Cyclosphere: Oceanography and Carbon Cycling Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering the carbon cycle, oceanography, Earth spheres, and historical climate data as outlined in the NGSS HS-ESS2-6 standard.

Carbon reservoir

Places where carbon is stored, such as oceans, fossil fuels, biomass, and the atmosphere.

Carbon flux

The movement of carbon between different reservoirs, examples of which include photosynthesis, respiration, combustion, and sedimentation.

Carbon sink

A reservoir that absorbs and stores large amounts of carbon, specifically the oceans storing dissolved $CO_2$.

Carbon source

A process or reservoir that releases carbon into the atmosphere.

Photosynthesis

A biological carbon flux where carbon moves from the atmosphere into the biosphere via living things.

Respiration

A carbon flux process where carbon is released from living things back into the atmosphere or hydrosphere.

Combustion

A carbon flux process involving burning, such as fossil fuel use, which releases stored carbon into the atmosphere.

Ocean acidification

An effect of increased $CO_2$ absorption by the oceans that impacts marine ecosystems.

Carbon sequestration

The process of capturing and enhancing the long-term storage of carbon.

$$pH$$

An ocean dataset measurement used to track acidification and the impact of absorbed carbon on water chemistry.

Geosphere

The Earth sphere consisting of crust and mantle where carbon is stored in rocks, sediments, and fossil fuels.

Hydrosphere

The Earth sphere representing all water systems, where oceans serve as major carbon sinks.

Biosphere

The Earth sphere representing all living things involved in the cycling of carbon.

Thermohaline circulation

Also known as the ocean conveyor belt, it drives long-term carbon storage and transfer across the globe.

Upwelling and downwelling

Oceanic processes that affect how carbon is exchanged between deep and surface waters.

Paleoclimate data

Information gathered from proxy sources like sediment cores or ice cores to track past $CO_2$ and climate shifts.

Anthropogenic

Human-influenced carbon movement, specifically referring to fossil fuel use and land use changes.

Holocene epoch

The modern geological time period used to study natural and human-driven climate and carbon trends.