the carbon cycle and energy security

the carbon cycle

the carbon cycle

the process in which carbon atoms circulate through Earth's land, ocean, atmosphere, and interior.

ocean uptake

the process of the ocean absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere

carbon stores

long term

• earths crust

• deep ocean

short term

• soil

• ocean surface (in phytoplankton)

• atmosphere

• terrestrial ecosystems

how is carbon measured

petagram or gigatonne

carbon flux

is the amount of carbon exchanged between Earth's carbon sinks

largest flux= photosynthesis

smallest flux= rivers

if sources= sinks then….

the system is in equilibrium

reservoir turnover

the rate at which carbon enters and leaves a store is measured by

the mass of carbon in any store / the exchange flux

however changes in the system may result in +ive or -ive feedback

-ive feedback (stabilizing) - how the system usually works which is stabilizing and prevents the system moving beyond a certain threshold

+ive feedback (amplifying) - occurs when a change in one component causes a change in the next- causing an overall change to the system

sequestration

the natural storage of carbon by physical or biological processes such as photosynthesis

the biological carbon pump

caused by phytoplankton- a single celled organism which can photosynthesise and therefore store carbon

so when they die they sink and bring carbon to the bottom of the ocean

thermohalide circulation also helps with this

phytoplankton bloom

phytoplankton populations rapidly increase as conditions are ideal

conditions-

• stratification of water temps (as they need both cold nutrient rich water and warm water to grow)

ways fluxes can vary

diurnally- changes form day to night

seasonally- changes between seasons

factors decreasing terrestrial sequestration

• deforestation

• deciduous forests (have -ive NPP for part of the year)

CASE STUDY- deforestation

• brazil and china

the enhanced greenhouse effect

The disruption to Earth’s climate equilibrium caused by the increased concentrations of greenhouse gases has led to an increase in the global average surface temperatures

keeling’s curve

shows fluctuation in CO2 seasonally but an overall increase over past decades

anthropogenetic (human related) causes of climate change and CASE STUDIES

• burning fossil fuels (eg BP & electricity generating companies)

• transport (eg ships and vans for amazon products)

• industry

• deforestation (brazil for soy and cattle)

• cattle farming (mcdonalds and tesco etc)

energy security

the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price

consists of

• availability of energy

• whether energy mix in domestic or imported

• whether supply is interrupted or not

• energy price

CASE STUDY

USA vs q France energy mix/security

uses of energy

• communication

• electricity

• heating

• manufacturing

the worlds energy consumption trend

countries with higher GDP have a higher energy consumption

• as they can afford more/ access and transport it easier

and higher population= higher consumption

energy intensity

a measure of how affectively a country uses energy

• generally decreases as a country becomes more developed as cost per unit of GDP decreases as energy is used more effectively

CASE STUDY

UK energy mix

things that impact energy consumption

• cost

• standard of living

• environmental priorities

• population

• climate

• public perception (eg in german CASE STUDY)

• development level/ technology

CASE STUDY

german energy mix (disapproval on nuclear power) and france (large use of nuclear power)

energy stakeholders

• TNCs (provide investment)

• OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)

• Governments

• consumers (must pay)

CASE STUDY

coal exports

CASE STUDY

oil exports

CASE STUDY

gas exports

disruption to energy pathways (and CASE STUDIES)

• wars (Russia and Ukraine)

• supplies diminishing

• changing to renewable energy

• changes in cost (cost of living in UK)

• trade issues

• damaged pipes

• OPEC reducing global productions

CASE STUDY

OPEC

CASE STUDY

deep water oil drilling in brazil

CASE STUDY

Canadian tar sands

CASE STUDY

USA fracking

renewable energy

an energy resource that is replaced rapidly from an existing natural process such as wind or sun

recyclable energy

an energy resource that can be reused once people or nature have processed it such as HEP and nuclear

+ives and -ives of renewable energy

- cost

+ no pollution

- but nuclear energy can be damaging

- harder to store and transport

+ cheaper long term

biomass

organic matter used as a biofuel to generate electricity

biofuel

a fuel derived from from living matter

• can be primary or secondary (1= woodchips, 2= biodiesel as it requires processing)

CASE STUDY- bad energy mixes

brazil (biofuels)

harmful activities of humans

• land conversion

• deforestation

• marine degradation

land conversion

change of a natural ecosystems to an alternative use

deforestation

the action of clearing a wide area of trees.

impacts

• increases surface runoff as it decreases interception

• decreases infiltration

• so erosion of soil is faster

• increases flood risk

• less photosynthesis and transpiration (impacts water cycle)

marine degradation (eg cargo ships, overfishing, oil spills)

causes

→ coral bleaching/ ocean acidification (reduces biodiversity)

→ phytoplankton death (disrupts carbon cycle)

→ temperature increase

CASE STUDY- marine degradation

ARCTIC

CASE STUDY

climate change impact on amazon rain forest / drought

carbon cycle and human well being is represented Kuznets Curve

pre → post industrial rev

primary → 3 and 4 jobs

rural living → urban

low technology → high

low environmental awareness → higher

causes of uncertainty for the carbon cycle

natural

• carbon sinks and reservoir turnover

human

• population growth

• economic growth (development → kuznets curve)

• change in energy sources

feedback mechanisms-

• forest dieback rates (more or less changes in CO2 absorbed)

• peatland and permafrost CO2 released due to drying or melt

• thermohaline circulation- change how heat is transferred around the world which impacts ice sheets (containing carbon)

mitigation

strategies to prevent or reduce condition changes

adaptation

strategies to adjust to condition changes

adaptation strategies to climate change and environmental degradation

• water management + conservation

• resilient agriculture systems

• land use planning

• flood risk assessment

• solar radiation management

water management + conservation

• use more grey (recycled) water

resilient agriculture systems

• using GM crops that are more tolerant to drought, reduced famine

land use planning

• soft management

• building restrictions on high risk flood area

• reduces costs of damage and loss of life long term

flood risk assessment

• hard engineering such as flood defences, river dredging and permeable tarmac

• reduces flood risk

solar radiation management

• the use of orbiting satellites to reflect radiation back into space

• this has not yet been tried and tested

mitigation strategies to climate change and environmental degradation (CASE STUDIES)

• carbon taxation (2015 changes)

• renewable switching (the climate change levy)

• energy efficiency (the green deal scheme)

• afforestation (the big three plant campaigne)

• carbon capture storage (Canadas boundary dam)

CASE STUDY- long term international climate change mitigation

Kyoto protocol