Carbon Cycling Flashcards Biology Year 1 Barrett

Define Methanogens

• archaean microorganisms that produce methane as a metabolic byproduct in anoxic conditions.

Typically during ATP production methane is_____

• produced from carbon dioxide.

Methanogens are found in a variety of anoxic environments:

• Digestive tracts of animals (e.g. cows, humans and termites)

• Landfill sites (in which organic matter has been buried)

How exactly is Methane produced? (and other info)

• Methane is produced from organic matter in anaerobic conditions by methanogenic archaeans and some diffuses into the atmosphere or accumulates in the ground.

• Methane is oxidized to carbon dioxide and water in the atmosphere.

In reference to climate change: why are growing animal populations (mention cows only) and landfills bad?

• Growing cow populations contribute to climate change because cows produce methane (CH₄) during digestion, a greenhouse gas that is much more potent than CO₂ in trapping heat.

• Additionally, landfills release methane as organic waste decomposes under anaerobic conditions, further increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

• Overall, both factors create anoxic enviroments which allow for methanogens to thrive

How is coal formed?

• Coal is formed when deposits of peat are buried under other sediments.

• Over millions of years, increasing pressure and heat drive out moisture and cause chemical changes, transforming peat into lignite, a soft, brownish coal with low carbon content.

• With further burial and compaction, lignite undergoes greater metamorphism, becoming coal

• The cycle of sea-level changes that happened during the Carboniferous period caused coastal swamps to be buried promoting the formation of coal.