Unit 3: Climate & Climate Change

anthropogenic

pollutants originating from human activity

selective absorber

gasses that absorb specific wavelengths but not other

greenhouse gas

gases in atmosphere that all are selective absorbers for *infrared* wavelengths

insolation

incoming solar radiation

conduction

transfer heat by touch

climograph

used to describe climate of location.

Milankovitch Cycles

the variation over time of earth’s orbit, tilt, and wobble

ocean acidification

carbon dioxide dissolving into the ocean and decreasing the water’s pH and making it acidic

solar radiation

how the sun transfers energy to earth

convection

the transfer of heat by mass movement or circulation within a substance

radiation

the transfer of energy or heat by electromagnetic waves

greenhouse effect

how heat is trapped in the atmosphere

the greenhouse gasses

methane, water vapor, carbon dioxide

fossil fuels

layers of organic carbon that were compressed by heat and pressure faster than they could decay (oil, coal, natural gas)

carbon cycle

movement of carbon through different reservoirs of earth

carbon cycle in atmosphere

burning of fossil fuels to carbon dioxide

carbon cycle in geosphere

creation of the rock limestone (Ca**C**O3)

carbon cycle in biosphere

photosynthesis is carbon dioxide to oxygen

carbon cycle in hydrosphere

carbon dioxide dissolves in water

respiration

breathing in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide

deforestation

the action of clearing a wide area of trees and taking away it’s ability to remove carbon from atmosphere

Paris Agreement

Legally binding international treaty on climate change created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

terrestrial radiation

specifically re-radiation of sunlight that reflected to earth and bounced off (in ir)

atmosphere

thin layer of gas molecules that separates us from space

biosphere

regions of earth occupied by leaving things

geosphere

the parts of our planet that are solid

hydrosphere

all the waters on the earth's surface,

visible light

short wavelengths we can see that the sun primary radiates

weathering

the breaking down or dissolving of rocks and minerals on Earths surface

albedo

the 30% of insolation that is reflected or scatters

ultraviolet

radiation from sun and absorbed by earth

infrared

radiation re-radiated to sun

climate

 the overall weather patterns of an area over a long period of time

weather

The state of the atmosphere at a given place in time with respect to variables

weather/climate jingle

“Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get”

biome

Large areas characterized by their wildlife, vegetation, and soil that have formed in response to a shared physical climate

adaptation

specific features developed by organisms to survive and be well suited in their environment

Gulf Stream

warm ocean current from gulf of mexico that heats east coast and heads toward great britain

phytoplankton

a process in the carbon cycle that are microscopic organisms that live in oceans and have carbonate shell that turn into limestone

carbon store/reservoir

any place that carbon is stored

electromagnetic spectrum

the range of wavelengths or frequencies over which electromagnetic radiation extends (radio, micro, ir, vl, uv, x, gamma)

major biomes of the world

rainforest, grassland, tundra, desert, shrubland, temperate deciduous forest, coniferous forest

rainforest characteristics

warm and frost free all year with a ton of rain (increases in summer and fall) and can be tropical or temperate but always moist

adaptation in rainforest

plants like cacao can survive under forest canopy with little sunlight

coniferous forest characteristics

well defined seasons with long cold winters and warm summers that have not too much rain and 4 to 6 frost free months

adaptation in coniferous forest

pine trees can survive extreme weather

temperate deciduous forests characteristics

four seasons with cold winters and hot summers

adaptation in temperate deciduous forests

white birch trees grow fast

shrubland characteristics

Hot dry summers and cool wet winters with precipitation varying greatly due to wet and dry seasons

adaptation in shrubland

some sumacs are poisonous

tundra characteristics

Cool all the time as the coldest biome and gets almost as little rain as a desert

adaptation in tundra

lichen can survive in barren cold regions and require little water but will still grow with it

grasslands characteristics

hot summers and cold winter with normal amounts of rain that come in spring and fall

adaptation in grasslands

bluestem grasses tolerate harsh conditions and can go dormant in cold

deserts characteristics

gets least amount of rain of all biomes and the temperature gets really high during the day and plummets at night

adaptation in deserts

creosote bush can conserve water and survive high temperatures and fluctuations in temperature

major sources of natural carbon

soil, organic matter, vegetation, coal, oil, gas, sediments, sedimentary rock, ocean surface, deep ocean

major sources of anthropogenic carbon

carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

effects of carbon dioxide in atmosphere on ocean acidity

carbonic acid is formed when ocean water meets carbon dioxide which then forms hydrogen ions which increase the acidity of water and increase ph

effects of ocean acidity on wildlife

the acidification interferes with ability for coral to reproduce and carbonate is needed for coral and shelled organisms and lower ph means less carbonate

human activities that change the balance of carbon storage from the geosphere toward the atmosphere and hydrosphere

burning of fossil fuels

impacts that extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and hydrosphere has on the earth system

temperature increase works like a chain reaction for many things and the coral reefs cannot reproduce

how the greenhouse gases regulate climate

they work as selective absorbers and do not let as much radiation leave

how much insolation is absorbed by land and sea

50%

how much insolation is absorbed by atmosphere and clouds

20%

how much insolation is reflected by clouds

20%

how much insolation is backscattered to space by amosphere

5%

how much insolation is reflected by land/sea surface

5%

two things most effected if temperatures rise 2 degrees centigrade

coral reefs and arctic sea ice

four global systems that need big sustainability changes

energy, land use, cities, industries

five steps to keep increase below 1.5 degrees centigrade

global CO2 emissions down 45% from 2010 levels , renewable energy sources as 85% of global electricity by 2050, coal to reduce to almost zero, seven million square km less land used for agricultural purposes, global net zero emissions by 2050

hard things to delay to help envirnmentalism

shift from fossil fuels by mid century, phasing out coal sooner than past suggested, giving over land to forest