Geography - water cycle revision

system definition:

a group of interrelated processes that operate simultaneously in the physical landscape. it must have:

1. a functioning set of components

2. a flow of energy which powers them

   1. a process for the internal regulation of their function called feedback

types of systems (name 4):

isolated: no input or output of energy or matter

closed: no input or output of matter but there is for energy

open: inputs and outputs of energy and matter

cascading: the cascade of energy and mass through one component to another

system: elements:

the substances that male up a system e.g. molecules, sand grain, rain drops

system: attributes

characteristics of elements which may be measured and perceived e.g. volume, temp and size

system: relationships

the associations between elements and attributes.

dynamic equilibrium:

when the system is in a steady state. It is not growing or reducing energy or matter, so it is balanced.  

positive feedback loop:

when the effect causes the cause the increase (constant increase) e.g. when more people are born, more people have babies negat

negative feedback loop

when a causes causes the effect to decrease e.g. the body warming up when it gets cold

distribution and stores of carbon

lithosphere - 99.9%, stored in rocks like limestone and hydrocarbons such as fossil fuels
atmosphere - gaseous carbon
biosphere - in plants and animals
hydrosphere
pedosphere
cryosphere

carbon store and change - hydrosphere

store - many animal life such as plankton makes up the carbon store, as well as coral reefs and dissolved carbon.
change - much of the dissolved carbon and dead animals gets compressed under the ocean pressure, causing it to turn into layers of chalk

carbon store and change - lithosphere

store - it is the largest store of carbon on the planet, due to most of the planet being made up of it. this can be seen with limestone covering most of earth, which is formed by carbon forming into rocks.
change - erosion and weathering and diffusion into oceans, volcanic eruptions

carbon store and change - biosphere

store - all living plants and animals hold catbron, weather from shell to respiration / photosynthesis.
change - the death of life releases the stored carbon, as well as materials they use such as shells

carbon store and change - atmosphere

store - carbon when turned into gas is stored within the atmosphere, which helps towards the greenhouse affect.
change - carbon diffusing into oceans, respiration / photosynthesis and when it is frozen into rocks

carbon store and change - pedosphere

store - the inbetween layer of the atmosphere and the lithosphere, holds small amounts of carbon in the quick carbon cycle.
change - many of the stores go into the lithosphere and plants often take the carbon nutrients.

carbon store and change - cryosphere

store - frozen in permafrost and ice crystals
change - increase temp means higher chance of permafrost melting

carbon budget definition

the maximum amount of greenhouse gases that can be released into the atmosphere while keeping global warming within a certain level

reasons for reducing the carbon budget:

improving air quality, reducing hazards, conservating resources and climate change mitigation, rising sea levels, greenhouse affect

reasons to NOT reducing the carbon budget:

plants having carbon allows for more growth, we need certain services to survive such as agriculture and energy,

natural impacts of the carbon cycle

Wildfires and volcanic activity

human impacts on the carbon cycle:

-burning of fossil fuels has released excess carbon into the atmosphere
-clear cutting of carbon absorbing vegetation has released large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere

land use changes affecting the carbon cycle

deforestation - creates a positive feedback use of trees not bringing in resources (rain), therefore killing more trees
urban growth - destroying cycles

positive and negative feedback loops in the carbon / water cycle

positive - melting ice (albedo affect), as ice melts, the rays of the sun are absorbed more, causing more heat and more ice to melt.
permafrost thawing - permafrost melting releases greenhouse gases which heat up the environment more and cause more melting
Negative - cloud formation- as more evaporation due to temp occurs, clouds form which reflect heat
plant growth - higher levels of co2 leads to more plant growth

strategies by humans to intervene the carbon cycle

mitigation - seen with using less damaging equipment and finding newer, mitigated technologies.
international policy - policies such as the Paris protocol created the carbon budget and informed countries to help

water cycle process

1. evaporation

2. condensation - vapour becomes liquid

3. cloud formation

4. precipitation and cryospheric process

drainage basin

the area from which a single stream or river and its tributaries drains all of the water

water balance:

the balance between water intake and output

human factors which affect the water cycle

Deforestation - less plants means less evapotranspiration and higher chance of floods as less absorption from trees.
agriculture - water is extracted to use for crops, pesticides infect water and can cause flooding from a large area of land being flat and overflowing small rivers.

surface runoff

Water flowing off the land into bodies of surface water.

groundwater

water that fills the cracks and spaces in underground soil and rock layers

stem flow

When intercepted water runs down the trunks and stems of vegetation.

channel storage

the storage of water in streams or rivers

carbon sequestration

A method of storing carbon emissions to prevent their release into the atmosphere

carbon sink

takes in more carbon than released

carbon source

Releases more carbon into the atmosphere than it takes in