CARBON - Biological processes sequestering carbon
- Created by: aliceoliviaaa
- Created on: 04-05-18 14:39
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- Biological processes sequestering carbon
- Oceanic sequestering
- oceanic store is 50x larger than the atmosphere. Carbon stored in algae, plants and coral (rest is dissolved).
- Three oceanic carbon pumps:
- PHYSICAL - Water in oceans. Upwelling of rich-nutriented, cooler water occurs due to winds blowing parallel to coast. The oceanic circulation of water.
- slower mixing of CO2 in water than in atmosphere. 10% more CO2 is absorbed in deep, cold water. warm water releases CO2, cold water absorbs.
- CO2 gets into ocean by diffusing into water surface and dissolving. variables of rate include wind, temp of water and CO2 conc.
- BIOLOGICAL - Phytoplanktontransforms old C compounds to new ones. They photo-synthesise on ocean surface at the PHOTIC ZONE. C then passed up the food chain by fish, releasing CO2 into the atmosphere.
- 0.1% of C reaches the ocean floor as dead sediment. Sequester over 2 billion tonnes of CO2 annually to ocean.
- CARBONATE - shells form form sediments of dead organisms on the ocean floor. (hard outer shells and skeletons of crustaceans, fish, coral, plankton).
- The White Cliffs of Dover - CaCO3.
- PHYSICAL - Water in oceans. Upwelling of rich-nutriented, cooler water occurs due to winds blowing parallel to coast. The oceanic circulation of water.
- Happens in a few hours to centuries.
- Terrestrial sequestering
- Plants sequester carbon out of the atmosphere during photo-synthesis. carbon enters the food chain and nutrient cycles of ecosystems. (when animals eat plants, carbon becomes part of their fat).
- respiration returns some of the carbon back into the atmosphere, and waste can be eaten by micro-organisms (bacteria) and detritus feeders (beetles). When these die, carbon is built into the soil.
- Vary's on timescales:
- Diurnally - during the day, fluxes are positive (from atmosphere to ecosystem) and at night, the opposite.
- seasonally - seasonal. More CO2 is present in the atmosphere in winter because of low levels of plant growth. in spring, the conc's decrease as plants grow.
- Plants sequester carbon out of the atmosphere during photo-synthesis. carbon enters the food chain and nutrient cycles of ecosystems. (when animals eat plants, carbon becomes part of their fat).
- Oceanic sequestering
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