Climate change

Holocene

Holocene

The current interglaciation period, extending from 10,000 years ago to the present on the geologic time scale.

Atmosphere

the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet.

Desertification

Degradation of land, especially in semiarid areas, primarily because of human actions like excessive crop planting, animal grazing, and tree cutting.

Donald Trump

Was the 45th president of the United States. He doesn't "believe in" CC, so withdrew USA from Paris agreement. Set back progress in tackling CC globally.

Longwave radiation

Energy that is re-radiated back into the atmosphere from earth

Shortwave radiation

Radiation emitted by the sun that arrives into earth's atmosphere

Kyoto Protocol

(2005) controlling global warming by setting greenhouse gas emissions targets for developed countries

800,000 years of climate evidence

After 800 000 years of scientific evidence, there is no need to debate that climate change is real and is a problem that needs to be tackled.

Adaptation

Actions taken to protect people from the harmful effects of climate change without tackling the problem itself

Albedo effect

the positive feedback loop in which an increase in the Earth's temperature causes ice to melt so more radiation is absorbed by the Earth's surface leading to further increases in temperature.

Atmospheric energy budget

Balance between incoming and outgoing solar radiation

Anthropocene

relating to or denoting the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment.

Alan Eustice

A American computer scientist who holds the world record for the highest-altitude free-fall jump.

Earth Summit in Rio 1992

was unprecedented for a UN conference, in terms of both its size and the scope of its concerns.

Cap and trade

Market-based system of pollution control whereby individual businesses can buy and sell emission credits even while the total level of industry pollution is capped at some level.

Carbon offsetting

funding offsite activities that reduce global carbon emissions such as planting trees.

Carbon storage

Captures carbon dioxide and stores it instead of releasing out into the atmosphere

CFCs

Chlorofluorocarbons. Man made chemicals used as coolants and propellants in aerosols. Potent greenhouse gases that also lead to depletion of the ozone layer.

Slip, slap, slop

was the iconic and internationally recognised sun protection campaign prominent in Australia and New Zealand during the 1980s. "Slip on a shirt, Slop on the 50+ sunscreen, Slap on a hat"

Biosphere

Consists of all life on Earth and all parts of the Earth in which life exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere.

Human enhanced greenhouse effect

less heat escapes into space, more re-emitted heat

Agriculture as a source of carbon

Industrial farming tills the soil and releases the carbon in the soil. No-till farming does not require this so the carbon is kept in the soil.

Anthropogenic GHGs

Emissions of greenhouse gases caused by human activities. The main GHGs are Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide.

Brandalism

Where adverts are used to degrade the brands image, for example before COP 21 in 2015 brandalism was used to hurt companies, such as: Volkswagen, total and Air France

Hydrosphere

All the water at and near the surface of the earth, 97% of which is in oceans

Arctic ice retreat and feedback mechanisms

The absorption of heat energy at the earth's surface further warms the atmosphere, causing more ice and snow to melt in an increasingly rapid cycle.

Goldilocks Planet

Position and movement in space makes it not too cold and not too hot.

Green house gases

Gases in the atmosphere that absorb and emit infrared radiation within the thermal infrared range: carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, nitrous oxide. They cause world temperatures to be warmer than they would be otherwise.

Greenhouse effect

Natural process that warms the Earth's surface. When the Sun's energy reaches the Earth's atmosphere, some of it is reflected back to space and the rest is absorbed and re-radiated by greenhouse gases. Temperature would be -18 degrees Celsius without it.

Greenwash

Where a business tries to give the impression that it is environmentally friendly when its claims may not be entirely true or justified.

Atmosphere

the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet.

Anthropogenic GHG's

human emitted greenhouse gases for example from burning fossil fuels.

2009 Copenhagen Accord

190 countries agreed to limit global warming. Problems: Only agreed to make plans, many had hoped for a binding agreement that would ensure countries stuck to tough limits.

Marshal institute

A company that improves the effectiveness of private action for public benefit (foundations, social entrepreneurs, charities, NGOs, and individual citizens, donating their time, money, ideas, knowledge, and skills to serve the public good). They are also part of the LES (London school of economics and political science).

Babbage the Bear

Was the pilot of the raspberry pi project that went into the stratosphere. He beat the highest skydiving record.

2015, COP 21 in Paris

!95 countries agreed limiting global warming to well below 2°C, but aiming for 1.5°C. It also aims to strengthen countries' ability to deal with the impacts of climate change and support them in their efforts.

EPICA Core

The European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) is a multinational European project for deep ice core drilling in Antarctica.

EU ETS

EU Emissions Trading System was set up in 2005. Goal is to reduce emissions across Europe.

Stratosphere

2nd layer of atmosphere; extends from 10 to 30 miles up; location of ozone layer; absorbs 95% of Ultraviolet radiation; temperature increases with altitude increase.

Solar radiation management (SRM)

a type of climate engineering which seek to reflect sunlight and thus reduce global warming.

Sunspots

are temporary phenomena on the Sun's photosphere that appear as spots darker than the surrounding areas. They are regions of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic field flux that inhibit convection

Maldives 4p's analysis

place: country in South Asia, island in the Indian ocean

processes:

social - has a population of 504, 544 people, with rising sea levels the population will be evacuated. (brackish, loss of homes and buildings)

economic - there will be a demand for money to fix the damage the rising sea level has done. Wealthier countries are able to help Maldives because they are poorer.

enviromental - habitats are loss due to flooding, plants, animals. aquifer contamination

political - the Maldives are deciding to adapt to the rising sea levels by sea walls, flood defences, and protecting groundwater

power: wealthier countries will try and help Maldives pay and take in migrants because they evacuate. president Abdulla Yameen is trying to resist rising sea levels.

possiblities: to evacuate people and to try and resist sea level rise

Globalization and offshoring carbon emissions

Widely used mitigation strategy to try and compensate for our emissions by funding an equivalent carbon dioxide saving elsewhere. Achieved by exploiting the difference between what consumers will pay and what it actually costs to eg. plant a tree.

Loss of habitats, animal migrations

with climate change, many habitats are lost from increase sea level rise, deforestation which then makes animals migrate and increases competition

Positive feedback mechanism

Feedback that tends to cause the level of a variable to change in the same direction as an initial change

Climate Migrants

People who are displaced, internally or internationally, because the climate of the area they live in is too difficult or unstable to live in. i.e Mississippi Delta, islands like Tuvalu, Florida hurricanes, etc.

La Nina

A climate event in the eastern Pacific Ocean in which surface waters are colder than normal. Part of the ENSO.

Climate Change Deniers

Those who, for ideological and economic reasons, use communication tactics to question the science underlying climate change and therefore delay action to mitigate this change. i.e Donald Trump

CO2

The main greenhouse gas that we emit, causing climate change. It is emitted through deforestation, released by factories, etc.

Global dimming

A decline in the amount of light reaching the earth's surface because of increased air pollution, which reflects more light back into space. eg increase in volcanic ash subtended in the atmosphere

Global Water Budget Changes

the change in the location and the amount of water involved in the hydrological cycle each year eg. less in glaciers, more in the atmosphere

Geo-engineering

The deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth's climate system, with the aim of mitigating the adverse effects of global warming eg. high altitude mirrors

Food Insecurity

The disruption of food intake or eating patterns because of lack of money and other resources

Felix Baumgartner

Felix Baumgartner is an Austrian skydiver, daredevil, and BASE jumper. He is best known for jumping to Earth from a helium balloon from the stratosphere on 14 October 2012 and landing in New Mexico, USA as part of the Red Bull Stratos project

Extreme Weather

This is when a weather event is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern, and is especially severe or unseasonal. This may take place over one day or a period of time. A severe snow blizzard or heat wave are two examples of extreme weather in the UK.

Eustatic changes

Eustatic sea-level changes are global sea-level changes is related either to changes in the volume of glacial ice on land.

Sea level rise

one result of global climate change, due to melting glaciers and ice caps

Gaia Hypothesis

is a theory of self regulation by natural systems eg. a forest will maintain the conditions it needs to continue

Seismic blasting

Blasting the seafloor with high-powered airguns and measuring the echoes with long tubes to map offshore oil and gas reserves

Fossil fuel burning

is the leading cause of climate change

Bangladesh 4 P analysis

Place: neighbouring India and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal. Small and is a delta, therefore not much of the land is much above sea levels. Very densely populated.

Processes: Many people have little money. Most people are either subsistence farmers, unemployed or underemployed. Rising sea levels mean delta and their land is shrinking. People do not have enough money to leave and can't move to India because of religious reasons.

Power: don't contribute huge amounts to climate change, yet they are heavily affected

Possibilities: Dredging, Climate refugees.

Civil Societies

Organizations outside of the state that help people define and advance their own interests. The "third sector" of society, along with government and business. It comprises civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations. (United Nations).

Resilience

the rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance

IKEA and WWF

There are 3 main parts to this project, the main one is Climate Change. The aim is to explore innovative ways in which joint efforts can contribute to reducing emissions of CO2.

NEXUS

a means of connection; a center

Shifting Biomes

climate change is shifting the ranges where plants grow

Coral Bleaching and Loss

As ocean water gets warmer due to the increased amount of CO2 that it stores in the water, corals release their zooxanthellae as a stress reaction. These organisms give them their colour, so when they expel them, the corals look like they have been bleached. If they cannot recover, they will die.

Crop Yields

With climate change, crops will be able to grow in more places, or will no longer be able to grow in certain places where the climate has become unstable. For example, some countries in Europe may be able to grow crops that they might have not been able to grow before. This is a positive. However, some countries' crops may fail, because droughts will get worse, and there will not be enough water for proper irrigation. (i.e Somalia)

Tuvalu's 4P's Analysis

PLACE: Tuvalu is located in the South Pacific. It is a group of 9 islands & atols, with a maximum elevation of 5m above sea level. There are 12000 permanent residents.

PROCESSES: •Social (+/-): Many of the residents are already living close to the poverty line and climate change is putting enormous strain on the human population.

•Economic (+/-): Agriculture, Fishing and Tourism are all impacted by sea level rise and warming temperatures.

•Environmental (+/-): Saltwater Intrusion, Inundation during high tides and storms, Soil becoming unusable for agriculture, Coral Bleaching and decreasing fish stocks are the main causes of concern.

•Political (+/-): Government already looking to relocate the islanders.

POWER:

Tuvalu's contribution to Global Climate Change is negligible, yet the negative impacts of many aspects of the changes impact this country more than most.

POSSIBILITIES:

Building/strengthening sea walls, dredging sediments to create higher elevations, leaving Tuvalu altogether (climate refugees).

Troposphere

The lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere

Tipping Point in Climate Change

the point of no return

Vulnerability

how prone a country or area is to storms, floods, wildfires etc, due to climate change

Tesla

An electric vehicle and clean energy company.

The year without a Summer-1816

A series of volcanic eruptions dumped tons of dust aerosol into the air and reflected the solar energy back into space causing the average global temperature to decrease.

Thermal Expansion of the Oceans

Change in matter in response to change in temperature. Oceans get warmer, they expand.

Thermosphere

The uppermost layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases.

Thames Flood Barrage

A movable barrier system that is designed to prevent the floodplain of most of Greater London from being flooded by exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the North Sea.

Maunder Minimum/Medieval Ice Age

The Maunder Minimum, also known as the "prolonged sunspot minimum", occurred from 1645 to 1720. It is the period in which sunspots became and the Ice Age coincided with periods of reduced solar activity. This resulted in the Medieval Ice Age (also known as the Little Ice Age) that lasted until the 19th century.

Industrialization

the development of industries in a country or region on a wide scale.

Insolation

incoming solar radiation

Inuit

A member of the arctic native peoples of North America

Joe Kittinger - 1960

He jumped through the atmosphere and it helped us understand the structure of the atmosphere.

Milankovitch cycles

periodic changes in Earth's rotation, orbit and axis (approx. every 100,000 years) which affects the global climate.

IPCC

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, panel of scientists and researchers has been one of the main bodies in environmental control and standards in the international community

Mitigation

The policy of constructing or creating man-made habitats, such as wetlands, to replace those lost to development

Koch Brothers

Supporters of conservative ideas. Paid scientists to give out false information so that people would by their oil.

Northwest Passage

A water route from the Atlantic to the Pacific through northern Canada and along the northern coast of Alaska. Sought by navigators since the 16th century.

Mesosphere

The layer of Earth's atmosphere immediately above the stratosphere (3rd layer of the atmosphere). Coldest layer of the atmosphere with the strongest winds.

Ozone layer

A region of Earth's stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Contains high proportion of ozone compared to other parts of the atmosphere.

Negative feedback Mechanisms

enhanced positive feedback loops which spiral out of control. i.e. Albedo effect

Methane

Greenhouse gas produced by intensive rice cultivation and livestock contributing to global warming.

Ocean acidification

decreasing pH of ocean waters due to absorption of excess atmospheric CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels

Ozone

a gas molecule that is made up of three oxygen atoms which makes up the ozone layer

Permafrost and methane release

When the ground that is normally permanently frozen thaws, releasing methane and CO2 it was storing into the atmosphere. An example of a positive feedback loop.

COP 21

climate change conference in Paris in 2015 to reduce CO2 emissions

Mount Pinatubo

Part of a chain of composite volcanoes on the west coast of Luzon, Philippines; in June 1991, it erupted for 9 hours; vented sulphuric dioxide into the atmosphere. Cooled global temperatures by 0.5 degrees celsius.

Cryosphere

A term referring to all water that is temporarily frozen in polar ice caps, snow, permafrost, and glaciers

Mount Tambora, 1815

the most powerful volcanic eruption in human history . The ash from the eruption dispersed around the world and lowered global temperatures in an event known as the Year Without a Summer in 1816