Carbon- EQ3

Question 1

Impacts of deforestation on water and carbon cycles?

Answer 1

Carbon: Less absorption of CO2 & Release of carbon
Water: Water cycle speeds up

Question 2

4 Main threats to forests?

Answer 2

Expansion of agriculture
Infrastructure development
Mining and fires
Illegal logging

Question 3

3 Reasons damage to the environment increases with economic growth?

Answer 3

Resource exploitation (Brazil)
Technologies that cause pollution (Cars)
Weak governance (Nigeria)

Question 4

5 Impacts of forest loss?

Answer 4

Water cycle speeds up (More surface runoff -> Less lag time -> More flooding)
Soil Erosion
Oxygen Cycle
Carbon Cycle
Ecosystem loss

Question 5

How could climate change affect precipitation patterns?

Answer 5

Increased evaporation from oceans
Increased precipitation at the ITCZ & Polar latitudes

Question 6

What are peatlands?

Answer 6

Carbon-rich soils that accumulate as waterlogged plants slowly decay

Question 7

3 Ways humans have damaged peatlands?

Answer 7

Drainage for farming
Explotation for fuel
Use of peat as gardening mulch

Question 8

Problems with draining peatlands?

Answer 8

Dry Peat burns easily, releasing CO2
Once started, peat fires are hard to stop
Slow burning and can go unnoticed

Question 9

5 Things the 2014 IPCC study identified?

Answer 9

Largest temperature increase is in the Arctic
Precipitation and evaporation balance may change
Increase in temperature decreases duration and extent of Ice Cover
Increased ablation leads to more runoff and localised flooding
Rates of warming are unpredictable

Question 10

5 Ways the carbon cycle affects the water cycle?

Answer 10

Forest Loss
Ocean Acidification
Rivers
Peatlands
Permafrost

Question 11

3 Ways climate change impacts river regimes?

Answer 11

Rising temperatures/ Evaporation
Altered precipitation patterns
Severe storms

Question 12

3 Impacts on people from changing river regimes?

Answer 12

Drought
Floods
Lack of regulation for HEP
Lack of flood protection

Question 13

3 Impacts of ocean acidification?

Answer 13

Disrupted food webs
Economic implications
Biodiversity loss

Question 14

3 Efforts to mitigate ocean acidification?

Answer 14

Reducing CO2 emissions
Protecting vulnerable habitats
Researching resilient species

Question 15

Mitigation Vs Adaptation?

Answer 15

Migitation: Reducing net CO2 Emissions
Adaptation: Learning to live with a changing climate

Question 16

5 Mitigation strategies?

Answer 16

Carbon tax
Renewable switching
Energy efficiency
Afforestation
Carbon capture & storage

Question 17

3 Issues with Mitigation?

Answer 17

Does not solve deforestation
Does not solve ocean health issues
Requires global scale agreement

Question 18

5 Adaptation strategies?

Answer 18

Water conservation & management
Resilient agricultural systems
Land-use planning
Flood risk management
Solar radiation management

Question 19

Issue with adaptation?

Answer 19

Does not address the damage to the carbon cycle

Question 20

Issues with Mitigation strategies?

Answer 20

Carbon tax: Price hikes on consumers
Renewable switching: Some countries lag behind others, global agreements required

Question 21

Issues with Adaptation strategies?

Answer 21

Solar Radiation Management: Geo-Engineering is extremely expensive
Water Conservation: Difficult in areas used to overabstraction
Resilient Agriculture: Already done but difficult
Land use changes: Re-zoning existing areas may not be realistic, Coastal populations are an issue