carbon

• What is the carbon cycle

  the cycling of carbon between its different stores.
• What is a flux


  the rate of exchange between the individual stores.
• What are the carbon stores

  Hydrosphere (ocean)

  biosphere (land)

  Atmosphere

  Lithosphere (beneath the land)
• Hydrosphere (where is carbon found)

  All the water at and near the surface of the earth, 97% of which is in oceans

  Carbon dioxide is dissolved in the ocean water.

  Carbon is in animals like fish and plankton.
• Lithosphere (where is carbon found)


  The crust and upper mantle.

  carbon found in the form of fossil fuels and limestone (inorganic)

  Could be the sedimentary rocks at the bottom of the ocean, deep soil.
• Biosphere (where is carbon found)

  Living part of earth, soil, plants and animals.

  carbon in rotting leaves, then soil

  found in animals
• atmosphere (where is carbon found)


  gases surrounding the earth
• What types of carbon are there?

  Organic /inorganic
• Organic carbon examples


  Biomass (plants + animals)
• Inorganic carbon examples


  Fossil fuels - oil and coal
• What forms can carbon be in?

  calcium carbonate (limestone)

  CO2 (GHG)

  Methane

  Hydrocarbons (fossil fuels)
• Where does carbon come from

  The earth's interiorThe crust(moves from interior to crust via eruptions)OceanBiomass
• flows of carbon


  Oceanic carbon pumps

  combustion

  volcanoes

  photosynthesis

  decomposition

  respiration
• What is a net carbon sink

  a store that takes in more carbon than it releases. (plants, ocean, soil)
• Natural flows of carbon (6)

  Volcanic activityphotosynthesisrespirationdecompositionoceanic carbon pumpsFires
• Human flows of carbon

  Combustiondeforestationfarminghydrocarbon extraction
• Combustion (human)


  Humans burning fossil fuels which give off carbon dioxide as a biproduct.
• deforestation


  less carbon can be absorbed by trees.

  in the amazon they burn the area as it is faster than chopping it down, this is also biomass combustion
• increased farming


  When cows digest they let out methane by farts or shits. This contributes to the GHG
• hydrocarbon extractio


  moving fossil fuels from the depths of the earth to the top to use for human consumption - very bad bcs more carbon now.
• Carbon sequestration (carbon storage)

  Carbon can be stored underground in old oil/gas aquifers. could be done viacarbon capture.
• Impacts of the changing carbon budget

  Sea level rise (thermal expansion, melting sea ice)

  reduced salinity

  warmer seas = more plankton - leads to darker ocean as they trap light - leads to plants dying under them as they dont have light

  acidification - coral bleaching.
• What is happening to Coral reefs (

  CS)Due to warming seas, coral reefs bleach(die) Half of the world's coral reefs are dead.
• How do coral reefs protect the environment? (

  CS)Coral reef protects against waves, storms and floods - protecting lives, property and erosion.
• What else happens when coral reefs die (

  CS)loss of tourism which can lead to places spiralling into decline as loss of function.
• ( CS) USA grassland conversion- grasslands converted to meet renewable fuel policy

  - Grasslands converted to corn fields to make ethanol for biofuel
• ( CS) impacts of the conversion-Boosted the economies of rural US states (farming)

  -reducing international dependence on fuels.

  -however to grow crops it uses ALOT of water
• evaluation of corn (

  CS)Was it all a political movement to gain votes from farmers??

  people not happy with the amount of land deforested.
• role of Phytoplankton


  - We need Phytoplankton. Phytoplankton absorb c02 from the atmosphere. They use this carbon to build their homes, when they die they sink to the bottom of the ocean and carbon is then stored there. They are an essential part of the food chain. Phytoplankton need nutrients to survive, nutrients are moved from the bottom to the top of the ocean via a process calledthermohaline circulation.This is the process of nutrients moving from the bottom to the top of the ocean like an escalator.
• Thermohal


  thermo(heat) haline (salt)

  =ocean conveyor belt. Warm water moves from the equator to the poles, where it cools down and sinks bcs it's cold and salty. This cold, salty water then flows back towards the equator deep beneath the surface, and eventually comes back up.
• what is the role of soil

  stores carbon

  when frozen (permafrost) can trap vast amounts of organic carbon. e.g. a frozen animal. as the ice melts due to rising temps, animals will defrost and decompose into the atmosphere.
• Role of mangroves in the carbon cycle

  • If just 2% of the worlds mangroves are lost, the carbon released will be 50 times the natural sequestration rate.

  • They prevent coastal erosion.

  • They trap nutrient rich sediment.

  • They provide protection against extreme weather and tsunamis.

  • They provide fish nurseries
• Mangrove threats


  human expansion of economic developments eg: fishing, ports
• Link to coasts and water (mangroves)

  the severity of 2001 Indian Ocean Tsunami was due to loss of mangroves along the Pacific coast

  IN orissa mangroves cleared to create fishing lake.
• What is energy security


  The uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price. Also whether it's always available.
• Rich energy mix =

  diverse sources of energy, imported and domestic.
• OPEC aims TO...


  (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)stabilise oil prices to make sure it doesn't run out
• Energy Pathway forms:


  pipelines

  shipping routes

  transmission lines
• Energy pathway conflicts (think of serbia kit)

  -Pipeline from Russia - Ukraine

  -Gazprom the state owned company stopped supplying gas to ukraine in 2009, claiming they didn't pay in time.

  -Caused a 2 week dispute and led to a 16% increase in gas prices in UK.
• Unconventional fossil fuels - tar sands

  tar deposits in canada could reduce the nation's dependency on imports.

  +provides 33,000 jobs

  -3 times energy intensive than extracting normal oil

  -water intensive + makes water polluted with chemicals

  - deforestation of ALOT of land