APES- Carbon Cycle and the Greenhouse Effect
Influential Greenhouse Gases: For each of the following, list WHAT they are, WHERE they are found and HOW they affect climate
Carbon Dioxide (CO2):
Colorless, odorless gas consisting of molecules made up of two oxygen atoms and one carbon atom. It is produced when an organic compound or fossilized organic matter is burned in the presence of oxgen. It is found all around us. They affect the climate by enhancing the greenhouse affect.
Methane (CH4):
Colorless, odorless non-toxic gas consisting of molecules made up of four hydrogen atoms and one carbon atom. Methane is released when organic matter decomposes in low oxygen environments. Natural sources include wetlands, swamps and marshes, termites, and oceans. It is found in the mining of fossil fuels and transportation of natural gas, digestive processes in ruminant animals such as cattle, rice paddies and the buried waste in landfills. This adds to the greenhouse effect.
Nitrous Oxide (N2O):
Colorless, non-flammable gas with a sweetish odor, commonly known as "laughing gas", and sometimes used as an anesthetic. Nitrous oxide is naturally produced in the oceans and in rainforests. It is made in places where fertilizers are made in agriculture, nylon and nitric acid production are made and cars with catalytic converters are burning of organic matter. It adds to the greenhouse effect.
Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6):
Extremely potent greenhouse gas. SF6 is very persistent, with an atmospheric lifetime of more than a thousand years. Thus, a relatively small amount of SF6 can have a significant long-term impact on global climate change. It is found in the electric power industry. SF6 is used extensively in high voltage circuit breakers and switchgear, and in the magnesium metal casting industry. IT adds to the greenhouse effect.
Draw a diagram and label to EXPLAIN the greenhouse effect:
Explain how the Carbon Cycle is involved in global climate change: Carbon is continuously exchanged and recycled among the reservoirs through natural processes. As plants photosynthesize during the growing season, they remove large amounts of CO2 from the air. Respiration and decomposition of the leaves releases the Co2 back into the atmosphere. CO2 levels fluctuate gradually between the ocean and atmospheric reservoirs as ocean mixing occurs and the surface waters exchange CO2 with the atmosphere. Much longer cycles also occur, on the scale of geologic time, due to the deposition and weathering of carbonate and silicate rock.
What are Carbon SOURCES and SINKS?
The carbon atom within the molecule moves between many different natural reservoirs. As carbon is transferred between reservoirs, processes which release CO2 into the atmosphere are called sources, and processes which remove CO2 from the atmosphere are called sinks.
How does deforestation increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere? Explain.
Deforestation increases the amount of Co2 in the atmosphere. Human activities have a considerable impact on the terrestrial biosphere's ability to remove or emit carbon dioxide through practices such as deforestation and other forms of land management.
How do the oceans absorb excess CO2 from the atmosphere and how does this affect the oceans?
Due to the large surface area of the oceans and the high solubility of carbon dioxide in water (which creates carbonic acid ), the oceans store very large amounts of carbon - about 50 times more than is in the atmosphere or terrestrial biosphere. Each year, some of that carbon is released to the atmosphere.
Explain how the industrial revolution has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
In the 1800s, during the industrial revolution humans have been burning these fossil fuels, releasing the carbon from them back into the atmosphere as CO2. Processes that took millions of years to remove carbon from the biosphere have been reversed so that the same carbon is being released at unprecedented rates as a result of human activities. Atmospheric CO2 levels have increased 38% [as of 2009] since Preindustrial times and are higher than at any time in the past 800,000 years.
According to the graph, which country is the biggest contributor to global carbon emissions worldwide?
Influential Greenhouse Gases: For each of the following, list WHAT they are, WHERE they are found and HOW they affect climate
Carbon Dioxide (CO2):
Colorless, odorless gas consisting of molecules made up of two oxygen atoms and one carbon atom. It is produced when an organic compound or fossilized organic matter is burned in the presence of oxgen. It is found all around us. They affect the climate by enhancing the greenhouse affect.
Methane (CH4):
Colorless, odorless non-toxic gas consisting of molecules made up of four hydrogen atoms and one carbon atom. Methane is released when organic matter decomposes in low oxygen environments. Natural sources include wetlands, swamps and marshes, termites, and oceans. It is found in the mining of fossil fuels and transportation of natural gas, digestive processes in ruminant animals such as cattle, rice paddies and the buried waste in landfills. This adds to the greenhouse effect.
Nitrous Oxide (N2O):
Colorless, non-flammable gas with a sweetish odor, commonly known as "laughing gas", and sometimes used as an anesthetic. Nitrous oxide is naturally produced in the oceans and in rainforests. It is made in places where fertilizers are made in agriculture, nylon and nitric acid production are made and cars with catalytic converters are burning of organic matter. It adds to the greenhouse effect.
Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6):
Extremely potent greenhouse gas. SF6 is very persistent, with an atmospheric lifetime of more than a thousand years. Thus, a relatively small amount of SF6 can have a significant long-term impact on global climate change. It is found in the electric power industry. SF6 is used extensively in high voltage circuit breakers and switchgear, and in the magnesium metal casting industry. IT adds to the greenhouse effect.
Draw a diagram and label to EXPLAIN the greenhouse effect:
Explain how the Carbon Cycle is involved in global climate change: Carbon is continuously exchanged and recycled among the reservoirs through natural processes. As plants photosynthesize during the growing season, they remove large amounts of CO2 from the air. Respiration and decomposition of the leaves releases the Co2 back into the atmosphere. CO2 levels fluctuate gradually between the ocean and atmospheric reservoirs as ocean mixing occurs and the surface waters exchange CO2 with the atmosphere. Much longer cycles also occur, on the scale of geologic time, due to the deposition and weathering of carbonate and silicate rock.
What are Carbon SOURCES and SINKS?
The carbon atom within the molecule moves between many different natural reservoirs. As carbon is transferred between reservoirs, processes which release CO2 into the atmosphere are called sources, and processes which remove CO2 from the atmosphere are called sinks.
How does deforestation increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere? Explain.
Deforestation increases the amount of Co2 in the atmosphere. Human activities have a considerable impact on the terrestrial biosphere's ability to remove or emit carbon dioxide through practices such as deforestation and other forms of land management.
How do the oceans absorb excess CO2 from the atmosphere and how does this affect the oceans?
Due to the large surface area of the oceans and the high solubility of carbon dioxide in water (which creates carbonic acid ), the oceans store very large amounts of carbon - about 50 times more than is in the atmosphere or terrestrial biosphere. Each year, some of that carbon is released to the atmosphere.
Explain how the industrial revolution has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
In the 1800s, during the industrial revolution humans have been burning these fossil fuels, releasing the carbon from them back into the atmosphere as CO2. Processes that took millions of years to remove carbon from the biosphere have been reversed so that the same carbon is being released at unprecedented rates as a result of human activities. Atmospheric CO2 levels have increased 38% [as of 2009] since Preindustrial times and are higher than at any time in the past 800,000 years.
According to the graph, which country is the biggest contributor to global carbon emissions worldwide?