global climate change, exam 1

Reasons why understanding climate change is difficult for the general public

most people get information on climate change from second hand sources, nothing like this has ever happened before, people cant see the problem with their own eyes, personal values alter perceptions, mainstream

what are other ways, aside from mean global temperatures, statistics of temperature can change

extremes, variability, spatial, and temporal aspects

what is the atmosphere

envelope of gasses surrounding the earth

what is the atmosphere made of

permanent gasses: nitrogen, oxygen, argon, neon, helium, krypton, xenon, and hydrogen

variable gasses: water vapor, carbon dioxide, and ozone

what makes a gas a greenhouse gas

gas that is transparent to incoming solar radiation and absorptive of heat

what is the greenhouse effect

processes through which heat is trapped near Earths surface

how do temperature and pressure generally change with height in the atmosphere

troposphere: temperature decreases with height

stratosphere: temperature increases with height

mesosphere: temperature decreases with height

thermosphere: temperature increases with height

what is the ozone hole and where is it

region of depleted ozone in the stratosphere over the antarctic

what is the relation between the ozone hole and climate change

use of CFCs which break down ozone molecules, created by humans, have created the hole in the ozone layer

what is the percentage of agreeing climate scientists on climate change

99-100% of climate scientists agree, warming and humans are the cause

why is there a disconnect between what scientists say and what the general public/policy makers say

public has been constantly duped into believing there is still doubt on climate change through manufactured doubt by companies which stand to lose large amounts of money from its affects.

how has the perception of climate change differed through time in politics and media

climate change has become more present and widespread in the media in recent years, more doubt and misconceptions are being spread about climate change, has become more of a political issue through time

what is albedo

percentage/ratio of insolation reflected off of a surface

what are feedback processes

chain reactions of events triggered by a forcing agent

what is the IPCC

intergovernmental panel on climate change

what is the hockey stick graph

looks at the first 500 years of global warming, created by Michael Mann

what is a forcing agent

a factor that causes or initiates a change in a system, natural or anthropogenic

what is a proxy record

indicators of past climates using climate related biologic and geologic records

what is a moraine

deposits of various sediment/rocks left behind by melting glaciers, used to tell extend of past glaciations

what is climategate

thousands of emails and computer files where hacked, manipulated, and posted with the intention of proving that climate change was a conspiracy

what are the major factors that caused climate changes in the geologic past

orbital variations, solar output variations, landmass changes, atmospheric composition changes, asteroid impacts

who has been spreading misinformation about climate change and how

people working for large companies such as oil and tobacco pose as neutralists to deceive the public, done through effective communication, sewing doubt, and cherry-picking data

what countries are emitting the most carbon dioxide

china, US, india, russia, and japan

what are ice cores and what are they used for

cores drilled into thick glaciers, look at oxygen isotope ratios to learn about past climates, high levels of O18 indicate warmer climate, low levels indicate cold climate, they offer near annual resolution at top of cores

what are ocean cores

drilled cylindrical plugs of ocean sediments containing shells of long dead animals, focused on calcium carbonate within shells, isotope ratios captured within shells

how do oxygen isotope ratios work

an isotope is an atom with different number of neutrons than usual, oxygen isotopes consist of O18 (8P,10N) and O16 (8P,8N)

when was the last glacial maximum

20,000 years ago

how did glaciers expand

decline in temperature and precipitation, oceans contract, land is depressed, and ocean floors rise

what was the younger dryas period

1500 year period following last glacial maximum, temperatures abruptly dipped, named after the dryas octopetala flower which grows in tundra like climates, cause of this period still debated

who is james hansen

first to testify under oath that climate change is real and caused by humans

who is Marc Morano

political activist with publish climate denial website, encourage complaints to climate scientists

who is Benjamin Santer

climate scientist, received personal threats because of his work on climate change

who is William O’Keefe

Chief executive officer of the George C. Marshall institute, which opposes government regulation of greenhouse gas emissions

who is James Inhofe

served as US senator for Oklahoma, believe climate change was a hoax, defendant of the oil industry

who is Michael Shermer

writer of Skeptic magazine, views changes as scientific evidence regarding climate change advanced, originally a contrarian

who is Bob Inglis

former conservative U.S rep for south carolina, lost seat in congress after stating climate change was a problem the government should address

Who is Fred Singer

physicist and environmental scientist, founded SEPP to work against regulation of greenhouse gas emissions