Year 9 Climate Change Exam Revision

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the definitions, causes, evidence, and response strategies for climate change based on Year 9 lecture notes.

Interglacials

A period of ice retreat associated with rising temperatures and increased $CO_2$ emissions.

Glacials

A period of ice advance associated with falling temperatures.

Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

The concept that the natural greenhouse effect is intensified by increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (such as $CO_2$ and methane) emitted by human activities.

$N_2O$ (Nitrous Oxide)

A greenhouse gas primarily sourced from combustion engines in cars.

$H_2O$ (Water Vapor)

A greenhouse gas primarily sourced from evaporation from the oceans.

$CH_4$ (Methane)

A greenhouse gas primarily sourced from paddy fields, landfill sites, and cows.

$CO_2$ (Carbon Dioxide)

A greenhouse gas primarily sourced from burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas.

Instrument Readings

Evidence for air temperature changes recorded directly by thermometers, providing a reliable global record mostly since 1850.

Glacier Retreat

Photographic and monitoring evidence showing significant ice reduction since 1980, with an estimate that $25\%$ of mountain glaciers will disappear by 2050.

Arctic Ice Cover

A form of evidence where ice has thinned to almost half its thickness over the last 30 years, allowing summer ship crossings.

Ice Cores

Records of temperature going back thousands of years based on water and air molecules trapped in annual snow layers.

Historical Records (Seasonal Shift)

Evidence of climate change seen in spring arriving three weeks earlier, earlier bird nesting, and fewer frost days in winter.

Mitigation

Actions taken to reduce the causes of climate change, such as alternative energy production, carbon capture, and international agreements.

Adaptation

Actions taken to respond to the effects of climate change, such as changing agricultural systems, managing water supply, and reducing risk from rising sea levels.