1. Topic 4.3 – Carbon cycle

2. Take note of the processes that cause the movement of carbon in the atmosphere as you watch this animation.

5. Data Analysis Task – Carbon Dioxide Fluctuations
Head over to the ESRL Global Monitoring Website to check out the data for Carbon Dioxide Emissions:
Task – To compare and analyze data from Mauna Loa, Hawaii and Global data with regards to CO2 Emissions.
Visit the website and make notes on:
Station Name
Coordinates
Period of Record
Type of Environment
To be completed in Microsoft Excel:
Open the “Mauna Loa Monthly Average Data”
Copy the data from the “Average” column from the last 5 years.
Plot these data points on a graph.
Do the same and compare and contrast this data to the data from the “Globally Averaged Marine Surface Data”
Analyze this data for trends. Using your graphs, what explanations can you offer for any differences or similarities made in this comparison?

9. The natural greenhouse effect warms the planet

10. High-energy (short wavelength) radiation from the Sun
The natural greenhouse effect warms the planet
High-energy (short wavelength) radiation from the Sun
some reflected back to space by cloud cover & ozone layer
Some heat leaves atmosphere
Greenhouse gases (H2O, CO2, CH4, NO2, O3), absorb and trap some heat. Atmosphere is warmed from the ground up.
Some reflected back to space by the albedo effect of ice caps and light colours.
Land and oceans absorb high-energy radiation and re-emit as lower energy heat.