Chapters - Climate change and the Earth system

16 important questions on Chapters - Climate change and the Earth system

What are the 5 systems in the earth system?

  1. geosphere (the planet
  2. hydrosphere (oceans)
  3. cryosphere (ice systems)
  4. atmosphere
  5. biosphere

How does vegetation feedback on climate act?

Through albedo.

Which 2 factors make the oceans very important in mediating the climate change effects of greenhouse gases?

1. The oceans absorb CO2 , which reduces the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere
2. The oceans also absorb vast amounts of heat—up to 90% of the added heat from human pollution
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What 2 factors create dead zones all over the world?

1. Inefficient fertilizer use
2. Warmer ocean waters due to climate change

What effect does climate change have on the phosphorus availability?

A negative one.
Elevated temperature reduces soil phosphorus, probably by accelerating decomposition. Precipitation affects soil phosphorus in complex ways, both positive and negative, which largely cancel each other out.

What does the fast carbon cycle involve?

Biological processes, such as photosynthesis and decomposition.

What does the slow carbon cycle involve?

Transitions of inorganic carbon, such as the weathering of rocks and soils.

What is the main source of CO2 in the atmosphere?

Releases of volcanic gases from midocean ridges and volcanoes.

Where is carbon mainly stored on land and in the sea?

Land = Coals and black shales are especially important in storing organic carbon of terrestrial origin
Sea = carbonate rocks, such as limestone, are particularly important in storing carbon of marine origin (from corals or shells)

How does the slow carbon cycle impact climate?

As rocks weather, silicate minerals (CaSiO3 ) combine with CO2 to create calcium carbonate (CaCO3 ) and silica (silicon dioxide–SiO2 ). This removes CO2 from the atmosphere, which results in a cooling effect on climate.

Why should oceans be mixed?

So the CO2 saturated water sinks down, and the ocean can take up more CO2.

What waters can hold more CO2?

Warm water holds less dissolved gas than cold water, so cold waters near the poles can hold greater amounts of CO2 (mostly as carbonate and bicarbonate ions) than warm waters in the tropics.

Which pumps move CO2 to deeper parts of the ocean?

1. Biological
2. Solubility

Why is flux between the atmosphere and ocean is small compared to ocean pools?

Because of the long residence time of carbon in the oceans.

Why does the biological pump does not play a strong role in modulating atmospheric CO2 from human sources?

This is because CO2 is not the limiting factor for photosynthesis in the oceans. As a result, higher CO2 due to human pollution does not change ocean photosynthesis rates, leaving the rate of the biological pump unaffected.

What are the planetary boundaries?

  1. climate
  2. biodiversity (outside the proposed safe zone)
  3. nutrient cycling (outside the proposed safe zone)
  4. land use
  5. ocean acidification
  6. freshwater
  7. the ozone layer
  8. atmospheric aerosols
  9. novel entities.

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