Geography A-Level - Physical - The Stores and Flux of the Carbon Cycle
- Created by: Noah_S
- Created on: 11-06-21 13:45
View mindmap
- The Stores and Flux of the Carbon Cycle
- Stores
- Hydrosphere
- 40,000 GtC (0.04%) of dissolved carbon is stored in rivers, lakes and oceans
- The majority of carbon in the Hydrosphere is stored in the deep ocean, in the form of dissolved inorganic carbon
- A small amount is found at the ocean surface, where the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon
- Atmosphere
- Contains around 0.001% of all carbon, in the form of CO2 and methane
- Carbon in the atmosphere is at 400ppm, the highest it's been for over 20 million years, due to anthropogenic sources (human)
- Biosphere
- Contains around 3170 GtC (0.004%) of carbon
- Split up between living plants (19%), plant litter, soil humus (3rd biggest store) and peat
- Animals are also apart of the Biosphere, being important for the transport of carbon
- Lithosphere
- 100 Million GtC (99.9% of all carbon on Earth) is stored in sedimentary rocks, like limestone.
- 4100 GtC (0.004%) of carbon is stored in Fossil Fuels
- The rest of the carbon in the Lithosphere is stored in soil organic matter and peat
- Cryosphere
- Contains less than 0.1% of carbon on Earth
- Most of the carbon is in permafrost, where dead plants and animals have frozen into the ground, trapping methane
- Hydrosphere
- Flows
- Decomposition
- Dead Biomass to Atmosphere + Soil
- After death, bacteria and fungi break organisms down, releasing CO2 and methane into the atmosphere
- Some carbon is transferred to the soil via humus
- Combustion
- Biosphere to Atmosphere
- Caused by burning biomass, releasing CO2 + potential pollutants
- Ocean uptake & loss
- Atmosphere to Hydrosphere & Vice Versa
- CO2 is directly dissolved into oceans, and also when organisms in the ocean take up carbon
- Carbon is also transferred from the ocean to atmosphere when carbon-rich water rises to the surface
- Respiration
- Living Organisms to Atmosphere
- Plants and animals break down glucose into CO2 + methane
- Weathering
- Atmosphere to Hydrosphere + Biosphere
- Atmospheric carbon reacts with water vapour, creating acid rain. This then dissolves rocks, and the product is washed into the sea
- Forms calcium carbonate in the sea
- Photosynthesis
- Atmosphere to Biosphere
- Plants & Phytoplankton use sunlight to convert CO2 to glucose + O2
- Sequestration
- Atmosphere to Lithosphere & Biosphere to Lithosphere
- Atmospheric carbon can be captured and held in sedimentary rocks, or as fossil fuels
- Fossil fuels can be formed when dead biomass in the ocean falls to the floor and is compacted
- Decomposition
- Stores
Comments
No comments have yet been made