water and carbon cycle

a permeable rock layer which contains water that can be extracted for human use

a narrow bad of fast-moving winds high up in the atmosphere

when available water reserves fall below acceptable levels

there is insufficient moisture for average crop production

an extended period of low or absent rainfall relative to the average for a region

a reservoir where water is held such as the ocean or ice caps

a movement or transfer between stores in a system

consists of those areas of the Earth where water is frozen into snow or ice, including ice sheets, ice caps, alpine glaciers, sea ice and permafrost

is the build-up of snow and ice which takes place in the cryosphere

the change from solid ice to liquid or water vapour when temperature rises above 0°C. This wastage of surface snow or ice is achieved by melting and evaporation

conditions mean a severe lack of water, usually defined as annual rainfall totalling less than 200-250mm

a sustained sea surface temperature anomaly across the central Pacific Ocean

650-750 million years ago, cryosphere storage would have been much greater

allow energy and matter to be transfered across its boundary for external areas

the ease with which water can pass through rocks or a soil horizon

the temporary storage of precipitation on the leaves or branches of a plant

a plant community whose global distribution corresponds with a climatic region of the Earth

watershed

rainwater dripping from leaves and branches towards the ground

water that falls directly onto vegetation but flows to the ground via stems and trunks

movement of water from the ground surface to the soil

rate at which water can pass into the soil

movement of water laterally through the soil, via a matrix of pore spaces, fissures and pipes

the transfer of water from the soil into the underlying bedrock

the vertical and lateral movement of water through a drainage basin's underlying rock as a result of gravity and pressure

the movement of a sheet of water across the ground surface

rainfall continues for a long time soil becomes saturated, through flow is deflected closer to the surface

surface runoff which occurs when rainfall intensity is so great that not all water can infiltrate.

leaf and plant surfaces

water held in the biomass itself, also called 'green water'

water collected on the surface of the ground in expressions and hollows

water held in pore spaces in the soil matrix

water held in the river channel itself at any moment in time

water stored in solid rock and in any superficial deposits

water adhering in thin films by molecular attraction to the surface of soil particles

water forming thicker films and occupying the smaller pore spaces in the soil

excess water that occupies all large and usually free-draining spaces in the soil

the change in state of water from a liquid to a gas

diffusion of water from vegetation into the atmosphere, involving a change from liquid to gas

the volume of water leaving a drainage basin via its main stream or river during a specific unit of time

the weather and soil moisture conditions immediately prior to a storm event

the maximum rate of flow during a storm event

the maximum rainfall recorded in one of the time intervals

the part of a storm hydrographic in which the discharge starts to rise

the time elapsed between peak rainfall and peak discharge

the part of the storm hydrographic in which the discharge starts to falls

the rate of flow prior to the latest storm event

the maximum discharge reached during a storm event prior to overtopping of the river banks and the inundation of the floodplain with excess water

the normal minimum flow of the river

the process by which vapour changes into a liquid or solid form. For this to happen in the atmosphere, condensation nuclei must also be present

a process that increases levels or orographic rainfall

a biogeochemical cycle which moves carbon around a global system

carbon found in the ground and not in an organism

it makes up skeletons, shells and calcareous rocks

a store of carbon that absorbs more carbon than it releases

when more carbon leaves than enters

the uppermost part of the lithosphere, the layer that chemically reacts to the atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere through the soil forming process

100 million GtC

250 GtC

where sunlight penetrates so that photosynthesis can take place; contains approximately 900 GtC

the deep layer of water contains approximately, 37,100 GtC

the amount is approximately 30 GtC and dissolved organic matter is around 700GtC

3000 GtC

19% of carbon in biosphere

• varies depending on location and vegetation type Russia - 25% of world's forest carbon

Fresh, undecomposed - directly effected by type of ecosystem

• leaf tissue = 70% of litter in forest

thick brown substance that remains after most organic litter has decomposed forests, tropical temperate and boreal = 31% of carbon

500 million years ago = 7,000ppm 2 million years ago = 190ppm now = 420ppm

(average distribution of carbon-dioxide concentration)

• each year CO2 levels go up in the northern hemisphere winter due to fewer leaves - rise in levels mainly due to anthropogenic causes

suns energy to CO2 6CO2 + 6H2O --> C6H12O6 + 6O2

water and CO2 are the by-products 6O2 + C6H12O6 --> 6H2O + 6O2

happens by decomposers whose role it is to break down cells and tissues in dead organisms into biomolecules and atoms

when warm waters in the ocean surface are carried from the tropics to polar regions

• water cools = more dense + sinks taking CO2 with it

organic material is burnt in the presence of O2 giving of heat, Co2 and water

burning of living and dead vegetation immediately emits 10-20% of carbon, 80% stays in dead matter

minimal effects on carbon

• So2 reflects head > Co2 absorbs heat

responsible for 5% of global CO2 emissions 900kg of CO2 produced for every 100kg of cement

ploughing soil, enteric fermentation, rice paddies, deforestation, salivation, pesticides, monoculture, overgrazing, over cultivation

stone lines, terracing, wind-breaks, irrigation, buffer zones, crop oration, polyculture, soil conditioning, zap, afforestation, cover crops, biological pest control

carbon dioxide generated by human activity

the total sum of all living matter

the capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or capturing anthropogenic CO2 from large-scale stationary sources like power plants before it is released to the atmosphere. Once captured it is put into long-term storage

any gaseous compound in the atmosphere that is capable of absorbing infrared radiation, thereby trapping and holding heat in the atmosphere

the breakdown of rocks in situ by a combination of weather, plants and animals

peat is a thick layer of black or dark brown sticky and wet material. Peat is formed from the high levels of partially decomposed vegetative matter. Decomposition is prevented by a waterlogged environment which creates oxygen-deficient anaerobic conditions. the plant remains are slowly compressed as more material is added each year

where groundwater meets the surface - springs, hollows or at the edge of open water

on hilltops which receive over 1,500mm of rain a year, fed entirely by rainfall and snowmelt instead of groundwater

in valley bottom where soils are saturated due to frequent arrival of through flow and overland flow from the slopes above

1/4 of England's peatland under cultivation

• large areas drained for faming --> degrading peat

reduction in peat-forming plant species (sphagnum mosses) --> erosion of peatlands begins

burning land to encourage growth of new heather for grouse to feed on - damages wet sphagnum mosses--> exposed peat can lead to widespread and rapid erosion of pet during heavy rainfall

1/3 UK peatlands now support invasive species - rate of formation of peat slowed = erosion

bogs drained by forestry commissions - lose soil carbon via leaching and erosion

• re-establishment of plant cover dominated by peatland species

• re-wetting of drained peatlands

• block erosional gullies with stone dams to raise the water table

• UK = 1/2 soil carbon storage globally = 3% of Earth's surface - 4 million km2

November 2015, 324mm of rain

• confined confluence with steep valley sides

• impermeable lithology

• 4 bridges destroyed and 25 closed over 6 weeks

• only some trees are felled, canopy remains intact

• extracted by horses and helicopter

• mitigates against need for roads in the area

Drainage began during the roman period - drained and dried

• fenland farms supply 7% of England's agriculture - generates £3 billion a year

95% of forest clearance is near to transport networks

• 80% of amazon deforestation is in the arc of deforestation

increase temp --> increase melt of ice sheet --> ice into Atlantic Ocean --> O.C.B stops (Gulf Stream) --> European ice age

temp increase --> white surfaces decrease --> increase in dark surfaces --> increase in absorption of sunlight --> temp increase