GLG 201 Midterm: Exam 3 Study Guide
Document Summary
Earth"s thermostat that regulates climate by burying carbon o: how it works: Co2 builds up in the atmosphere (from volcanic outgassing) Production of acid rain (weak carbonic acid, h2co3) when co2 dissolves in water. Weathering (dissolving) of silicate minerals in rocks by carbonic acid (requires liquid water and occurs at higher temperatures) Transport of released ions (ca2+ and hco3-) from rocks by rivers into oceans. Precipitation of caco3 minerals at seafloor (shells or limestone rocks) Burial of caco3 minerals in the earth"s interior (subduction due to plate tectonics) o. *we are consuming resources at a high rate and the carbonate-silicate cycle is a natural geologic process taking 400,000 years on the geologic timescale. Yields a high amount of energy from a small input. Toxic waste is hard to dispose of, dangerous. Complex hydrocarbons: dead plankton & algae sink. Lithification as shale under anoxic conditions: heated and broken down to kerogen, kerogen heats and breaks down into oil then natural gas.
