flow, while deforestation can result in increased erosion.
• Humans can impact the water balance through soil drainage, abstraction, deforestation, and land use change.
• The water balance is influenced by precipitation, evaporation, transpiration, and groundwater recharge.
• Introducing native species back into ecosystems is a strategy to mitigate environmental damage.
• In an exam, you might be asked to evaluate or come up with various strategies to mitigate environmental damage.
• Abstraction can cause droughts, affecting the proportion of water in different spheres.
• You might be asked to discuss the most successful mitigation attempts and justify your rank order.
• Changes in river biodiversity can occur due to the introduction of new species.
• Corporation networks, the Amazon Treaty, the creation of national parks, biofuel production, and reforestation are strategies to mitigate environmental damage.
• The Amazon Treaty is particularly important in mitigating environmental damage.
• Reforestation, also known as aforestation, is a strategy to mitigate environmental damage.
• Silts contribute to flooding, damaging freshwater ecosystems and the water supply.
• Positive feedback is the effects of an action that are amplified or multiplied by subsequent knock-on effects.
• Negative feedback is the opposite of positive feedback, it nullifies the change and tries to restore equilibrium.
• The hydrosphere includes all water in liquid, solid, and gas form, typically salt and fresh water.
• The Eden Basin experiences higher than national average rainfall due to relief.
• Human involvement in the carbon cycle includes the industrial revolution, which has been adding to the carbon cycle hugely.
• The atmosphere is a layer of gas.
• Natural processes like volcanic activity can alter the magnitude of carbon stores.
• Natural hazards like wildfires rapidly transfer quantities of carbon from the biomass or soil to the atmosphere, encouraging the growth of new plants which take in that carbon from the atmosphere.
• Each of the factors affecting flow in stores in the Eden Basin can be rated from one to five, with the most significant factor being the highest ground found in the west of the basin.
• The slopes in the Eden Basin are steep due to relief, impacting on lag time and discharge.
• The carbon cycle is split 50 50 between both water and carbon, with processes and reservoirs being the different categories.
• The geology of the Eden Basin plays a significant role in percolation, with highest ground found in the west of the basin.
• The geology of the Eden Basin also affects flow in stores, with limestone areas seeing quick infiltration and igneous rock areas not soaking up water.