Carbon cycle key terms (can be interlinked with water cycle key terms, combine both)

Water and Carbon cycle

anthropogenic CO2:

CO2 generated by human activity

urbanisation - what does it do to the landscape?

replacing open countryside with concrete and tarmac

carbon sequestration:

capturing CO2 from the atmosphere, or anthropogenic CO2 from large scale stationary sources (e.g. power plants) before it is released to the atmosphere. It is then put into long-term storage.

wildfires:

the burning of living and dead vegetation, naturally occurring and human-induced

carbon sink:

a carbon store that absorbs more carbon than it releases.

Vertical deep mixing:

• an important CO2 movement in oceans

• occurs when warm water in oceanic surface currents carried from warm tropics to cold polar regions

• water is cooled, therefore is dense enough to sink below surface layer

• when cold water returns to surface + warms up, loses CO2 to atmosphere

• vertical circulation ensures CO2 constantly being exchanged between ocean + atmosphere ; also acts as an enormous carbon pump, as ocean receives more carbon than would have if surface water not constantly being replenished.

weathering:

the breakdown of rocks in situ by a combination of weather, plants and animals

geologic sequestration:

CO2 captured at its source, then injected in liquid form in underground stores(e.g. depleted oil and gas reservoirs and the ocean, which is very capable of absorbing more carbon due to its sheer size)

terrestrial sequestriation:

use of plants to capture CO2 from atmosphere, stored in plant stems, roots and soils.

lithosphere:

store of carbon, including the crust and rigid outer mantle, storing the carbon in inorganic forms(fossil fuels and carbonate-based sedimentary rocks) and organic forms( litter, organic matter and humic substances found in soils)

The carbon budget:

uses data to describe the amount of carbon that is stored and transferred within the carbon cycle

hydrosphere:

carbon held in the ocean

biosphere:

defined as the total sum of living matter, which stores carbon

atmosphere store:

carbon held in the atmosphere

mulching:

increases soil organic carbon by adding organic matter, preventing carbon losses

cryosphere:

carbon stored in permafrost/permanently frozen soil

photosynthesis:

the absorption of CO₂ from the atmosphere (terrestrial plants) and from oceans (marine plants) to produce organic carbon structures

respiration:

the release of CO2 into the atmosphere, soil and oceans by animals as they exhale

decomposition:

the breakdown of animals and plant structures by bacteria and the release of carbon compounds into the atmosphere, soil and to the ocean floor

combustion:

The process of burning a substance, in the presence of oxygen, to release energy.