Geology Quiz 4

Which is a natural method for decreasing CO2 in the atmosphere

A. Absorption in oceans B. Respiration by plants

Why won't cap and trade work with CO2?

Acid rain was a regional problem, CO2 is not. Polarized politics.

What is the downside of Ocean Storage?

Although isolated from atmosphere for hundreds of years, there is a huge negative impact on local ecology

Who are the top 3 countries that contribute to land use change?

America, Asia, China (America and Asia tie for most)

What are the natural sources of CO2?

Atmosphere, oceans, soil, plants, animals

These two countries make up 60 percent of C emissions fr land use from tropical countries

Brazil and Indonesia

Over the past 50 years

C. Uptake from plants has been a major sink of CO2 from the atmosphere D. Dissolution into the ocean has been a major sink of CO2 from the atmosphere E. Both C & D are correct

Mineral Carbonation

CO2 is mixed with solid wastes to form a solid mineral (actually occurs naturally over) and is then mined, re-used in construction, or disposed of.

What are the two anthropogenic ways carbon goes away?

Carbon sequestration, carbon farming

Countries that are the net exporters of CO2 vs. Countries that are the net importers of CO2

China & India vs. US & EU

Which Countries are currently responsible for the CO2 rise ?

China (#1) and the US (2)

Sea level rise A. Has been approximately 4-inches over the past 100 years B. Is not a concern because very few people live on the coast C. Will continue to rise under current CO2 emission scenarios according to IPCC projections D. Both A & C

D

Anthropogenic CO2 emissions:

D. About 45% remain in the atmosphere, the rest is removed by natural sinks

CO2 Sequestration

Describes a system of capture and long-term storage of atmospheric CO2. Sometimes called CCS technology for Carbon Capture & Storage

Potential impacts of climate change include A.Sea level rise, leading to coastal flooding B. Ocean acidification, leading to dissolution of some shelled organisms C. Disruption to agriculture, leading to food supply issues D.Significant changes to ocean circulation E. All of the above

E

How does the Extreme Ice Survey Document Climate Change?

EIS measures glacier size using time lapse photography

Energy Supply Mitigation

Efficiency; fuel switching; renewable (hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal and bioenergy); combined heat and power; nuclear power; early applications of CO2 capture and storage

Building Mitigation

Efficient lighting; efficient appliances and aircodition; improved insulation ; solar heating and cooling; alternatives for fluorinated gases in insulation and appliances

Cap and Trade Systems

Emissions become a commodity. A "source" gets a number "emission credits" they can use. If they don't use them all, they can trade them with other "sources"

There are currently no Carbon Capture and Storage technologies that are widely used on a commercial scale.

False

What was the effect of the Industrial Revolution on CO2?

For the first time in history it provided an independent source of greenhouse gases. Prior to that climate cycles were strictly by orbital variation.

What are the anthropogenic sources of CO2?

Fossil Fuel Consumption, agricultural activities, industrial processes (cement), Land Use changes (deforestation)

There is a decline in both Carbon Dioxide and Greenhouse concentrations during the ______ periods and a rapid rise in both during ________

Glacial, deglaciation

Of the fresh water ice, 99% of it is contained in the two major continental ice sheets.....

Greenland Ice Sheet and Antarctic Ice Sheet

In terms of relative contributors to fossil fuels, China

Has the highest absolute contribution

Power received by the sun is balanced by

Heat emission from the Earth

Part of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is an _________ (the Ross Ice Shelf) which is a sheet of ice that is attached to the continent but also extends across and floats on an arm of the sea.

Ice Shelf

If Greenhouse gases ______, temperatures will _____

Increased, rise

__________________ was the dominant source of annual CO2 emissions until around 1950

Land-use change

Decreasing Albedo Leads to ____________. Which is an example of _________

Lower Global Temperatures, Reinforcing feedback

What are the two main consequences of higher global temperatures?

Melting Ice Caps (Sea Levels Rise and change in ocean circulation) and Changes in Weather Pattern (disruption of agriculture).

Transport Mitigation

More fuel efficient vehicles; hybrid vehicles; biofuels; modal shifts from road transport to rail and public transport systems; cycling, walking; land-use planning

Define Fluxes

Movements between reservoirs

In Cap-n-Trade systems, which of the following is NOT true: A. The "Cap" is a regulatory limit on the overall emission level. A. Emission users (sources) are issued emission credits based on their emission levels when the program is initiated. A. Emission users must reduced their emissions over time to comply with the regulations B. None of the above (all of the above are true)

None of the Above

What are the two major natural carbon sinks?

Ocean absorption and animal respiration

Higher CO2 in the oceans lead to

Ocean acidification

IPCC 5th Assessment pretty much says.....

Over the past 100 years the sea has risen .19 meters (7.5 inches) which is more that it has risen in the past two millennia

The following statement is true (I think this is true maybe)

Over the past ~40 years, most (but not all) of the emitted fossil fuels have stayed in the atmosphere

Why are ocean sinks becoming less efficient?

Part of the decline is attributed to up to a 30% decrease in the efficiency of the Southern Ocean sink over the last 20 years. • This sink removes annually 0.7 Pg of anthropogenic carbon. • The decline is attributed to the strengthening of the winds around Antarctica which enhances ventilation of natural carbon-rich deep waters. • The strengthening of the winds is attributed to global warming and the ozone hole.

Ocean storage for collected carbon

Pumped deep into the ocean.

_____ __ ____tracks the most carbon intensive scenarios of the IPCC

Rate of Rise

Sequestration also

Removes CO2 from flue gases before being emitted into the atmosphere at power plants.

What is the downside to Mineral Carbonation?

Requires large amounts of energy, high costs. Technological breakthrough needed to make economically feasible

What is a Calving Event?

Sudden breaking away and release of a mass of ice from a glacier

1990 legislation created a cap-and-trade system for

Sulfur Dioxide (was causing acid rain)

Define Carbon Cycle

The processes by which carbon moves between the major reservoirs on Earth (ocean, atmosphere, living things)

The ice over Greenland is at its ____________ over the center of the island where it is more than ___________

Thickest, 3000 meters thick (10,000 feet, nearly two miles)

define gulf stream

This circulation transports warmth from the equator to the poles, moderates climate

A Cap-and-Trade system has been successfully used to reduce environmentally damaging power plant emissions.

True

Where does carbon sequestration send water that has been captured from the atmosphere?

Underground storage reservoirs

What is the most mature and used storage option?

Underground storage, carbon is pumped where gas/oil was extracted. Main concern is long term stability, risk of release and/or earthquakes

The atmosphere has a _____________ amount of carbon compared to others reservoirs

Very Small

Over the past 10,000 years climate has been relatively ______ and ______

Warm and stable

______________(due to rising global temperatures) and ___________ (due to melting freshwater ice caps) could shut this circulation down

Warming, freshening

Define Reservoirs

Where things are stored

Define Perturbation

a deviation of the system AKA a change from "normal"

Human caused changes to where carbon is on Earth.....

and we care because carbon in the atmosphere behaves very differently than carbon stored underground.....

*Atmospheric CO2 concentrations are rising due to_______________ (human) emissions

anthropogenic

Perturbation of the global carbon cycle caused by __________________ _______________, averaged globally for the decade 2004-2013

anthropogenic activities

Ocean circulation is driven by cold

by cold, dense salt water sinking

Oxygen isotopes in fossils contained in deep sea sediment cores have demonstrated that the Earth has been getting_____________ since the middle of the Cretaceous, approximately 100 million years ago.

generally colder.

The sinks have continued to ________ because ____________ _____________ , but climate change will affect carbon cycle processes in a way that will exacerbate the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere

grow, increasing emissions

Proxy Records include

ice cores, tree rings, corals, historical records

After 1997 temperatures are __________ every year

increased

Despite reductions in _______________ , it represents about 27% of cumulative emissions in 2013 Coal represents about 35%, oil 26%, gas 10%, and others 3%

land-use change

Why are land sinks becoming less efficient?

major droughts in midlatitudes lead to a decrease in plants to absorb carbon

Define Anthropogenic

originating from human activity (mostly when discussing pollution and pollutants)

Uncertainty is_______ for one standard deviation (IPCC "likely" range)

±5%

Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) requires energy

• Doing extra work requires an additional energy use of 10 - 40% (for same output) • Capture efficiency: 85 - 95% • Net CO2 reduction: 80 - 90% • Could still be worth it, assuming assuming safe storage • Maximum benefit close to site where lots of CO2 is generated (e.g. power plants, oil fields, etc)

Why is more carbon staying in the atmosphere?

• Emissions are rising faster than the time scales regulating the rate of uptake by sinks. • Sinks are becoming less efficient at high CO2 - Land: saturation of the CO2 fertilization effect - Ocean: decrease in [carbonate] which buffers CO2 • Land and/or ocean sinks are responding to climate change and variability.

Health, safety, and environmental risks

• In general: there is lack of real data, so comparisons are made with current operations • CO2 pipelines: similar to or lower than those posed by hydrocarbon pipelines

Higher CO2 levels lead to a more acidic ocean

• Many ocean creatures have calcium carbonate shells • These dissolve in more acidic conditions • Coral reefs and the small plants at the base of the ocean food web could be particularly hard hit

Why was the Acid Rain Project such a success?

• Markets provide greater environmental effectiveness that government "command and control" regulations because they turn emissions into marketable assets • Cap and trade gives pollution reduction a value in the marketplace.

Potential impact on agriculture

• Plants have optimum temperatures for growth • Rising temperatures can where plants can grow, and when they grow (growing seasons) • BUT....rising CO2 can also act as a fertilizer

Health, safety, and environmental risks with geological storage:

- Needs appropriate site selection, a monitoring program to detect problems, a regulatory system, remediation methods to stop or control CO2 releases if they arise. - Risks are comparable to the risks of current activities (natural gas storage, EOR, disposal of acid gas)

Who is the IPCC

- Panel of Scientific Experts formed in 1988 - 5 "Assessments" in the last 16 years - 4th Assessment in February, 2007 was key to getting climate change to the forefront of public discussion. - The IPCC was shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore in 2007 "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change".

The Empire State Building weighs ________ . Between 2008 - 2009, Greenland lost __________

0.0003 Gt, 286 Gt

2 modifiers of incoming sunlight

1. Albedo 2. Greenhouse Effect

4 steps to conduct a mature CCS System

1. Researchphase: • Basic science understood • Conceptual design, laboratory testing 2. Demonstration phase • Pilot plant built and operating • Further development needed for full scale system 3. Economicallyfeasibleunderspecificconditions • Technology understood, used in certain commercial applications • Used in certain commercial applications, such as favorable tax regime • Few (less than 5) replications 4. Maturemarket • Technology operational • Multiple replications of commercial-scale technology worldwide

The planet's average surface temperature has risen approximately _______________

1.8°F (or 1°C)

The Earth is much colder today than it was

10 Million Years ago

Tropical deforestation _________________ each year

13 Million hectares

What percent of Water Reservoirs do Glacier and Polar Ice Caps Make Up?

2.97% (Largest Freshwater Reservoir by far)

Complete melting of the Greenland ice sheet will cause seas to rise by __________. Most East Coast cities would be _______________

23 feet, submerged

The Greenland Ice Sheet has lost about

3,000 Gt of Ice

A new Land Rover Discovery requires __________ of CO2 - this is its "carbon footprint"

35 tonnes

In the 1940s, for every 100 CO2 molecules that were produced, ______ would end up in the atmosphere Now, for every 100 CO2 molecules that are produced, ______ end up in the atmosphere

40, 45

Total Global emissions have gone up ____ since 1990

42%

The efficiency of these natural sinks has being declining over the last _____________, a trend not fully captured by climate models.

60 years

The Greenland Ice Sheet Covers Approx _____ of the Island

80%

The Antarctic Ice Sheet covers approx. ____ of the island

90% (12.5 million kilmeters and over 4k ft thick)