GCC Exam 1

Atmosphere

air surrounding the Earth comprised of suspended gases and liquids; gradually becoming thinner as it gets higher in altitude. 99% nitrogen & oxygen.

Variable Gases of the Atmosphere

water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone (trace / highly variable)

Greenhouse Gases

gases in Earth's atmosphere that trap heat from the sun.

Greenhouse Gas Effect

transparent to incoming solar radiation and absorptive of long-wave radiation (heat).

Ozone (O3)

tiny amount of the atmosphere, fleeting, and acts as both essential and harmful.

Ozone Hole

region located over the Antarctic region during Aug-Oct that has exceptionally depleted ozone.

Water Vapor (H₂O(g))

existing as individual gas molecules it is the most abundant of variable gases and GHG (also most potent), it is highly variable with a residence time of (~10 days) since it is constantly being exchanged.

Carbon Dioxide (CO₂)

occurring naturally and from burning fossil fuels, it keeps the Earth at a habitable temperature.

Methane (CH₄)

potent GHG with a long residence time (10 yrs) that is caused by both natural (bacteria, bogs, volcanoes, termites) and anthropogenic (landfills, cows, rice paddies) factors.

Albedo

the amount (%) of insolation (incoming solar radiation) reflected off a surface.

Forcing Agent

a factor that causes/forces a change in a system.

Feedback Process

chain reaction of events triggered by a forcing agent. Allows for both positive (dangerous / anthropogenic) and negative (balancing / natural) feedback loops.

IPCC

intergovernmental panel on climate change that meets every 7 yrs to summarize climate change research done.

Hockey Stick Graph

showed steady temperatures across pre-industrial levels that had a stark increase after. The graph was heavily attacked by skeptics since it relied on tree-ring data.

Proxy Record

give way to climatic records through biological factors (tree rings, ice cores, ocean cores, vegetation) which are heavily influenced by climatic fluctuations.

Moraine

an accumulation of rock debris, sand, and clay—called glacial till—that is carried and deposited by a moving glacier. It carries and preserves natural archives that can be analyzed to observe climatic fluctuations.

Climategate

release of hacked emails between scientists of the climate research unit that was publicized as a scandal in spite of the scientists involved being exonerated many times.

Ice Cores

drilled into thick glaciers to derive microscopic air bubbles (tells CO2 / methane ratios) and ash/dust layers (shows origin points, frequency of wind, lack of precipitation, volcanic eruptions) trapped in ice.

Ocean Cores

drilled cylindrical plugs of ocean sediments which have cores containing shells of long dead animal life (CaCO3) that have oxygen isotope ratios.

What countries are emitting the most CO2?

China, the United States, and India have the most CO2 emissions.

What is the consensus (% agreeing) of climate scientists on climate change and its causes?

~99% of climate scientists agree that climate change is caused by human activity.

James Hansen

climate scientist who famously brought global warming to public attention during a 1988 congressional testimony stating that "global warming is affecting our planet now".

Marc Morano

worked as a director of communications for republican senator Inhofe and ran ClimateDepot. Attacked climate scientists directly through smear media campaigns (specifically James Hansen).

Benjamin Santer

climate scientist acting as a lead author for an assessment report from the IPCC that stated there was a "discernible human influence on global climate" and later attacked by Marc Morano.

William O'Keefe

executive vice president of the American Petroleum Institute and a board member of the Global Climate Coalition made up of oil, electric, and automaker companies. Viewed climate change as presenting a war on oil and would curate skepticism by stating that there "was not consensus amongst climate scientists". He was a registered lobbyist for a petroleum company while additionally representing a climate change think tank at Marshall.

James Inhofe

long-serving U.S. senator from Oklahoma that called global warming "the greatest hoax ever".

Michael Shermer

former climate change skeptic that later switched his stance from reviewing data.

Bob Inglis

former republican congressman from South Carolina who switched from a skeptic to a conservative advocate for free-market climate solutions and lost running on a campaign of mediating climate change.

Fred Singer

rocket building cold war physicist with heavy anti-communist beliefs. While lacking expertise in climate science he attacked colleagues due to vested interests in tobacco industries spreading his idea that environmental regulation would befall to socialism.