Carbon Cycle & 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):
Show a diagram and label to EXPLAIN the greenhouse effect:
Carbon Dioxide (CO2):
- A colorless odorless gas consisting of molecules made up of two oxygen atoms and one carbon atom.
- Found when burned in the presence of oxygen
- Affects climate with excessive amounts in the atmosphere changing Earth's climate
- A colorless, odorless non-toxic gas consisting of molecules made up of four hydrogen atoms and one carbon atom
- Found in wetlands, swamps and marshes, termites, and oceans
- Affects climate by increasing Earth's temperature
- A colorless, non-flammable gas with a sweetish odor, commonly known as "laughing gas", and sometimes used as an anesthetic
- Found and naturally produced in oceans and rain forests
- Increasing Earth's climate temperature
- An extremely potent greenhouse gas. SF6 is very persistent, with an atmospheric lifetime of more than a thousand years
- Comes from electric power plants
- Affects climate temperature
Show a diagram and label to EXPLAIN the greenhouse effect:
Explain how the Carbon Cycle is involved in global climate change:
When carbon is stored in different natural reservoirs other than the ocean, land, or the air particles it tends to be released into the atmosphere having an impact on climate change for it being a green house gas.
What are Carbon SOURCES and SINKS?
Carbon sources - Process that release CO2 into the atmosphere.
Carbon sinks - Process in which removes CO2 from the atmosphere.
How does deforestation increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere? Explain.
because deforestation results in the loss of many thousands of trees, there is in addition no CO2 to be taken in through photosynthesis by these organisms resulting in heating up the Earth's climate.
How do the oceans absorb excess CO2 from the atmosphere and how does this affect the oceans?
Oceans contain more than half the percentage of carbon dioxide through underwater plant organisms and phytoplankton. The excessive amounts of CO2 can result in acidifying the ocean water creating carbonic acid affecting aquatic ecosystems
Explain how the industrial revolution has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The start of the industrial revolution had a major increase in the amount of coal used to burn in the production of steel, and other products. The more production led to the increase of fossil fuels or in other words carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
According to the graph, which country is the biggest contributor to global carbon emissions worldwide?
China is the largest contributor to carbon emissions world wide
When carbon is stored in different natural reservoirs other than the ocean, land, or the air particles it tends to be released into the atmosphere having an impact on climate change for it being a green house gas.
What are Carbon SOURCES and SINKS?
Carbon sources - Process that release CO2 into the atmosphere.
Carbon sinks - Process in which removes CO2 from the atmosphere.
How does deforestation increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere? Explain.
because deforestation results in the loss of many thousands of trees, there is in addition no CO2 to be taken in through photosynthesis by these organisms resulting in heating up the Earth's climate.
How do the oceans absorb excess CO2 from the atmosphere and how does this affect the oceans?
Oceans contain more than half the percentage of carbon dioxide through underwater plant organisms and phytoplankton. The excessive amounts of CO2 can result in acidifying the ocean water creating carbonic acid affecting aquatic ecosystems
Explain how the industrial revolution has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The start of the industrial revolution had a major increase in the amount of coal used to burn in the production of steel, and other products. The more production led to the increase of fossil fuels or in other words carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
According to the graph, which country is the biggest contributor to global carbon emissions worldwide?
China is the largest contributor to carbon emissions world wide
