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CTEC313: Environmental Analysis: Biogeochemical Cycles: Answers

This document contains information about biogeochemical cycles and environmental analysis: 1. It provides answers to multiple choice and calculation questions relating to sodium and carbon cycles, including fluxes, residence times, and concentrations. 2. It lists the major carbon reservoirs on Earth, their amounts of carbon stored, rates of carbon flux into and out of each reservoir, residence times, and ranks them from shortest to longest residence time. 3. Key points are that the carbon cycle is currently almost at a steady state, marine biota is the reservoir with the lowest assimilation due to low body weight, and dissolved organic carbon and deep ocean have the longest residence times, representing long term carbon storage.

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42 views2 pages

CTEC313: Environmental Analysis: Biogeochemical Cycles: Answers

This document contains information about biogeochemical cycles and environmental analysis: 1. It provides answers to multiple choice and calculation questions relating to sodium and carbon cycles, including fluxes, residence times, and concentrations. 2. It lists the major carbon reservoirs on Earth, their amounts of carbon stored, rates of carbon flux into and out of each reservoir, residence times, and ranks them from shortest to longest residence time. 3. Key points are that the carbon cycle is currently almost at a steady state, marine biota is the reservoir with the lowest assimilation due to low body weight, and dissolved organic carbon and deep ocean have the longest residence times, representing long term carbon storage.

Uploaded by

Mxokzah Cmoh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CTEC313: Environmental Analysis

Biogeochemical cycles: answers


1.
a) Yes, inflow flux of Na+ is equal to the outflow.
b) 1.25 t
c) 25g of Na+ /min
d) 5000 min (3.47 days)
2.
a) Yes. (Calculate the inflow and outflow between each
compartment / reservoirs).
F1= F2 + F5 = 111x103 km3
F4 = F3 + F5 = 425x103 km3
F1+F3 = F2+ F4 = 496x103 km3
b) 3223.5 yr
c) 0.0262 yr (9.6 days)
3.
a) 0.635 mg CO2/L of air
b) 2297 ppmv
nCO2 at the ground and at the given altitude are the same =
1.442 x 10-5 mol per litre of air, (or 14.42 per 106 L air). What
changes is the molar volume, Vm, of the gas. Using PV = nRT, you
get Vm = 159.29 mol/L at the given altitude. Thus at that
altitude, VCO2 = 159.29 mol/L x 1.442 x 10-5 mol = 0.002297 L.
or 2297 L CO2/ per 106 L air = 2297 ppmv
c) 0.635 mg CO2/L of air

4.
a) sediments
b)
(i) 5.12 yr
(ii) 12.2 yr
(iii) 7 yr
(iv) 123.8 yr
(v) 4.5x108 yr

c) CO2 flux into the atmosphere, anthropogenic activities (e.g. power


generation and automobile emissions, domestic burning).

d) Hawaii Islands, Observatory laboratory (Keeling’s Lab) is located


there and it measures the steady state concentration of CO2 gas in
the atmosphere on a daily basis. Observed increase in the steady
state concentration of CO2 may mean global increase in emissions
into the atmosphere (Lab is located way from possible sources of
emissions and thus results are free from localized variations)

5.
a)

Reservoir Amount in Rate of flux into Rate of flux out Residence Rank
reservoir reservoir of reservoir time (1=longest
(Gt C) (Gt C/y) (Gt C/y) (years) time)

Atmosphere 750 157.1 153.8 4.82 4

Veg, Soils and 2190


61.6 61.8 35.5 3
Detr

Surface Ocean 1020 232 231.6 4.4 5

Marine biota 3 50 50 0.06 6

Dissolved <700
6 6 116 2
organic C

Int. & Deep 38100


100.2 101.6 377.6 1
Ocean

b) System almost at steady state, because the total in flow and out flow
fluxes between all compartments are almost equal.
c) Marine biota (low assimilation due to low body weight)
d) Long term storage- the residence time of the element in that
reservoir is very long (35 yr).
e) Adsorption on the surface of the colloid, settling as sediment and
eventually into sedimentary bed rocks.

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