Global Systems

The carbon cycle.

Trees store carbon but where does it come from and where does it go? This will be explored in the
upcoming points.
How does carbon go from one place to another?
- Photosynthesis – a process where plants use carbon dioxide (CO2) and energy from sun to make
sugars and oxygen (O2) that we and other plants need to survive
- Burning fossil fuels – humans burn fossil fuels, coal, oil and gas generating power and
electricity, large amounts of greenhouse gases are released including CO2 into atmosphere,
scientists agree that this is fuelling climate change, they would have remained underground if
not burnt
Where is carbon stored
Plants: trees store carbon in trunks, leaves root
- Plants remove ¼ of CO2 by photosynthesis
- 600 billion is thought to be stored in land plants alone
- Carbon found in all living things, dead bodies and wastes, its part of carbohydrates, fats,
proteins, vitamins, DNA found in cells, tissues, organs
Atmosphere: holds 750 billion tonners of carbon as CO2
- Burning fossil fuels and deforestation contributes to dangerous high levels of CO2
- If trees were not cut down they would have helped removed the levels of CO2
Fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas): millions of years ago organisms containing CO2 died and were buried,
as well as trees and ocean dwelling creatures
- Since they were buried they were unable to decompose properly
- The pressure caused the formation of fossil fuels
- Extra carbon is now added to the cycle instead of remaining in there earth
- Carbon dioxide is used in photosynthesis when plants combine it with the hydrogen from water
to from glucose
Earths Four Spheres
❖ Biosphere: includes all lifeforms including organisms
❖ Atmosphere: relates to weather, clouds or aerosols (particles in the air/ dust). The air we breathe is
composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% of oxygen and other gases like water vapour 1%
❖ Lithosphere: solid portion of earth, includes sediments rock and soil, features associated with this sphere
include tectonic processes including volcanic, river channels, canyon formation and erosion
❖ Hydrosphere: includes bodies of water either is solid or liquid states, water in a gas state

Lithospheric Biosphere
Photosynthesis-
Tectonic processes- Photosynthesis is the process where plants and some
When plates collide causing mountain ranges to be formed organisms convert sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water
Fault mountains are created by pressure on the Earth’s into glucose and oxygen.
plates from both sides. Plants use chlorophyll to capture sunlight and convert it
into chemical energy stored in the form of glucose.
Nitrogen and phosphorus cycles-
Nitrogen is essential for the growth of living organisms. Oxygen cycle-
Green plants absorb nitrogen and phosphorus from the Plants and photosynthetic organisms release oxygen into
soil to build proteins. the atmosphere through photosynthesis.
Decomposers break down dead plants and animals into Animals and organisms consume oxygen through
ammonium compounds, which are converted back into respiration, exchanging it for carbon dioxide.
nitrates by soil bacteria
Food chains-
Food chains illustrate the transfer of energy and
nutrients within an ecosystem.
They involve producers (plants), consumers (herbivores,
carnivores, and omnivores), and decomposers (bacteria
and fungi) that break down organic matter.

Atmospheric Hydrological
Greenhouse Effect- Water cycle-
Certain gases trap heat from the sun, causing Earth's Process that involves the movement and circulation of
atmosphere to heat up. water on Earth
Human activities intensify this effect, leading to global Consists of various stages such as evaporation,
warming. condensation, precipitation, and transpiration

Nitrogen Cycle
The nitrogen cycle is an
important natural cycle for
living things, because nitrogen is
an important element in
proteins. Air is 78% nitrogen, but
most living things cannot use
nitrogen when it’s in its gas
form. Plants use nitrogen
compounds from the soil. Animals
are consumers that obtain their
nitrogen by eating or other
animals.
 Carbon Cycle
The carbon cycle is the process by
which carbon atoms are exchanged
between the Earth's atmosphere,
oceans, plants, animals, and soil. It
involves the movement of carbon in
various forms, such as carbon
dioxide, organic matter, and fossil
fuels, through different reservoirs
and processes. The carbon cycle
plays a crucial role in regulating
the Earth's climate and is an
essential component of the
biosphere.

Impact of natural events of the Earth’s spheres, including.

Earthquakes Tsunami
- Causes parts of lithosphere to separate apart, - produce very heavy rain and spectacular
together, rise or subside. righting.
- Movement causes large cracks to appear or - rain occurs because ash particles allow water
land to increase in height. vapour to condense around them and form
- Cause landslides or mudslides which tear down rain droplets.
forest and vegetation. - cause of lightning is collision of ash and air
- Destruction of ecosystems causes habitats to particles that become charged and forced
be lost. apart.
- Liquefaction occurs when saturated, sandy - some areas of the atmosphere become
soils lose their structure and behave as a negatively charged while other areas become
liquid. positively charged.
- Saturated soils water fill pores between - difference in charge and voltage it becomes
particles high enough, a flow of electric charge occurs
- When earthquake compresses the soil, it puts which is lightning.
the water in it under the pressure. - sunlight is reduced and has a cooling effect
- Large quantities of water and soil particles subsequent year.
bubble up through the layers and flow over - lava burns animals’ plants.
the surface like a liquid. - new land too hot for any living thing to
- When shaking from earthquake stops, survive.
pressure is released and the soil the becomes - many years before lava is cool enough food
solid again. seeds/spores to germinate.
- Anything caught in the liquid trapped when - toxic gases and ash produced by volcanoes
the soil solidifies once more. suffocate animals and can smother plants
- Change course of rivers
- Cause landslides and rock falls that block
rivers creating new lakes.
- Destroy dams.

Cyclone Volcanic Eruption

- Intense low pressure atmospheric systems - Uproots trees, destroys plants and animal
that’s develop in warm tropics when the sea habitats.
surface temperature is above 26.5 degrees - Chemicals washed into sea poisoning sea
Celsius. animals.
- Evaporation above warm water forms clouds - Land animals drowned.
- Low air pressure causes clouds to spiral - Sea floor erosion
upwards forming very large, very high -
clouds.
Climate change
Climate change is the long-term alteration of
temperature and typical weather patterns in a
place.
Climate change is primarily caused by human
activities such as burning fossil fuels for energy,
deforestation, and industrial processes. These
activities release large amounts of greenhouse
gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, into the
atmosphere, which trap heat and cause the planet's
temperature to rise. As a result, we are seeing
changes in weather patterns, rising sea levels,
melting of glaciers and ice caps, and more frequent
and severe weather events like hurricanes,
droughts, and floods. These impacts have profound
effects on both human and animal life, as well as
ecosystems and economies around the world.

Effect of climate change on.

Sea levels rising
- Planets average surface temp has rise by 2 degrees since 19th century
- Warming mostly occurred in past 40 years, 2016 and 2020 tied for warmest years.
Warming Oceans
- Ocean has increased heat, top 100m of showing warming by 0.33 degrees celcuis since 1969
- Earth stores 90% of extra energy in ocean
Shrinking ice sheets
- Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets decreased I mass
- Greenland lost an average of 279 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2019
- Antarctica lost about 148 billion tons of ice per year
Decreased Snow Cover
- Snow is highly reflective, vast amount of sunlight that hits the snow is reflected back into space
instead warming the planet
- Without snow cover the ground absorbs heat four to six times more of the suns energy
- Snow affects wildlife migration, hibernation, survival, some animals use it for camouflage
Retreating glaciers
- Receding in alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska, Africa
- As glaciers move they grind against rocks on the sides and floor pf valley through which they
flow
- Rocks on side of valled are seeply scored by broken rocks being dragged along sides and base of
glacier
- When glacier retreats scoring of rocks become visible
Sea level rise
- Global sea level rose by 20cm in last century
- Rate in last two decades is nearly double of the last century and accelerating slightly every year
- Climate change causing our ocean to warm and glaciers to melt results in sea level rise
The Enhanced Greenhouse effect.
The greenhouse effect is the mechanism where solar energy is trapped by water vapour and gases in the
atmosphere, heating the atmosphere and helping to retain this heat, as in a glasshouse The three most
important gases responsible for the greenhouse effect are carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane.
Without this greenhouse effect, the atmosphere would be much cooler and ice age conditions would prevail
over the planet, making life as we know it impossible.

Changes in the balance of the greenhouse gases are a natural event, leading to the different climatic
conditions on the planet as experienced over geological time. The issue today is how much impact human
activity is having on the natural cycle of events and how this activity is leading to climate change and global
warming.

The term ‘enhanced greenhouse effect’ has been developed to show that heating of the atmosphere is moving
at a rate that is above what could be expected by natural processes of change.

❖ Human activities are changing Earth's natural greenhouse effect.

❖ Burning fossil fuels like coal and oil puts more carbon dioxide into our atmosphere.
❖ NASA has observed increases in the amount of carbon dioxide and some other greenhouse gases in
our atmosphere.
❖ Too much of these greenhouse gases can cause Earth's atmosphere to trap more and more heat.
❖ This causes Earth to warm up.

How to reduce the greenhouse effect

❖ Just like a glass greenhouse, Earth's greenhouse is full of plants.
❖ Plants balance the greenhouse effect on Earth. All plants, from giant trees to tiny phytoplankton
in the ocean, take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen.
❖ The ocean also absorbs a lot of excess carbon dioxide in the air. Unfortunately, the increased
carbon dioxide in the ocean changes the water, making it more acidic.
❖ This is called ocean acidification.