CGP Water, carbon and climate

• Feedbacks

  • Water cycle
  • Carbon cycle
• The water and carbon cycles are interconnected, you can't fully understand one without the other
• Reasons why water and carbon cycles are essential for life

  • All living things contain carbon
  • Water is essential for survival
  • Water is the base of the food chain
  • Photosynthesis requires water and carbon
• Water exists in the atmosphere as water vapour and water droplets, and carbon exits as carbon dioxide
• Greenhouse effect

  A natural effect that prevents some energy from escaping into space and reflects back to Earth, causing temperatures on Earth to be higher than they would otherwise be
• Without the natural greenhouse effect the Earth would be frozen and uninhabitable
• Human activities are increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, causing an enhanced greenhouse effect and global warming
• Feedbacks


  • The effects of a change to a system may be amplified by a positive feedback or dampened by a negative feedback
• Positive feedbacks

  • Increased water vapour leading to more cloud cover
  • Increased CO2 leading to more plant respiration
• Negative feedbacks

  • Increased CO2 leading to more plant growth
  • Increased temperature leading to more evaporation and cloud cover
• The carbon and water cycles depend on each other, for example carbon combines with water in the atmosphere and water is needed for photosynthesis
• Climate change is predicted to have major impacts on plants, animals and people, such as changes in precipitation patterns, more extreme weather events, decreased agricultural productivity, sea level rise, and changes in species ranges
• Ways humans are trying to influence the carbon cycle

  • Reducing fossil fuel use
  • Increasing renewable energy
  • Afforestation and restoring forests
  • Improving sustainability of developments
  • Carbon capture and storage
  • International agreements and carbon trading
• Carbon capture and storage involves capturing CO2 emitted from burning fossil fuels and storing it underground