APES- Carbon Cycle and the Greenhouse Effect go to: http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/education/carbon_toolkit/basics.

html Name: _________Chau Vu___________________ Influential Greenhouse Gases: For each of the following, list WHAT they are, WHERE they are found and HOW they affect climate Carbon Dioxide (CO2): is a colorless, odorless gas consisting of molecules made up of two oxygen atoms and one carbon atom. Carbon dioxide is produced when an organic carbon compound (such as wood) or fossilized organic matter, (such as coal, oil, or natural gas) is burned in the presence of oxygen. Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by carbon dioxide "sinks", such as absorption by seawater and photosynthesis by ocean-dwelling plankton and land plants, including forests and grasslands. However, seawater is also a source, of CO2 to the atmosphere, along with land plants, animals, and soils, when CO2 is released during respiration. Methane (CH4): is a colorless, odorless non-toxic gas consisting of molecules made up of four hydrogen atoms and one carbon atom. Methane is combustible, and it is the main constituent of natural gas-a fossil fuel. Methane is released when organic matter decomposes in low oxygen environments. Natural sources include wetlands, swamps and marshes, termites, and oceans. Human sources include 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. Most methane is broken down in the atmosphere by reacting with small very reactive molecules called hydroxyl (OH) radicals. Nitrous Oxide (N2O): is a 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. Man-made sources of nitrous oxide include the use of fertilizers in agriculture, nylon and nitric acid production, cars with catalytic converters and the burning of organic matter. Nitrous oxide is broken down in the atmosphere by chemical reactions driven by sunlight. Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6): is an 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. SF6 is human-made, and the primary user of SF6 is the electric power industry. Because of its inertness and dielectric properties, it is the industry's preferred gas for electrical insulation, current interruption, and arc quenching (to prevent fires) in the transmission and distribution of electricity. SF6 is used extensively in high voltage circuit breakers and switchgear, and in the magnesium metal casting industry. Draw a diagram and label to EXPLAIN the greenhouse effect:

Explain how the Carbon Cycle is involved in global climate change: Where 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. For example, there is a clear seasonal cycle in atmospheric CO2 as plants photosynthesize during the growing season, removing large amounts of CO2. Respiration (from both plants and animals) and decomposition of leaves, roots, and organic compounds release CO2 back into the atmosphere. On a scale spanning decades to centuries, CO2 levels fluctuate gradually between the ocean and atmospheric reservoirs as ocean mixing occurs (between surface and deep waters) 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. Carbonate rocks like limestone are formed from the shells of marine organisms buried on the ocean floor, and they are chemically eroded by reaction with CO2 (remember that CO2 mixed with water is an acid) in the air and in soils. Silicate rock reacts with carbonate rock deep underground, producing CO2 gas coming out of volcanoes. Fossil fuels form a relatively small part of these natural geologic cycles. What are Carbon SOURCES and SINKS? Some of the terrestrial biosphere's major sources of atmospheric CO2 include respiration by land biota (plants, animals, microorganisms, humans, etc) and the burning and decomposition of organic material. The removal of atmospheric CO2 by the terrestrial biosphere occurs through photosynthesis. Plants use CO2 from the atmosphere to build food in the form of organic matter--which in turn becomes food for microbes, fungi, insects, and higher organisms. How does deforestation increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere? Explain. 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, and a similar amount is taken back up into the oceans (although the two processes might occur in different parts of the world's oceans). In addition, organisms within the marine biosphere photosynthesize and respire CO2. Due to the slow rate of mixing between surface and deep ocean waters, only the surface waters are responsible for short-term changes of atmospheric CO2. As the atmospheric CO2 concentration increases, the ocean sink also increases slightly. The oceans will eventually absorb the majority of the CO2 released from human activities, but this will take thousands of years. CO2 in the form of carbonic acid is a weak acid, and there are profound implications on marine ecosystems due to the increasing acidity of the oceans. Explain how the industrial revolution has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, 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? Currently, atmospheric CO2 levels continue to rise at an accelerating rate as humans burn fossil fuels at increasing rates. In human terms, the CO2 emitted by the combustion of fossil fuels (along with cement manufacturing and other human activities) remains "forever" due to the stability and longevity of CO2 within the atmosphere and oceans. This will have significant implications on the Earth System, as the resulting radiation imbalance from the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect will noticeably alter the global climate for centuries to millennia.