Water & Carbon Cycle

• Anthropogenic


  Resulting from the influence of human beings.
• Bicarbonate Ions


  The form in which most of the carbon in the ocean store is found.
• Biological Pump


  The Ocean's biologically driven sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere, deep sea water and sediment.
• Biomass


  The total quantity or weight of organisms in a given area.
• Biome


  A large, naturally-occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g. tropical rainforests or tundra.
• Bio-molecules


  A molecule that is present in living organisms, e.g. proteins, carbohydrates.
• Biosphere


  The regions of the surface and atmosphere of the Earth occupied by living organisms.
• Boreal Forest


  A subarctic biome dominated bu coniferous forest, also known as taiga.
• Calcareous


  Containing calcium carbonate.
• Carbohydrates


  Any group of organic compounds found in living tissues including sugars, starch and cellulose.
• Carbon Budget


  Describes the amount of carbon that is stored and transferred within the carbon cycle.
• Carbonate rocks


  A class of sedimentary rocks composed primarily of carbonate minerals, e.g. limestone.
• Coccoliths


  Individual plates of calcium carbonate which form the shells of coccolithophores (single-celled algae).
• Combustion


  The process of burning something.
• Compound


  A substance formed when two or more chemical elements are chemically bonded together.
• Decomposition


  The separation of a substance into simpler substances or basic elements.
• Enhanced Greenhouse Effect


  The impact on the climate from the additional heat retained due to the increased amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that humans have released into Earth's atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution.
• Euphotic Zone


  The surface layer of the ocean which receives sunlight.
• Flux


  Continuous change or movement.
• Foraminifera


  Single-celled planktonic animals with calcium carbonate shells.
• Geosequestration


  The technology of capturing greenhouse gas emissions from power stations and pumping them into underground reservoirs.
• Gigatonne


  Unit used by the IPCC to measure the amount of carbon in various stores. 1Gt amounts to 10^9 tonnes (1 billion tonnes).
• Greenhouse Gas


  A gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation.
• Humus


  The organic component of soil, formed by the decomposition of leaves and other plant material by soil microorganisms.
• Hydrocarbons


  A compound of hydrogen and carbon, such as any of those which are the chief components of petroleum and natural gas.
• Inorganic Carbon


  Carbon found in non-living things e.g. sedimentary rocks.
• Lithosphere


  the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.
• Litter


  Dead plant material, such as leaves, bark, needles and twigs that have fallen to the ground.
• Organic Carbon


  Carbon found in living organisms such as plants, trees and animals.
• Peat


  A brown material consisting of partly decomposed vegetable matter forming a deposit on acidic, boggy, ground.
• Pedosphere


  The outermost layer of the Earth that is composed of soil and subject to soil formation processes.
• Petroleum


  Oil and natural gas.
• Photosynthesis


  The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesise nutrients from carbon dioxide and water.
• Phytoplankton


  Plankton consisting of microscopic plants.
• Radiative Forcing


  The difference between the incoming solar energy absorbed by the Earth and the energy radiated back to space.
• Respiration


  A process in living organisms involving the production of energy, typically with the intake of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide.
• Sedimentary Rock


  Rock that has formed through the deposition and solidification of sediment.
• Sere


  A complete vegetation succession.
• Terrestrial


  On or relating to land on Earth.
• Twilight Zone


  The middle layer of the world's ocean receives only faint, filtered sunlight during the daytime.