carbon revision

carbon sink

a carbon store that takes in and absorbs more carbon dioxide than it releases

carbon pool

a system that has the capacity to store or relase carbon

flux

the rate of exchange between reservoirs

thermohaline circulation

the flow of ocean water caused by the changes in density helping to regulate temperature and carbon dioxide levels across the globe

shortwave radiation

solar radiation from the sun in the form of visible light

longwave radiation

radiation returning from the earth in the form of infrared or heat

three forms of carbon

inorganic- found in rocks as bicarbonates and carbonates

organic - found in plant material and living organisms

gaseous - found as CO2 and CH4 methane

marine sediments and sedimentary rocks as a store

long term - the biggest store with 66-100 thousand million billion tonnes if carbon

oceans as a store

second biggest store 38,000 billion metric tonnes of carbon constantly being utilised by the marine organisms lost as an output to the lithosphere

fossil fuel deposits as a store

long term but currently dynamic - used to rarely change however

soil organic matter as a store

mid term - the soil can store carbon over a hundred years. but deforestation agriculture and land use can affect this store

atmosphere

dynamic store human activity has caused the co2 levels in the atmosphere to increase by around 40% since the industrial revolution

terrestrial plants as a store

mid term but very dynamic - vulnerable to climate change and deforestation and as a result carbon storage is declining annually

fluxes in the carbon cycle

photosynthesis living organisms convert carbon dioxide

combustion when fossil fuels are burnt they emit co2

decomposition - decaying matter emits co2

biological carbon pump

phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that like plants photosynthesise they take in carbon and turn it into organic matter in their shells

when they die so of the shell dissolves into the ocean and some sink to the seafloor becoming limestone

the physical carbon pump

oceanic circulation provides a constant source of new water on the surface allowing it to take in carbon the colder the water the more carbon that is taken in

thermohaline circulation

an oceanic current that that produces both horizontal and vertical circulation of cold and warm water

the main current starts in the polar oceans

the current is recharged when it passes Antarctica

the current is then divided north into the indian ocean and western into the pacific

the to branches warm and rise as they travel northward

terrestrial sequestration

plants take carbon from the atmosphere to photosynthesize and release carbon when they respire

when consumers eat plants they are turned into fats and proteins

micro organisms feed on the waste material from plants and animals

95% of a trees biomass consists of c02 which is sequestered

the enhanced greenhouse effect

since the industrial revolution concentrations of greenhouse gasses have increased at a rapid rate since the 1980’s 75% of the carbon has come from greenhouse gasses

for example deforestation which counts for 20% of emissions

implications are global temperatures may vary

rainfall will generally increase

ecosystems help to regulate the carbon and hydrological cycle global warming could stop these from working

artic tundra has changed significantly with the rapid warming taking out the permafrost

also changed things like river discharge

energy security

generally evaluated at a national level

there are four aspects availability , accessibility , affordability and reliability

requires an accurate prediction of the future

the countries that are the most secure use energy from within their boundaries

energy mix

refers to the range and proportion of energy produced by methods of production

e.g. fossil fuels, recyclable fuels

primary energy resources

coal - accounts for 27% of the global production but is dropping as the china decreases its use

oil- 32% of the global production

natural gas - 22% of the global energy production

uranium -4% currently predicted to increase in future

biomass - used in many lic’s however takes up a low proportion of global energy

other renewables - solar wind geothermal

tnc energy players

Saudi Aramco, Russian Gazprom , BP , shell , ExxonMobil , Petrobras , Petrochina

opec

an igo with which members export oil and petroleum.

control 81% of the worlds currently discovered oil reserves

their mission is to unify the global oil markets

member countries are Algeria, Angola, Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, IR Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

problems with achieving energy security

fossil fuel supply - mismatch between supply and demand for fossil fuels

energy pathways - pipelines which require global politics e.g. gazprom cutting off its global supply

oil tankers transported through hoke points which can easily be cut off

shale gas

extracted through fracking and has revived major environmental opposition

been done in northern uk

X Gas is not a sustainable energy source as it's a non-renewable and releases CO². This therefore means it contributes to global warming.
X There's a risk of pollution of groundwater, drinking water and air.
X Its uses lots of water which is a limited resource

+less polluting than col or oil

+can boost the economy

deep water oil

as oil supplies decrease companies have started extracting oil from deeper depth

+avoids large changes to many important vehicles

+large amounts of may drop price of electricity

+provide n alternative to Russian oil

x faces large environmental opposition

x more expensive to produce than normal gas

tar sands

extraction of petroluim from sands in places like canada in the Athabasca tar sands

Tar sands consist of a mixture of clay, water ,sand and bitumen

• tar sand mining sites are capable of some rehabilitation after operations stop allowing for the areas to return to natural state unlike procedures such as fracking.​

• Creates an abundance of jobs, for example Alberta Canada has 138,000 workers relying on Tar sands.​

• Processing tar sand is a carbon intensive process which only produces a single barrel of synthetic crude oil from 2 tons of Tar sand.​

• Tar sand is a non-renewable energy source meaning it will not be around forever and can't be relied on.