BIOL 1442 Ch 44 Climate and Effects of Climate Change

Global Climate Change

term used to describe altered global weather patterns, especially a worldwide increase in temperature and resulting changes in the climate, due largely to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide

Climate

long-term, predictable atmospheric conditions of a specific area

Weather

conditions of the atmosphere during a short period of time

Climate change can by understood by approaching three areas of study:

evidence of current and past global climate change; drivers of global climate change; documented results of climate change

Antarctic ice cores show

that there have been periodic cycles of increasing and decreasing temperature

Before the late 1800s, the Earth has been as much as ( ) degrees cooler and ( ) degrees warmer

9, 3

The Medieval Climate Anomaly occurred between 900 and 1300 AD, which included

slightly warmer weather; allowed the Vikings to colonize Greenland

The Little Ice Age occurred

between 1550 AD and 1850 AD, which included a slight cooling of less than 1 degree Celsius, observable in North America and Europe

The Industrial Revolution led to advances in

agriculture, food supply, and improved standard of living

With the beginning of the Industrial Era, atmospheric carbon levels began to

rise

Milankovitch cycles

describe the effects of slight changes in the Earth’s orbit on climate, the length of each lasting from 19,000 to 100,000 years

The variation in the sun’s intensity is a ( ) responsible for climate change

natural factor

Solar intensity

amount of solar power or energy the sun emits in a given amount of time

As solar intensity increases (or decreases) the Earth’s temperature correspondingly

increases (or decreases)

Volcanic eruptions are a natural driver of climate change by

releasing solids and gases that influence the climate over a period of years

haze-effect cooling

global phenomenon that occurs when dust, ash, or other suspended particles block sunlight and trigger lower global temperatures as a result

Greenhouses gases are the

most significant drivers of the climate

Greenhouse gases trap

heat in the atmosphere

The greenhouse gases that effect Earth are

carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and ozone

Greenhouse effect

the warming of Earth due to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

Beginning only a few centuries ago, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have

increased beyond the historical maximum of 300 ppm

Human activity releases CO2 into the atmosphere in several ways:

burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, cement manufacture, animal agriculture, clearing of land, and burning of forests

Methane is produced when

bacteria break down organic matter under anaerobic conditions

Methane can be released from

natural gas fields, decomposition of plant and animal material, and melting of clathrates

Permian extinction

event that occurred 251 million years ago towards the end of the Permian period, which was one of the three warmest periods

The loss of ice leads to an increasing

global sea level, on average 1.8 mm per year

Temperature and precipitation play key roles in determining

geographic distribution and phenology of plants and animalsp

phenology

study of climatic conditions on the timing of periodic life cycle events