Carbon Cycle Simulation - Part 2

1.) An increase in fossil fuel consumption would result in an increase in carbon in terrestrial plants. The flora population would grow or expand since flora depends on carbon to survive and there would be an excess of carbon in the Earth's atmosphere. If this were to continue for another twenty years, then the number of plants on the planet would increase significantly.

2.) An increase in total carbon concentration from smokestacks would also increase the amount of carbon in the ocean’s surface. Some marine life may be harmed by this increase since some species are not used to handling such a drastic change in their environments. Other species may thrive, such as plants, since they depend on carbon to survive.

3.) Carbon may also be found at the bottom of the ocean or high up in the Earth’s atmosphere. In fifty years, we could find excess carbon in both of those spaces, especially the bottom of the ocean.

4.) The areas most affected by the burning of fossil fuels are the Earth’s atmosphere, the planet’s supply of oil and gasoline, and terrestrial plants. An increase in carbon in the atmosphere is harmful to the planet because it accelerates the greenhouse effect, thus further warming the planet - causing extensive damage across the globe. A decrease of the oil and gasoline supply is also detrimental at the moment. Fossil fuels play a very large role in the way humans live their lives. If we run out and we do not replace our primary fuel source, serious consequences will occur. An increase in carbon in terrestrial plants is beneficial to the plants because plants require carbon to survive.

Carbon Cycle Simulation - Part 1

1.) If only half the flora in the world existed in 2110, then the amount of carbon in the Earth’s atmosphere would double. If there is less plant matter to absorb carbon dioxide and convert it into oxygen, then there will be more carbon in the atmosphere. I would change the online simulation to reflect this new information by decreasing the amount of flora within the simulator.

2.) Carbon in the ocean is carbon that fell directly into the ocean water. Carbon in the soil in carbon that fell directly onto the Earth’s surface. Carbon could also be transferred into the soil if an organism dies and then decomposes into the soil.

3.) There is most certainly a linear correlation between the amount of fossil fuels we burn and the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. The more fuel we burn, then the more carbon there will be.

Environemntal Awareness Activity

Hello everyone!

Last week my classmantes and I completed this super cool enviornmental awareness lab. Be sure to check it out my presentation on the project!

Geologic Time Scale

Over the past few days, a couple of my classmates and I created a digital geologic time scale of the Earth’s history. We used a Google image to illustrate just how large our planet’s time scale is. The amount of time you need to spend scrolling through the document represents the amount of time that passed between key events in the past. In order to get the most out of the experience, please click on this link: Geologic Time Scale.

Once you do that, find the magnifying glass icon at the top of you screen in the toolbar, click on the icon, and then scroll over the time scale. Click over the time scale approximately three to five times, select the mouse cursor icon in the toolbar, and then scroll through it at your leisure.

I definitely learned a lot by completing this project. It is very difficult to visualize exactly what 4.6 billion year looks like. This time scale served as a wonderful visual aid. It really helped put thing into perspective. I was surprised by the fact that humans have only been on this planet for a relatively short period of time. I was also intrigued by the fact that other complex life forms are a fairly recent addition in the grand scheme of the Earth’s time scale. This time scale really helped me develop a clearer understanding - I hope it is able to do the same for you.

The geologic time scale can be viewed through an analogy as well. Take a cross country road trip for example. The timeline of the Earth could be represented as a road trip where one drives from the east coast to the west coast. The origin of the Earth would be when I start my adventure in Bucks County, Pennsylvania (just outside Philadelphia), the oldest known Earth rocks would have formed as I reach Pittsburgh and the Ohio state border (approximately a six hour drive from my house), the appearance of algae and bacteria would occur once I arrive in Indiana, early shelled organisms would form as I approach Chicago, the beginning of the Jurassic period would begin as I cross over the Mississippi River, the Rocky Mountains form as I cross over the Rocky Mountains, and modern humans start to appear as I dip my toes in the Pacific Ocean. To better visualize this analogy, please refer to the map of the United States below.

Image Citation:

Map -http://www.worldmapsonline.com/images/academia/murals/academia_us_physical_mural_lg.jpg

Early Earth Reflection

The Habitable Planet Section One video was very informative about how the Earth transformed drastically from an uninhabitable planet to one that can easily sustain life. It explained how our planet was not always the place we know it to be now and how complex life forms are a relatively recent addition to the overall timeline of the Earth. The two main reasons why the Earth became habitable for complex life forms were due to the stabilization of the planet’s temperature with the greenhouse effect and the rise of oxygen levels.

While I was familiar with some of the topics mentioned in the video, I did not know that complex organisms were a relatively new addition to the planet - only starting to appear 550 million years ago. I also was not aware of the fact that the Earth was once completely covered in ice and had similar conditions to Mars. I’m still a little unclear as to when major events such as ice ages occurred in relativity to the timeline of the planet. While the video did a very nice job explaining why ice ages occur, it did not really tell us when they occurred.

I knew a little bit about the greenhouse effect prior to watching this video, but I did not know much about the entire carbon cycle behind it. The scientists in the video quite obviously knew what they were talking about, but brushed over the carbon cycle rather quickly. I would have liked the video to have gone a little more in-depth with a topic as complex and interesting as the carbon cycle. It is essentially the reason we exist today and I feel like the video could have spent more time explaining it.

I did learn a lot of new information from the video though. One of the things that really caught my attention was exactly how important geology is to better understanding our planet. Geologists can use rocks to explain almost the entire history of the Earth. They use rocks to determine things such as ice ages and oxygen level increases. They also use the rocks to find fossils and piece together various species’ evolutionary history. I was incredibly fascinated by all of this and cannot wait to learn more!

Image Citations:
Snowball Earth - http://images.spaceref.com/news/oosnowball.earth.2.jpg
Carbon Cycle - http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/outreach/carbon_toolkit/images/carbon_cycle.jpg