Earths Ife Support System Flows

Earth is in what zone

Goldilocks zone

Goldilocks zone is found

at the right distance from the sun for water to be a liquid

water vapour maintains global temp as it is a

greenhouse gas

presence of water is important to

mix to form complex structures essential for evolution of life

Ablation consist of

melting and sublimation

Glaciers and ice sheets release water through

ablation

sublimation is

when smt goes from solid to gas directly

percolation occurs

after infiltrating soil, into groundwater stores.

infiltration allows water to reach rivers through

throughflow through soil

Carbonate rocks make up

99.95% of global carbon

carbon storing rocks

limestone and chalk

10-100 million tonnes of carbon circulated a year

through slow carbon cycle

slow carbon cycle is where

carbon is locked away for million of years

water balance equation

precipitation = evapotranspiration + streamflow +- water storage additions and leakages

precipitation occurs when water vapour cools to

dew point 8 degrees and condenses into water droplets

evaporation occurs when water is heated above

dew point

Factors affecting interception rates

wind speed, vegetation, interception storage capacity, tree species

if wind speed increases

evaporation increases so interception loss is greater

evergreen have

increased interception losses as leaf’s all year

carbonation releases carbon from limestone to

streams, oceans and atmosphere

photosynthesis absorbs carbon and mixes with water to produce

glucose and oxygen

Biological pump of carbon sequestration absorbs

50 GT of carbon a year from atmosphere

Biological pump is where pythoplakton convert

sunlight, water and co2 to organic matter and to die to form sea floor

Physical pump is

water absorbs c02 and moves to poles where it cools and sinks