The Carbon Cycle

What is the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect?

A more intense natural greenhouse effect due to humans making the process worse.

What is ocean acidification?

A reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period of time, caused because of CO2 uptake from the atmosphere. For the last 300 million years the pH has been 8.2, it dropped by 0.1 by 2015. By the ned of the 21st century it is expected to drop by between 0.06 and 0.32. Reefs stop growing if pH is less than 7.8.

How does burning fuels link to the greenhouse effect?

A rise in the mean global temperature means: - More precipitation and evaporation. - Sudden shifts in weather patterns. - More extreme weather events, such as floods, storm surges and droughts, and the nature of climate change is varying from region to region — some areas are becoming warmer and drier, others wetter.

Brazilian Biofuels

Brazil has invested into alternative energy sources. 4% of its energy comes from renewable sources. 90% of new passenger vehicles sold in brazil contain fuel-flex engines that work using any combination of petrol and sugar cane ethanol. This has led to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions. Brazil is now the largest producer of sugar cane and the leading exporter of sugar and ethanol. This has however led to deforestation.

Examples of a mitigation strategy:

Carbon Taxation: The Carbon Price Floor tax sets a minimum price, companies have to pay to emit CO2 in the atmosphere. However, this was unpopular and froze in 2015. Renewable Switching: Where fossil fuels are being exchanged for renewable fuels. Energy Efficiency: The Green Deal scheme encourages energy saving improvements to boilers and lightbulbs. Afforestation: Tree planting in the UK is increasing significantly. The Big Tree Plant campaign encourages 1 million new trees to be planted, mainly in urban areas.

Issues in the Arctic due to global warming...

Dark land is being shown over the ice as it is melting. Solar radiation is absorbed instead of reflected, heating up the land. (albedo effect). Permafrost melting releases methane, and carbon. Average temperatures have risen by 3, 4 C, higher than the global average. Ocean ice is thinning and retreating, opening up summer sea routes. Fresh cold water entering the seas, this alters food chains and ecosystems. Also can change the thermohaline circulation in the seas.

How can ocean risk be calculated?

Exposure + Dependence + Lack of adaptive creativity = vulnerability

Can renewables make a good contribution to an energy mix?

Few countries can completely go to recyclable / renewable energy. The most likely is ones with access to hydroelectric power. Oil prices decreased, and renewable energy was seen as a more expensive option which is less attractive. Upping renewables do have environmental impacts (HEP can drown river valleys, offshore views ruined by wind and solar farms). People protest against wind farms and solar farms, even if the majority believe we should use more renewables. Baseload issues (need heat if it snows and we use solar power). Manufacturing costs of renewables have come down as well, cost reductions have been about 80% in solar and about 50% in wind.

What is a carbon flux and examples?

Fluxes - Movements of organic compounds through an ecosystem. 1. Photosynthesis (this is the largest flux of carbon at 123 PgC). 2. Respiration. 3. Gases from volcanic eruptions. 4. Diffusion into the ocean from the atmosphere. (physical processes such where CO2 dissolves into the water and biological processes such as plankton. 5. Diffusion out of the oceans. 6. Vegetation to soils decomposing. 7. Weathering and erosion. 8. Sedimentation/fossilisation.

Facts about deforestation

Forests cover 30% of earths land area. Forests absorb rainfall and increase groundwater storage. By 2015 30% of all global forests have been cleared.

What is an unconventional Fossil Fuel?

Fuels which are more typically hard to access and could require advanced extraction technologies.

Example of a Nuclear power disasters:

Fukushima: Initiated primarily by the tsunami following the Tōhoku earthquake on 11 March 2011. The insufficient cooling led to three nuclear meltdowns releasing radioactive material. There is to be around 130-640 people in the years and decades ahead to die of cancer related deaths.

What human factors create uncertainties concerning carbon emissions?

How much renewable energy can be harnessed? Future population growth, will it level off. Political and governmental change to climate change.

Tar sands in Canada

Is a mixture of clay, sand, water and bitumen (heavy viscous oil). Have to be mines and then steamed to make tar less viscous so it can be pumped out. $201 billion was invested, and $4 trillion was returned. $1.2 trillion is expected to go to the government in royalties and taxes. 151000 jobs have been created. It is very expensive to extract, because of its high energy input. Thousands of birds die in Tailing ponds, which covers 220km of Canada. In 2013 8.5% of Canadas greenhouse gas emissions came from tar sand operations.

What is a mitigation strategy?

Mitigation is trying to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk and hazards of climate change.

Shale gas in the USA

Natural gas which is trapped in sedimentary rocks. Fracking forces this gas out. In 2015 it equals to 25% of USA's gas. It increases the energy reserves of a country and reduces the need for imports. Additionally, the carbon footprint of gas is half of that of coal and lower than LNG. There is a possibility of contaminating groundwater supplies, also produced pollutants such as methane. Ruins the environment and causes large areas to be destroyed. The UK has attempted to create community benefits and avoid conflict. They did this by only allowing companies to begin fracking if they: gave £100,000 in community benefits per well-site where fracking takes place and 1% of revenues at production will be paid out to communities.

How is carbon measured?

Petagrams (Pg) or Gigatonnes (Gt) - The units used to measure carbon; one Petagram also known as a Gigatonne is equal to a trillion kilograms or 1 billion tonnes.

What is afforestation?

Planting new trees. In 2014 the New York Declaration on Forests set a global target to restore 350 million hectares of deforested and degraded forest landscapes by 2030. Afforestation and reforestation is very beneficial for CO2 sequestration.

What plays will need to be considered when harnessing these fuels?

Player Exploration company Environmental groups (Green Peace) Affected communities Governments

What is the Environmental Kuznets' curve model?

Plots environmental degradation against income (GDP). Suggests societies reach a tipping point (A point in time when change becomes irreversible and moves from one stable state to another), where exploitation changes to more protection.

How does volcanic outgassing influence the carbon cycle?

Pockets of CO2 exist in the earth's crust. Outgassing occurs at subduction zones, where pressure is built and creates composite volcanoes with Rhyolitic lava, which has a high % of gad.

Increase in temperature affects...

Precipitation patterns - Due to evaporation rates increasing because of global warming, the pressure in the air is higher, causing rain dropping during individual storms to increase, resulting in flash flooding. River regimes - More melting of ice caps, increase green water in the store. Run off of cold water and more of it will alter eco systems. More change of flooding. Cryosphere and water stores - Ice sheets losing mass, glaciers have continued to shrink. Northern hemisphere spring snow cover have continued to decrease in extent and thickness.

How does deforestation impact The Carbon Cycle?

Reduction in storage in soil and biomass especially above ground. Reduction of CO2 intake through photosynthesis flux. Increase carbon influx to atmosphere by burning and decomposing vegetation.

What is energy security?

Refers to the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price.

What is the UK's energy mix like?

Small amount of coal, but large amounts of gas and oil. Good thing is that we consume less energy than we did in 1970 despite the population increase of around 6.5 million. The UK is now more efficient in producing and using energy. It now looks like the UK will use the same amount of energy in 2030 as they do now.

What attitudes could there be towards climate change?

- For carbon emissions to decrease it requires international agreements at a global scale as well as concerted actions at a national level. - Experience so far has shown the extreme difficulty of persuading governments to sign up to global-scale agreements ( Kyoto Protocol, where countries joined and agreed to cut emissions by 5% by 2012 from 1990 and Paris agreement, which was agreed within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to deal and adapt to climate change, agreed in December 2012, 195 countries have agreed to it). - The EU sets emissions standards for its member states. - TNCs such as shell are powerful players, leading research and marketing in a globalised market. - International pressure groups such as Greenpeace, and local ones such as the city of Winchester's WinACC, lobby for changes in attitude and actions.

How does organic matter sequester carbon?

- Plants take carbon out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis and release oxygen back into the atmosphere through respiration. - Soils store 20-30% of global carbon. Since all parts of plants are made of carbon, any loss to the plant is transferred to the ground.

What is The Natural Greenhouse Effect?

Solar radiation from the sun passes through the clear atmosphere (shortwave lengths in the form of UV radiation). Solar energy is absorbed by the Earth's surface which warms it. (roughly 70%) Some of the solar radiation is reflected by the atmosphere and Earth's surface. 31% of short wave solar radiation is reflected back into space by clouds and greenhouse gases. Some of the infrared radiation (long waved radiation which is infrared radiation) is absorbed and re-emitted by the greenhouse gas molecules. The direct effect is the warming of the Earth and troposphere (the lowest region of the atmosphere).

What are the overall benefits and drawbacks in using unconventional fuels?

+ Avoids using fossil fuels which are in short supply. - They are still fossil fuels, so their exploitation will continue to threaten the carbon cycle and contribute to global warming. - Extraction is still very costly. - Extraction causes environmental risks (for example pollution of groundwater and oil spills).

Advantages and disadvantages of bio-fuels...

+ Renewable source of energy. + Environmentally friendly, a lot less air pollution than other fuels. + Cheap to use. + Can be flexible (burnt with other fuels) - Takes up land space at the expense of growing to fro developing countries. - Loss of habitat as could lead to deforestation. - Biofuels emit nitrous oxide, which is still a greenhouse gas. - Biofuels are not widely available, can only be grown in areas appropriate.

Facts about forests:

- 1.1% of the global economies income. - Fuelwood source 1/3 people globally for cooking. - 13.2 million formal jobs and 41 million informal jobs. - Creates tourism and leisure - Some cultures see forests as sacred. - Between 1990 and 2015 the rate of net global deforestation slowed down by more than 50%. - Total forest carbon emissions decreased by over 25%. - 13% of forests are now classified as conserved.

How does ocean heath affect human well-being?

- All countries even landlocked countries, eat and either sell fish. - FAO estimates fishing supports 500 million people, 90% who live in developing countries - Fish provides 16% of the annual protein consumption for 3 billion people, and is the main source of cheap protein for over a billion people. - China and Thailand will be affected by depleted and stunted stocks, as they rely on fish for their resources. - Only countries with large industrialised fishing fleets will be able to follow fish to their location to adapt the global America. - 200 million people live in coastal areas protected from waves by fringing reefs, like in Hawaii. Oceans risk equation = Exposure + Dependence + Lack of adaptive creativity = vulnerability

What are the implications for the climate due to fossil fuel combustion?

- Atlantic and Southern Ocean thermohaline circulation may weaken - Antarctic ice shelves will melt, adding more freshwater to the Southern Ocean, changing density and convection. - Temperate and tropical zones may experience stronger storm activity as a result of more heat energy and moisture (due to the increase of evaporation rates) in the atmosphere, including more intense tropical cyclones and stronger mid-latitude westerly winds. - Precipitation will increase in higher latitudes and decrease in lower latitudes. - The number of cold days and nights will decrease, and warm ones will increase. - There have been fewer extreme cold events over the last 50 years, but more extreme heat events.

What are the implications for the hydrological cycle due to fossil fuel combustion?

- Extreme heavy precipitation events will become common, with precipitation increases over northern-hemispheres land areas. Permafrost areas will thaw and add more water to - Arctic rivers, adding volume to rivers and increasing flooding possibilities.

What are the implications for ecosystems due to Fossil Fuel compustion?

- Rivers will dry up in regions where precipitation is reduced or less effective because of higher evaporation rates. - 10 per cent of land species with limited adaptability will face extinction as the climate gets warmer and either wetter or drier. - Rates of extinction could rise to 15 and 40 per cent of all species, especially in high-risk polar regions. Arctic and Antarctic fauna will be affected (e.g. polar bears). - Plant changes will lag behind animal changes, as they cannot move, and they will face pests and diseases where there is less cold weather to kill them. - There has also been changes in the distributions of species and marine organisms are threatened by lower oxygen levels and ocean acidification; the bleaching of corals.

Example of an Energy Pathway:

- Russia is the world's second largest producer of gas, and most of this goes to Europe through 4 pipelines, which cross over Ukraine. - Russia's incursions in 2014 have led Russians to believe Ukraine could make the transportation of gas difficult for them. For example, increasing prices as it crosses their territory. It could even stop the flows altogether. - Their anxiety has recently increased by the possibility that Ukraine may join the EU and become a member of NATO. - Russia the has two options, reduce and stop delivering gas through Ukraine or annexing Ukraine. - Considering the previous relations with Russia it would be wise for the EU to increase their reliance on gas.

How do humans increase the concentration of greenhouse gas?

- The burning of fossil fuels (natural gas, oil and coal). - Deforestation which reduces photosynthesis, or burning which releases CO2 in the atmosphere. - Agriculture increases, Cattle release methane, which is more powerful than CO2 (20 x more powerful). - Industrial processes, such as transporting manufactured goods. Large amount of electricity use.

How to animals sequester carbon?

- When animals eat plants, their carbon becomes part of the animal's fats and proteins. After plant and animal death, their tissues decay, which also contains carbon, which then becomes soil again.

What are the 4 key aspects of energy security?

1. Availability is there even energy available. 2. Accessibility an available source which people can get. 3. Affordability which is competitively priced energy supply. 4. Reliability means an uninterrupted energy supply.

What do forests / eycosystems offer for human well-being?

1. Supporting functions (soil formation and nutrient cycling). 2. Provision of goods (food, wood and fibre, fuel) 3. Regulation of systems (regulates floods, earths lungs). 4. Cultural value (Aesthetic, spiritual, educational).

What players are there to consider when deciding upon energy?

1. TNC 2. OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) 3. Consumers 4. Government 5. Enriromental Groups

Unconventional fuels include:

1. Tar Sands 2. Shale gas 3. Deepwater oil

The Carbon Cycle can be divided into two components:

1. The geological carbon cycle: Slow part of the cycle, where carbon is stored in rocks and sediment. 2. The biological carbon cycle: This is a fast component of the carbon cycle has relatively large exchange fluxes and rapid reservoir turnovers.

What does climate change involve?

1. The warming teperature. 2. Precipitation increasing and decreasing in locations. 3. Extreame weather events.

What is nuclear power?

A benefit is that nuclear waste can be reprocessed and reused, making it a recyclable energy source. Operational costs are low, but the costs of building and decommissioning are high. The disposal of highly toxic radioactive waste is hard due to its long-life decay. This power is only available for developed countries due to the high technology involved.

What is a carbon store and examples?

Something which retains carbon for a number of years. The atmosphere: carbon dioxide (CO2) and in compounds such as methane (CH4), also water vapour in clouds stored as CO2. The hydrosphere: Which is ocean surface and deep in its bed as dissolved CO2. This is a long-term store, this is the second largest store at 37,2000 PgC) The lithosphere: Which is the earth's crust and soils, as carbonates like limestone and fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas (fossil fuels). This is also a long-term store, this is also the largest store of carbon in the system (83000000 PgC), and therefore the most important when storing carbon, however humans are unbalancing it due to burning fossil fuels. The biosphere: Carbon stored in living and dead organisms they release this through respiration.

What is a carbon sink?

Stores are where carbon can be held in, they can absorb (sequester) the carbon. They are short term compared to carbon stores.

What types of energy can there be?

- Domestic and foreign (imported sources) - Primary (hasn't been subject to any conversion), or secondary (has been changed from its original primary source). - Renewable and non-renewable sources of energy.

What is a greenhouse gas?

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

What could reduce carbon emissions?

Carbon Capture and Storage - Involves capturing the carbon dioxide released by the burning of fossil fuels and burying it deep underground. This technique is good when fuels such as coal is being used to generate electricity. However, this is expensive due to the technology involved, also no one is sure whether the carbon dioxide will stay underground, it could gradually leak to the surface and enter the atmosphere. Hydrogen Fuel Cells - Hydrogen is extracted from other forms of fuel such as oil and natural gas. It is high in energy, and produces almost no pollution. A fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce heat energy and water.

What is renewable energy?

Energy which is generated from natural resources ensuring the energy stores are naturally replenished.

What is Terrestrial Sequestration?

Involves the capture and storage of carbon dioxide by plants and the storage of carbon in soil.

What is an adaption strategy?

Is trying to adjust to the changing climate conditions, but letting it happen.

How does deforestation impact The Water Cycle?

Reduced intercepted rainfall. Infiltration to soil and groundwater changes. Increased raindrop erosion and surface run off.

What is Fossil Fuel Compustion?

The burning of natural fuels which releases greenhouse gases.

What is 'Energy Mix'?

The combination of different available energy sources used to meet a countries total energy demand.

How is the Amazon suffering from climate change?

The forests act as a global and regional regulator, pumping 20 billion metric tonnes of water into the atmosphere daily. However, since 1990, a more extreme cycle of drought and flood has developed in the Amazonia, with a wetter and rainy season liked to shift in the ITCZ. Rainfall has appreciably decreased downwind of deforested areas, some having water crisis'. Droughts in 2005 and 2010 greatly degraded much of the rainforest, which has already been stressed by deforestation.

What is the Thermohaline Circulation?

The movement of seawater which is dependant on temperature This then causes which changes in salt content and density. It is a vital component of the global ocean nutrient and carbon dioxide cycles.

What is ocean sequestration?

The natural removal and storage of carbon through physical and biological processes.

What are the biological processes in the carbon cycle?

This is seen as the faster part of the carbon cycle. Ocean sequestration Terrestrial sequestration

What is recyclable energy?

Utilizing energy that would normally be wasted, usually by converting it into electricity or thermal energy (using biofuels and then re-planting crops).

Examples of adaption strategies:

Water conservation and management : Fewer resources used, less abstraction in groundwater. Use more grey water. However efficiency and conservation cannot meet the demands for water Resilient agricultural systems: High tech drought resilient species, means crops can resist climate change. Not available for developing countries. Land-use planning: Avoids building in high risk areas, such as low-lying coasts or prone flood areas. Needs a strong government to enforce this and people wouldn't just move away from high risk areas such as Tokyo in Japan. Flood risk management: Involves flood defences and river dredging. Constant maintenance needed and funding is expensive. Solar radiation management: Use orbiting satellites to reflect inward radiation back into space, it would cool the earth in months. Wouldn't alter acidification, could have more unexpected results. This may have to be continued forever as when this is in place it cannot be suddenly stopped.

Where is the distributions of Fossil Fuels?

Coal - Coal use is well spread through the continents. This is down to geology, as all countries can have it, and requires simple technology. China and India uses a lot of coal due to manufacturing and also having a high population. Oil - Every continent uses it, suggesting it is distributed all over the world. The US has the largest consumption of Oil, not so much coal, due to having a wealthier and middle-class population so a lot of people use petrol. Gas - Global gas production is dominated by the USA and Russia.

How does acidification affect corals / animals?

Corals - Coral reefs globally already show bleaching from warming temperatures. Animals - Acidification affects shell-building organisms too because carbonic acid reacts with carbonate ions in the water to form bicarbonate. Reduced carbonate ion mean animals like coral expend more energy building shells resulting in thinner fragile shells. The more acidic the water is the more is dissolves carbonate shells allowing them to be attacked easily.

Deepwater Oil in Brazil

Oil and gas that is found well offshore and at oceanic depths. It is retrived by ocean rigs. Since the deep-water horizon rig incident, new regulations and technological improvements have been made. This can provide greater energy security in case drought reduces hydroelectric capacity. Created jobs and income from exports. Serious pollution Hazardous by rough seas. Contain flammable, toxic explosive gases. Accidents such as the Deepwater Horizon Rig can happen.

What is a biofuel?

Organic matter which is burnt to generate electricity. Primary biofuels (fuel wood and woodchips. Secondary biofuels (derived from the processing of biomass, include liquids such as ethanol and biodiesel.

What factors affect energy consumption?

Technology - Modern technology can help the exploitation of resources, additionally technology nowadays generally increases energy. Economic development - A high economic development will increase energy demand. Public perceptions - If energy is regarded as a human right, people will have no regard for environmental consequences. Environmental priorities - Different governments will have different priorities to consider, the environment may not be one of them. Climate - If there is extreme heat or extreme cold, a lot of energy may be required to make life comfortable. Standard of living - A high standard of living may mean people use more energy than they necessarily Cost - Cost may limit consumption. Physical exploitation, processing, and delivery to the consumer will all have to be considered. Physical availability - Does the energy have to be imported or not, as transport costs will be a downward pressure on consumption.

What is the cycle store pumps?

The processes operating in oceans to circulate and store carbon. Biological Pump: Organic sequestration of CO2 to oceans by phytoplankton. These marine plants float near the ocean surface to access sunlight to photosynthesise. Their huge numbers make up half the worlds biomass. Carbonate Pump: Marine organisms may utilise calcium carbonate (CaC03) to make hard outer shells and inner skeletons, such as some plankton species, coral, oysters and lobsters. When organisms die and sink, many shells dissolve before reaching the sea floor sediments. If they dont disolve they build up to create limestone. Physical Pump: Based on the oceanic circulation of water. C02 in the oceans is mixed much more slowly than in the atmosphere, so there are large spatial differences in CO2 concentration. The colder the water, the more potential for CO2 to be absorbed. CO2 concentration is 10% higher in the deep ocean than at the surface, so polar oceans store more CO2 than tropical oceans. Tropical waters release CO2 in the atmosphere.

What are the geological processes in the carbon cycle?

This is the slower part of the carbon cycle. Mechanical Weathering - The break-up of rocks by frost and shattering. Chemical Weathering - The breakdown of rocks by carbonic acid in rain which dissolves carbonate-based rocks. (carbonation) Biological Weathering - Burrowing animals and the roots of plants can break rocks up. Decomposition - Plant and animal particles that result from decomposition after death and surface erosion which both store carbon. Transportation - Rivers carry particles to the ocean, where they are deposited. Sedimentation - Over millennia these sediments accumulate, burying older sediments below, such as shale and limestone. Metamorphosis - The layering and burial of sediment causes pressure to build, which eventually becomes so great that deeper sediments are changed into rock: shale becomes slate and limestone becomes marble.

What physical factors create uncertainties concerning carbon emissions?

Tipping points in relation to forest dieback and irreversible alterations to thermohaline circulation. Degree of climate warming Resilience of carbon sinks Degree of concentration in the atmosphere (is there a limit).

Example of an Energy Mix:

USA: Ranks second in the league table of energy consumers. The US is experiences large extremes in hot and cold, therefor needing to use heating and air conditioning.10% comes from renewables, 8% comes from nuclear sources, and 82% comes from carbon fuels. Only 15% of its energy is imported. This makes the US more energy secure. France: Ranks tenth in the league table of energy consumers, the energy used in France is only one tenth that of the USA. 50% of its sources comes from fossil fuels, nearly 10% from renewables, and 41% from nuclear energy. France has nearly 50 nuclear reactors. 46% of its energy is imported.

What is a wetland / peatland?

Wetland: An area of saturated ground. Wetlands are estimated to store over a third of the world's terrestrial carbon; their destruction often results in major releases of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere Peatland: An area of decomposed plant, in saturated ground, where there is a lack of oxygen. They contain 20-30% of the worlds carbon. They are a major carbon store and sequetster it as long as the conditions are good.

What is Grassland conversion?

Where land is converted into agriculture and commodity production.