BIOS1301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Carbon Footprint, Cellular Respiration, Fasttrack
14 Jun 2018
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LECTURE 5
Case study 4: Acidic oceans could slow coral reef growth by a third
• ENV PROBLEM
o increasing CO2 interacting with oceans and affecting coral reef regrowth
• EFFECT ON THE ENV
o impacts on entire ecosystems
o affect growth of marine organisms with insufficient calcium -30% decrease in
calcification
• ROLE OF ENV SCIENCE
o measurement of changes over time
o understanding of the biochemical processes
• MANAGEMENT AND POLICY
o reduction in global emissions
o 'fast-track' evolution- adaptations
CARBON- ESSENTIAL
- photosynthesis, plants fix atmospheric co2 into solid form- available for use by all other living
things
- plants and animals are primarily composed of carbon chain molecules and water
------use carbon isotopes to see the body composition and trying to identify where they get this
source of carbon from (wha is their diet)
IMPORTANCE OF CARBON BY PLANTS
- photosynthesis: water and co2 and solar energy -> carbohydrate and oxygen and water
- respiration: carbohydrate and oxygen -> water and co2 and energy for work
GLOBAL CARBON CYCLES- LARGE SCALE POOLS AND FLUXES
- pools-> a place where carbon sits (where the carbon is now?)
- fluxes-> where does carbon move, how does it move and how quickly does it move (where is the
carbon going, and how fast?)
- conrols-> what factors control the pools and fluxes
largest fluxes come from vegetation (photosynthesis taking out carbon, plant respiration sending co2
back, and respiration from microbes, decomposition) and the ocean (photosynthesis from algae and
plant communities, ocean sediment) and to the atmosphere
human emissions - deforestation, power stations, fossil fuels, manufacturing cement
pools-> plant biomass, fossil carbon, soil carbon, atmosphere, surface ocean, deep ocean and
reactive sediments
HUMANS ARE CHANGING THE CARBON WORLD
- changes in land use and land cover (carbon footprint)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- world-wide decline in biodiversity
- changes in atmospheric composition
- changes in climate
DRIVERS OF GLOBAL FLUXES OF CARBON
- human population growth (carbon emissions- energy (non renewable))
- increased resource consumption
- atmospheric emissions
- changes in technology/ sociopolitical organisations
HUMAN MEDIATED DISTURBANCES TO DRYLAND CARBON
- bushfires, cutting down trees
WETLAND CARBON - DISTURBANCE
- wetland conversion, draining and drying
- methane from hydro as well
MARINE CARBON DYNAMICS
- deep ocean is world's largest active carbon pool
- ocean-atmospheric carbon exchange- fastest flux
- ocean surface absorbs co2 with increasing carbon concentration
- this dissolution reduced ocean pH (increasing acidity) and reduces the ability to go through the
process of calcification
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
-
importance of long-term datasets in environmental science
DISTRIBUTION OF CO2 EMISSIONS
- highly skewed to more populous countries
- per capita basis- different distribution
TEMPERATURE CHANGES
- temperature anomaly (difference from long-term average)
----important for human helath, biodiversity
---- high morality at high temperatures (bats, kangaroos)
NITROGEN CYCLE
- DNA, RNA, amino acids (manufacture of proteins) and other organic molecules
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Photosynthesis, plants fix atmospheric co2 into solid form- available for use by all other living things. Plants and animals are primarily composed of carbon chain molecules and water. -----use carbon isotopes to see the body composition and trying to identify where they get this source of carbon from (wha is their diet) Photosynthesis: water and co2 and solar energy -> carbohydrate and oxygen and water. Respiration: carbohydrate and oxygen -> water and co2 and energy for work. Global carbon cycles- large scale pools and fluxes. Pools-> a place where carbon sits (where the carbon is now?) Fluxes-> where does carbon move, how does it move and how quickly does it move (where is the carbon going, and how fast?) Changes in land use and land cover (carbon footprint) Human population growth (carbon emissions- energy (non renewable)) Deep ocean is world"s largest active carbon pool. Ocean surface absorbs co2 with increasing carbon concentration.
