the water and carbon cycle

Acidification

The gradual reduction of pH of the oceans, due to dissolving carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

Afforestation

Planting trees and vegetation in the aim of increasing forest cover

Anticyclone

A system of high pressure, causing high temperatures and unseasonably high evaporation rates

Aquifer

A permeable or porous rock which stores water

Biofuel

Burning crops and vegetation for electricity and heat

Carbon capture and storage (CCS)

The capture of carbon dioxide emissions directly from the factory, pumped into disused mines rather than the atmosphere

Carbon fluxes

The movement of carbon between stores

Carbon neutral

A process that has no net addition of carbon dioxide to the environment

Carbon stores

Places where carbon accumulates for a period of time such as rocks and plant matter

Channel flow

Water flowing in a rivulet, stream or river

Choke point

Points in the logistics of energy and fuel that are prone to restriction

Combustion

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

Convectional precipitation

Solar radiation heats the air above the ground, causing it to rise, cool and condense forming precipitation

Cryosphere

The global water volume locked up within a frozen stae

Decomposition

The break down of matter, often by a decomposer which releases carbon dioxide through their own respiration

Depression

A system of low pressure, with front of precipitation where low and high pressure air masses meet

Desalination plant

The conversion of seawater to freshwater, suitable for human consumption

Desublimation

The change of state of water from gas to solid, without being liquid

Drainage basin

The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries

Drainage density

The total length of all rivers and streams divided by the area of the drainage

Pedosphere (soil)

Carbon stored in soil as organic matter and decomposed plant material

Atmosphere (air)

Carbon stored as carbon dioxide and methane regulating earth’s climate system

Biosphere (living things)

Carbon stored in plants, animals and microorganisms through organic compounds

Cryosphere (ice)

Carbon trapped in ice as greenhouse gases and organic matter

Hydrosphere (water)

Carbon dissolved in oceans as CO2, bicarbonate and carbonate ions

Lithosphere (rock)

Carbon stored in rocks as limestone, fossil fuels and carbonate minerals

Photosynthesis

Plants or algae converting light into food from carbon dioxide and water

Respiration

The process in all living cells that release energy from food through chemical reactions

Soil respiration

Release of CO2 by soil

Phytoplankton

Microscopic marine plants that form the foundation of most oceanic food webs

Carbon sink

A store that absorbs more carbon than it releases

Carbon source

A store that releases more carbon than it absorbs

Organic

Matter derived from living things; both plant and animal residues

Non-organic

Compounds that derive from non-living matter

Sere

A succession that relate to a specific environment

Seral stage

A single stage of succession