WARM-UP ACTIVIT Y
Carbon Source Concept Map
Directions:
Arrange these terms associated with
carbon sources in a concept map using a
logical sequence
5 Minutes
CARBON SOURCE CONCEPT MAP
 N a m e : _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _
D a te: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _
P e r io d : _ _ _ _ _ _
 C A R B ON S O U RC E S C O N C E P T M A P
 D i r e c t io n s : A r r a n g e t h e w o r d s b e l ow c o n c e r n in g c a r b o n s o u rc e s i n t h e w o r l d u s i n g
a c o n c e p t m a p t o t h e b e s t o f y o u r k n o w l e d g e . R e m e m b e r, t h e w o r d s s h o ul d b e i n a
l o g i c a l a n d a p p ro p r i a te s e q u e nc e .
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N a t ur a l
Coal
d e c o m p o s it i o n
A n t h r o p o g e n ic
c r ud e o i l
transportation
f o s s i l f u e ls
l a n d fi ll s
methane
forest fires
r e s p ir a t i o n
p o we r g e n e r a t io n
n a t ur a l g a s
a g r ic ul t ur e
burning fossil fuels
deforestation
Vo l c a n o e s
c a r b o n d i ox i d e
oceans
DELAWARE STATE STANDARDS
 DE State Science Standard 1: Nature and Application
of Science and Technology:
 Scientific inquiry involves asking scientifically -oriented questions,
collecting evidence, forming explanations, connecting
explanations to scientific knowledge and theory, and
communicating and justifying the explanation
 GLE:
 Collect accurate and precise data through the selection and use of tools and
technologies appropriate to the investigations. Display and organize data
through the use of tables, diagrams, graphs, and other organizers that allow
analysis and comparison with known information and allow for replication of
results.
 Construct logical scientific explanations and present arguments which
defend proposed explanations through the use of closely examined evidence
DELAWARE STATE STANDARDS
 DE State Standards :
 STD 8 – Ecology –
 Matter needed to sustain life is continually recycled among
and between organisms and the environment.
 Illustrate how elements on Earth cycle among the biotic and
abiotic components of the biosphere
 Organisms and their environments are interconnected.
Changes in one part of the system will affect other parts of the
system
Explain how feedback loops keep ecosystems (at the local
and global level) in a state of dynamic equilibrium (e.g., positive
and negative feedback loops associated with global climate)
NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS
 HS. Human Sustainability
 HS-ESS3-1 – Construct and explanation based on evidence for how
the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards,
and changes in climate have influenced human activity
 HS-ESS3-6 – Use a computational representation to illustrate the
relationship among Earth systems and how those relationships are
being modified due to human activity
 Amount of carbon dioxide produced and the amount of carbon dioxide
sequestered
 HS-ESS3-4 – Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces
impacts of human activities on natural systems
 Anthropogenic Carbon sequestration
CONCEPT/ESSENTIAL QUESTION
 Concept: Earth’s balance between carbon sources
and carbon sinks are influencing atmospheric
conditions leading to increases in global
temperatures
 Essential Question: What would the result be if
the oceans transformed from a major carbon
dioxide sink into an even larger major carbon
dioxide source? Output of CO2 much greater than
input of CO2 (acidification, ocean current change,
temperature)
NATURAL SOURCES OF CARBON ON EARTH
CAN YOU NAME SOME OF THE MAJOR
NATURAL SOURCES OF CARBON ON
EARTH?
Take five minutes and list as many as
you can.
MAJOR NATURAL SOURCES OF
CO2 ON EARTH
Volcanoes
Oceans
Forest Fires-lightning strike
Decomposition of
organic matter
Soil
ANTHROPOGENIC SOURCES OF CARBON ON EARTH
WHAT DOES ANTHROPOGENIC MEAN?
CAN YOU NAME SOME MAJOR SOURCES
OF ANTHROPOGENIC SOURCES OF
CARBON ON EARTH?
Take 5 minutes to list them.
ANTHROPOGENIC SOURCES OF
CO2 ON EARTH
Burning of Fossil Fuels
Deforestation
Agriculture
HUMAN CONTRIBUTIONS
TO CARBON EMISSIONS
Carbon dioxide has increased from fossil fuel
use in transportation, building heating and
cooling and the manufacture of cement and
other goods.
Deforestation releases CO2 and reduces its
uptake by plants. Carbon dioxide is also
released in natural processes such as the
decay of plant matter.
IPCC
HUMAN CONTRIBUTIONS
TO CARBON EMISSIONS
 Methane (CH4)has increased as a result of
human activities related to agriculture, natural
gas distribution and landfills. (rice paddies)
 Methane is also released from natural
processes that occur, for example, in wetlands,
permafrost melting, methane hydrate (oceans)
 Methane concentrations are not currently
increasing in the atmosphere because growth
rates decreased over the last two decades.
 Methane is more than 20 times more potent as
CO 2 as a greenhouse gas.
ANTHROPOGENIC GHGS
The size of each piece of the pie represents the amount of warming that each
gas is currently causing in the atmosphere as a result of emissions from
people's activities. Source: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Fourth Assessment Report (2007)
HUMAN SOURCES OF GHGS
IPCC
WHO KNOWS CARBON DIOXIDE?
On the same paper with natural and
anthropogenic sources of GHGs list
the major human sources of CO 2
emissions in order from largest
source to smallest source by
percentage.
WHAT ARE FOSSIL FUELS
 Petroleum and natural gas are formed by the anaerobic
decomposition (little oxygen) of remains of organisms
including phytoplankton and zooplankton that settled to
the sea (or lake) bottom in large quantities millions of
years ago.
 Would this be fast track or slow track cycling?
 Over geological time, this organic matter, mixed with
mud, got buried under heavy layers of sediment. The
resulting high levels of heat and pressure caused the
organic matter to chemically alter, first into a waxy
material known as kerogen, which is found in oil shales,
and then, with more heat, into liquid and gaseous
hydrocarbons in a process known as catagenesis.
US Energy Information Administration
GLOBAL USE OF FOSIL FUELS
 The largest human source of carbon dioxide
emissions is from the combustion of fossil fuels.
This produces 87% of human carbon dioxide
emissions. Burning these fuels releases energy
which is most commonly turned into heat,
electricity or power for transportation.
 Some examples of where they are used are in
power plants, cars, planes and industrial
facilities. In 2011, fossil fuel use created 33.2
billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions
worldwide.
FOSSIL FUEL TYPES
The 3 types of fossil fuels that are used the
most are coal, natural gas and oil.
Coal is responsible for 43% of carbon
dioxide emissions from fuel combustion
36% is produced by oil
20% from natural gas.
WHY SO MUCH FOSSIL FUEL IN US?
The US from 570 million to 70 million years ago
CLASSROOM OBSERVATION ACTIVITY
 Choose a partner to work with
 Study the the paleo-map of the US from 570 million
to 70 million years ago, noting the locations of the
deep seas, shallow seas, and swamps.
 Knowing what you know about the location of crude
oil, natural gas, and coal deposits in the US,
determine if any correlations exist between the
deposit locations and this map.
 Write down your groups observations
 10 minutes
20 points
US USE OF FOSSIL FUELS
 US Carbon Dioxide Emissions, by Source
 A l l e s t i m a t e s f r o m I n v e n t o r y o f U . S . G r e e n h o u s e G a s E m i s s i o n s a n d S i n k s : 1 9 9 0 - 2 01 1 .
THE US AND THE WORLD
The United States Represents 5% of the World’s Population but is second in CO2 Emissions
producing over 19% of all global CO2 emissions – 5902 million metric tons in 2006.
CURRENT GLOBAL LEVELS
 Global CO2 levels last year, 2012, jumped by 2.67 parts per
million, which might not sound like a dramatic leap, but it’s the
second highest one -year increase since record -keeping began in
1959, surpassed only by the 1998 spike of 2.93 ppm.
 Global CO2 emissions grew 3 percent in 2011 , and 3.2% in 2012
reaching a record high of 31 .6 gigatonnes (Gt).
 They expect the amount of CO2 emitted last year by burning
fossil fuels grew to 58 percent above the 1990 emissions level.
 CO2 emissions grew sharply in 2012 in China, by 9.9 percent,
and in India, which recorded a 7.5 percent gain. Emissions from
the United States fell by 1 .8 percent, and from the European
Union by 2.8 percent
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Why do you think the emissions grew so rapidly in China and
India?
Scientific America, December 3, 2012
CURRENT LEVELS OF CARBON DIOXIDE
 In April of this year, 2013, the levels of CO2 in the
atmosphere surpassed the 400 ppm marker and was made
more troubling as it coincided with new data from the
International Energy Agency (IEA), which indicates that global
CO2 emissions increased 3.2 percent over the past year,
reaching a record high of 31 .6 gigatonnes (Gt).
 The IEA suggests that the world is now just 1 Gt away from the
level at which CO2 emissions must stay if we are to have a 50
percent chance of keeping the rise in global average
temperature to 2°C above preindustrial levels.
 And most scientists suggest that even a 2 °C increase is too
high, as some parts of the world —such as the polar regions—
would face temperature increases of two -to-three times the
global average. -
THE THREAT OF GLOBAL WARMING VIDEO
CLICK PIC
DEFORESTATION
 Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in
order to make the land available for other uses.
 An estimated 18 million acres (7.3 million hectares) of
forest — roughly the size of Panama — are lost each year,
according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO).
 About half of the world's tropical forests have been
cleared (FAO)
 Forests currently cover about 30 percent of the world’s
land mass (National Geographic)
 Forest loss contributes between 12 percent and 17
percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions
(World Resources Institute)
SOME FACTS ON DEFORESTATION
 Over half of the world’s forests have been destroyed
in the last 10,000 or so years, the majority of this
loss has occurred in the last 50 years, occurring
simultaneously with a massive increase in the
human population.
 The incredible scale of this loss has led to significant
changes throughout many parts of the world, and in
recent years these changes have been accelerating.
 These changes include: large scale extinction events,
desertification, climatic changes, topsoil loss,
flooding, famine, disease outbreaks, and insect
‘plagues’, among others
SOIL EROSION
MORE FACTS ON DEFORESTATION
 Deforestation is having a significant effect on the
world’s climate and geography. It is one of the
primary contributors to modern climate change.
 It’s estimated that deforestation currently
contributes about 20% of the world’s greenhouse gas
emissions directly.
 Indirectly it contributes significantly by causing
carbon dioxide to stay in the atmosphere for longer,
rather than being taken up by plants.
 An estimated 1.5 billion tons of carbon is released
every year by tropical deforestation
 http://scie nce he athe n.com/2 0 1 2 /12/1 3/de fo r e sta t ion -e f fe cts -cause s -an d -e xa mp le s - top -1 0 - l ist
/
NOT A PRETTY SIGHT!
EXPERIMENTING WITH REFORESTATION VIDEO
CLICK PIC
AGRICULTURE AND CLIMATE CHANGE
 Globally, agriculture accounts for 13% of the
radiative forcing (the difference between radiant
energy received by the Earth and the energy radiated
back into space) related to GHGs;
 In Canada and the United States it accounts for 6%
to 8%. The GHG emissions in Canada and the United
States are mainly in the form of methane ( CH4) and
nitrous oxide (IPCC, 007).
 Agricultural sources such as animal husbandry,
manure management and agricultural soils account
for about 52% of global methane (CH4) and 84% of
global nitrous oxide (no) emissions
AGRICULTURE FACTS
In the past, deforestation and intensive
agriculture (e.g., cultivating grasslands) have
contributed significantly to the increase in
atmospheric carbon dioxide
 For example, until the 1970s, more CO 2 had
been released into the atmosphere from
agricultural activities than from fossil -fuel
burning
METHANE – CH 4
Rice production currently accounts for approximately 13 percent of global methane emissions.
Methane is 25 times more potent as CO2 as a greenhouse gas.
LANDFILL METHANE
 Global methane emissions from landfills are estimated to be
between 30 and 70 million tons each year. Most of this
landfill methane currently comes from developed countries,
where the levels of waste tend to be highest.
LANDFILL GAS RECOVERY SYSTEM
SOURCES OF METHANE
CLOSURE
 Topics Covered
 1. Natural & Anthropogenic Sources of Carbon
 2. What fossil fuels are and how they are used
 3. US & Global emission levels of carbon dioxide
 4. Reasons for locations of fossil fuel deposits in US
 5. Effects of deforestation on greenhouse gas
emissions
 6.Effects of agriculture on greenhouse gas omissions
 7. Effects of landfills on greenhouse gas emissions
OCEANIC ABSORPTION/SEQUESTRATION LAB
 Distribute lab
EXIT TICKET
Describe a world in which
oceans have become
saturated with carbon dioxide
and can no longer absorb CO 2
and anthropogenic carbon
emissions rise 5% a year.
POST ASSESSMENT
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Name: ________________
Date: ___________
Period: _____
Carbon Sinks/Sources
Pre-Assessment
Directions:
Answer the questions to the best of your knowledge. Remember, you are not expected to know most of this material at this time .
Describe the difference between a carbon sink and a carbon source and give one example of each.
N a m e t h e t w o l a r g e s t a b s o r b e r s ( s i n k s ) o f c a r b o n d i o x i d e o n E a r t h ? B r i e f l y d e s c r i b e h o w t h e y a b s o r b C O 2.
The term anthropogenic means:
____ a. occurs naturally
____b. occurred long ago
____ c. caused by humans
____ d. I don’t know
Explain what 400 ppm means? Describe its significance and explain its relationship to climate change.
B y c o m b i n i n g C O 2 a n d H 2O _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ f o r m s .
____ a. hydrogen peroxide
____ b. carbonic acid
____ c. calcium carbonate
____ d. bi-carbonate
Agriculture creates tons of CO2 which contributes to global warming?
____ True
b. False _____
Describe the term sequestration and give an example of geologic carbon sequestration and oceanic carbon sequestration.
Acidification is the process of oceans becoming higher in pH due to CO2 absorption?
____ True
_____b. False
How doe acidification affect ecosystems. Give three examples.
How are landfillsboth sourcesand sinks of carbon? Give three examples.
Limestone is one of the largest carbon sinks on Earth?
_____ True
_____b. False
Explain the process of carbon sequestration in limestone.
ASSESSMENT
Using the lessons learned on carbon
sinks and sources, write a 5 page
essay (12-font, double-spaced) on
the consequences of unbalanced
sequestration of carbon on Earth’s
climate, ecosystems, and on human
society, including financial liabilities.