APES Quiz Global Climate Change

what is the stratospheric ozone

a layer of gas found high up in the atmosphere

what does the stratospheric ozone do

it protects life by absorbing most of the sun's harmful UV

how is the stratospheric ozone created

UV light from the sun hits oxygen molecules and splits them into two single oxygen atoms, then those single oxygen atoms join another o2 molecule and form ozone

when is ozone created and destroyed

there's a natural balance happening constantly - ozone is being created and destroyed all the time

does the ozone layer stay stable

the ozone layer stays fairly stable when humans don't interfere

is ozone stable

ozone is unstable compared to regular o2 so its breaks apart easier

what is very affinity to oxygen

chlorine

what does chlorine want to do

it wants to bond with it

what does the process of chlorine combining with ozone do

it creates a chain reaction - one chlorine atom can destroy thousands of ozone molecules before its eventually removed from the atm

what cause the breakdown of ozone

human made chemicals like CFCs, halons, and other ozone depleting substances (ODS)

what is CFC

chlorofluorocarbon

what happens when a CFC molecule breaks apart in the stratosphere due to UV

a chlorine atom is released into the atm

when the chlorine atom is released what happens

the chlorine atom combines with ozone and create chlorine monoxide (ClO) and oxygen gas - the ClO then reacts with a free oxygen atom and creates a chlorine atom and oxygen gas - release a free chlorine again

what was the Montreal protocol

the banning of ozone depleting gases to keep the ozone layer from being destroyed, and it has been working!

what has the Montreal protocol done so far

the response to decreased stratospheric ozone led to 24 nations signing it - a commitment to reduce CFC production by 50% by the year 2000

what causes CFC

refrigerators, air conditioners, aerosol sprays, and foam products

what happened in 1987

every country in the world agreed to stop using CFCs and other ozone depleting substances

what are some other ozone depleting substances from worst to best

HCFCs, HFCs, HFOs

what is GWP (global warming potential)

the measure of how much a given molecule of gas can contribute to the warming of the atmosphere over a 100 year period, relative to CO2

what is the GWP based on

residence time and infrared absorption

what is residence time

how long a molecule stays in the atm

what is infrared absorption

how well the gas absorbs and radiates infrared radiation (IR)

what is CO2 GWP

1

what are some ways CO2 gets released into the atm

fossil fiel combustion, decomposition, deforestation

what is methane GWP

23-84 (remains in the atm around 12 years, absorbs more IR than CO2)

what are some ways methane gets releases into the atm

natural gas extraction and combustion, animal agriculture, permafrost thawing

what is N2O GWP

300 ( remains in atm around 115 years absorbs much more IR than CO2)

what are some ways N2O gets releases into the atm

agriculture soils, denitrification

what is CFCs GWP

1600-13,000 (remains in atm 50-500 years)

high albedo means what

more reflection (less energy absorbed)

low albedo means what

less reflection (more energy absorbed)

when ice melts due to global warming what

it exposes darker surfaces like water or surface underneath

what is the positive feedback loop

warming causes changes that make warming happen even faster

what does global climate changes lead to

rising sea levels, disease vector migration, and population and ecosystem impacts

rising sea levels

melting ice and glaciers, thermal expansion of ocean water, increased flooding and loss of coastal habitats, and flooding of coastal ecosystems estuaries

disease vector migration

warmer temperatures expand range of mosquitoes and ticks, disease like malaria, dengue, Lyme disease may spread to new regions

population and ecosystem impacts

climate refugees: human displacement due to uninhabitable conditions, altered migration patterns in animals, stress on water, food and healthcare, loss of biodiversity, freeze/thaw cycles provides water for ecosystems

what is the keeling curve

shows amount of CO2

today, developing countries are responsible for how mush of the worlds CO2

2/3

which country os the leading CO2 emitter

china

what are the two countries who release more Co2 per capita

canada and US

what percent of northern ice caps have melted

45%

the warmest 20 years were between what years

1998 and 2020

glacier used to have 150 glaciers, but now how many

25

what might global ocean currents cause

they may shift as a result of more fresh water being released from melting ice

is to much fresh water dilutes the salt water what could happen

it could prevent sinking which would shut out thermohaline circulation