Estimated to be storing 80-120 billion tonnes of carbon. The above ground biomass in the Amazon is increasing by 0.3-0.5% per year which is because increasing atmospheric carbon levels encourage more plant growth, an example of a negative feedback loop. Since the...
Climate Change By 2050, temperatures will have increased by 2-3⁰. Between the 1920s and 1970s, there were significant drops in amount of rainfall, however, since then there has been no significant change. Vegetation Change Between 2000 and 2010, around 3.6...
Deforestation South America generates over a quarter of the world’s river discharge, but over the last 50 years, the area has undergone major deforestation and explosive development due to increased demand for cattle feed, beef and sugar cane for ethanol. Of all the...
Carbon is a chemical element, forming more compounds than any other element (scientists believe there are over 10 million carbon-based compounds in existence). Some examples of carbon compounds are carbon dioxide found in atmosphere, oceans and soil, calcium carbonate...
A carbon sink is a store of carbon that absorbs more carbon than it releases. Carbon moves between stores in a continuous cycle, via transfers/fluxes. If more carbon is entering a store than leaving it, this is considered a net carbon sink. If more carbon leaves than...
Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have fluctuated throughout time. 100 million years ago, levels were many times higher than what they are now. 500mya atmospheric carbon levels were around 20 times higher than today. Currently, carbon levels are on the rise, and...
The drainage basin is the area of land drained by the main river and its tributaries. This includes water found on surface, in soil and in near-surface geology. The drainage basin is also called the catchment area. Essentially, it is the area which supplies a river...
The River Wye is a 215km long (134 miles) river, starting at its source in the Plynlion Hills in central Wales, flowing south-eastwards and joining the Severn Estuary at Chepstow. It forms much of the England-Wales border and flows through/past towns/villages...
The Earth is very complex, so we try to simplify aspects to make links and components more understandable. The simplifications are called models, the Demographic Transition Model for population, and one type of model is a system: A system is a set of interrelated...
Water Distribution and Stores Surface water includes tundra, flat, treeless Arctic area with frozen subsoil, glacial areas and alpine areas; Tundra is located quite far North, especially around Greenland’s coast, throughout Russia, into Norway, Sweden and Finland....
Evaporation This is the process whereby liquid water changes into a gas. It requires energy provided by the sun and is aided by the wind. Heat energy from solar radiation is transferred to the surface water, which then encourages the water to change state from a...
Introduction: River Tweed flows through Scotland and Northern England- Stretches 156km Poses a flood risk to Eddleston – Village in Scottish Borders Factors causing Flooding: Precipitation is an important factor but other factors arguable more important...
Sublimation: Solid to Gas and Deposition: Solid to Gas Global Hydrological Cycle: Closed, global system- Water is continuously cycled between different stores STORES: Store: Time Scale- Of the earths 3% fresh water Soil Water 1-2 months Clouds ...
open, local hydrological cycles- is the area surrounding the river INPUTS: precipitation - includes all the ways moisture comes out of the atmosphere. precipitation is mainly rain, but it also includes other types like snow, hail, dew and frost. STORES:...
River Discharge: The volume of water that flows in a river per second - measured in cumecs: Velocity x CS Hydrographs: are graphs of river discharge overtime. They show how the volume of water flowing at certain points in a river changes over a period of time. Storm...
STORES: Lithosphere: over 99.9% of the carbon on earth is stored in sedimentary rock such as limestone Fossil fuels: 50 00 - 10000 pt Atmosphere: CO2, CH4, enters through respiration, removed by photosynthesis The atmosphere contains 0.001% of carbon Hydrosphere:...
Climate Change: 25% atmospheric carbon from agriculture Short UV radiation from the sun easily penetrates the atmosphere When the short UV reaches Earth’s surface = 50% absorbed by earth surface heating it- releasing latent heat via thermals Some radiated in from of...
Introduction: World’s largest tropical forest- hot wet and vegetation dense Home to ½ of world's plant and animal species Home to endangered species such as Amazonian manatee Caught the public’s attention in 1980s when a series of news reports said that an area of...
Systems: Inputs-when matter of or energy is added to the system Outputs-when matter or energy leaves the system Store- where matter or energy builds up Flows - when matter or energy moves from one store to another. Boundaries - the limits of a system, Open System:...