CHAPTER 53 - THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biogeochemical Cycles

the movement and transformation of chemical elements and compounds between living organisms, the atmosphere, and the Earth's crust

Researchers focus on four fundamental questions in regards to biogeochemical cycles

What is the nature and size of the reservoirs where elements are stored for a period of time? How fast does the element move between reservoirs, and what processes are responsible for moving elements from one compartment to another? How do human activities affect the movement of elements among reservoirs? How do biogeochemical cycles interact?

What is the ____ and ____ of the reservoirs where elements are stored for a period of time?

nature and size

How fast does the element move between _____, and what processes are responsible for moving elements from one compartment to another?

reservoirs

How do ____ activities affect the movement of elements among reservoirs?

human

How do _____ cycles interact?

Biogeochemical

The Global Water Cycle

Evaporation exceeds precipitation - water evaporates out of the ocean, and precipitates back into it. Completed by water that moves from the land to the oceans via streams and by groundwater

Evaporation exceeds _____ - water evaporates out of the ocean, and precipitates back into it.

precipitation

Completed by water that moves from the land to the oceans via ____ and by _____

streams and groundwater

The Global Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen is added to ecosystems in a usable form only when it is fixed. Most nitrogen in the atmosphere is unavailable to plants (only can use nitrogen in the form of ammonium/nitrate). Nitrogen fixation results from lighting-driven reactions in the atmosphere and from enzyme-catalyzed reactions in bacteria that live in the soil and oceans

_____ is added to ecosystems in a usable form only when it is fixed

nitrogen

Most nitrogen in the atmosphere is unavailable to ____ (only can use nitrogen in the form of ammonium/nitrate)

plants

Nitrogen fixation results from ______ reactions in the atmosphere and from _____ reactions in bacteria that live in the soil and oceans

lightning-driven, enzyme-catalyzed

The Global Phosphorus Cycle

The main reservoir of phosphorus in Earth's crust where it is slowly mobilized by weathering of rocks. Human activating (mining/fertilizing) have increased the amount of phosphorus in the global biogeochemical cycles causing eutrophication

Human activating (mining/fertilizing) have increased the amount of phosphorus in the global biogeochemical cycles causing _____

eutrophication

The Global Carbon Cycle

Movement of carbon among terrestrial ecosystem, the oceans, and the atmosphere

The atmospheric reservoir is ___ but important because carbon moves into and out of it rapidly

small

In both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, _______ is the process that incorporates carbon from the atmosphere into tissue

photosynthesis

Where is carbon stored?

In rocks and sediment

____ is primarily exchanged through photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, and the burning of fossil fuels

carbon

Fossil fuels release large amounts of ____ ____ into the atmosphere when they are burned

carbon dioxide

Since the Industrial Revolution, global carbon emissions have dramatically ____, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels and other industrial processes.

increased

Pre-industrial levels were around ___ ppm, while current levels exceed ___ ppm. The rate of increase has also accelerated, with annual growth reaching nearly ___ ppm per year.

278, 417, 3

Global Warming

the increase in the average temperature of the planet

Global Climate Change

the sum of the changes in local temperature and precipitation patterns that result from global warming

Weather

specific short-term atmospheric condition of temperature, precipitation, sunlight, and wind.

Climate

the prevailing long-term weather conditions found in an area

T/F? Weather and Climate are the same thing

False

Throughout Earth's history, average temperature of the atmosphere and local weather patterns have ____

fluctuated

Scientists today are not alarmed by the existence of change but rather because the rate of change is unprecedented and because it is caused by...?

human activities

Types of Greenhouse Gases

Carbon dioxide, Methane, Water vapor, and nitrous oxide

Why Is the Climate Changing so Rapidly?

Increased Carbon Dioxide, Increasing Temperature, Fluctuations in Solar Energy

In ___, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was formed to evaluate the consequences of increases in atmospheric CO2

1988

Global temperature increased ___ degrees F above pre-industrial levels

1.8

Models suggest global temperatures could ____ near the current temperature or ____ another 50 degrees F by the year 2300

stabilize, increase

Average temperature will continue to ___ but it will not rise the same amount everywhere

rise

Average temperature in polar regions will ____ more than in the tropics

increase

Rising _____ change when, where, and how much water falls as precipitation as well as how much it evaporates

temperatures

Positive Feedback

occurs when changes due to global warming result in further acceleration of warming

During warm summers ______ rates increase enough to release stored carbon

decomposition

Albedo

the fraction of the incident sunlight that is reflected by a surface

Negative Feedback

occurs when changes due to global warming results in increased uptake and sequestration of CO2 and other greenhouse gases

____ feedback should reduce global warming

negative

Terrestrial ecosystems with highest productivity are located in the...?

wet tropics

Except for major deserts, NPP on land ____ from the equator towards the poles

declines

The productivity of _____ ecosystems is limited by temperature and availability of water and sunlight

terrestrial

Marine productivity is highest along ____, and it can be as high near the ____ as it is in tropics

coastlines, poles

Shallow water along the ___ receives more nutrients from rivers that carry them from terrestrial ecosystems

coasts

Tropical wet and tropical forest cover less than ___ of Earth's surface but together account for over ___ of total NPP

5%, 30%

The most productive aquatic biomes are...?

algal beds and coral, reeds, wetlands, and estuaries

A ____ trend in the Amazons, clear-cutting, burning, and urban expansion, has left it so that even is CO2 increases, there may be insufficient nitrogen and phosphorus to support increased productivity

drying

There is a correlation between surface water temperatures and decreased productivity - NPP is ____ in the oceans

decreasing