Earths Life Support System 1. How important are water and carbon to life on Earth?
- Created by: DanBish
- Created on: 04-05-22 15:53
View mindmap
- How important are water and carbon to life on Earth?
- Water and carbon
support life on Earth
and move between the
land, oceans and
atmosphere.
- Importance of Carbon
- Carbohydrate - Sugars used in respiration, carbohydrates are energy stores + cellulose used to reinforce cell walls in plants and chitin to form exoskeletons
- Lipids - Organic oils and fats. They form hormones, are part of cell membranes, provide animals with insulation + energy storage
- Proteins - Amino acids form proteins, catalyse bio-chemical reactions, form structural elements in organisms, + cause energy conversion reactions
- Raising Earth's Temperature - CO2 + CH4 are greenhouse gases, without which Earth would be 29C cooler, so water would be frozen, not liquid
- Fuel Source - Organic matter matures + coalifies, forming fossil fuels that have large energy densities - main source of fuel world-wide
- Importance of Carbon
- The carbon and
water cycles are
systems with inputs,
outputs and stores
- Carbon Cycle Stores
- Earths crust - 99.95%
- Other carbon reservoirs - 0.05%
- Oceans - 78%
- Fossil fuels - 10%
- Living Organisms - 4%
- Soil - 3%
- Atmosphere - 1.5%
- Sea floor sediments - 0.3%
- Water Cycle Stores
- Oceans - 97%
- Ice Caps + Glaciers - 2%
- Sub soil + Rocks
- Rivers + Lakes - 0.01%
- Top soil - 0.005%
- Atmosphere - 0.001%
- Living organisms - 0.00004%
- Carbon Cycle Stores
- The carbon and
water cycles have
distinctive processes
and pathways that
operate within them.
- Processes of the Water Cycle
- Evaporation - water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor
- Transpiration - evaporation of water in pores of leaves
- Condensation - Water vapour cooling, forming clouds as warmer air rises, cooling, then sinking as a cloud
- Precipitation - Rainfall, water vapour condenses on particles, building the mass till gravity pulls it to Earth as rainfall
- Convectional - Air rising in hot places
- Orographic - Mountains forcing air to rise
- Frontal - Warm air meeting cold air
- Interception - Water hitting vegetation
- Ablation - Snow melt
- Overland runoff - transfers water through basin as sheetwash, or across the surface
- Saturated overland flow - soil is saturated, water runs on surface
- Catchment hydrology
- Infiltration - Water sinking into soil from surface
- Percolation - Water moving from soil to water table
- Groundwater flow - Water moving sideways through soil, below the top of the water table
- Processes of the Carbon Cycle
- Photosynthesis - CO2 taken by plants, turned to carbohydrates
- 6CO2 + 6H2O -> C6H12O6 + 6O2
- Respiration - Animals consume plants, respire using carbohydrates, giving off CO2
- C6H12O6 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 6H2O
- Decomposition - Bacteria breaks down dead organic matter, releasing CO2 into atmosphere via the soil
- Combustion - Substance containing carbon burnt, energy + CO2 produced. Humans through fossil fuels, natural through forest fires
- Weathering
- Carbonation - CO2 dissolves in rainwater, dissolving limestone + chalk
- Chelation - Decomposition produces chelates, react with metal ions in rock, producing soluble organic chemicals
- Vegetation - holds CO2 through photosynthesis
- Photosynthesis - CO2 taken by plants, turned to carbohydrates
- Processes of the Water Cycle
- Water and carbon
support life on Earth
and move between the
land, oceans and
atmosphere.
Comments
No comments have yet been made