Chapter 9: Global Change

Fertilizer use

________ is the primary source of nitrous oxide emissions.

Higher air temperatures

________ have been proven to result in higher incidences of heat- related deaths caused by cardiovascular disease, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, hyperthermia, and diabetes.

Dutch elm disease

________ is transmitted to elm trees by elm bark beetles — killing over half of them elm trees in the northern US.

commercial fisheries

European green crabs found their way into the San Francisco Bay area in 1989 threatening __________.

global climate

As the oceans store a large amount of heat, even small changes in these currents can have a large and lasting effect on the ________.

Water hyacinth

It forms dense mats, reducing sunlight for submerged plants and aquatic organisms, crowding out native aquatic plants, and clogging waterways and intake pipes.

Zebra mussels

They can attach to almost any hard surface—clogging water intake and discharge pipes, attaching themselves to boat hulls and docks, and even attaching to native mussels and crayfish.

thermal expansion

The amount of energy absorbed and stored by the oceans has an important role in the rise of sea levels due to _____.

Arctic

The _____ region is a large natural source of methane.

stratosphere

Volcanic gases that reach the ______ have a long-term effect on climate.

tectonic plates

The movement of _______ causes volcanoes and mountains to form, which can also contribute to changes in the climate

mosquitoes

Due to global warming, ______ have more places to breed, which increases malaria, dengue fever, Zika virus, and yellow fever rates.

Antarctica

The main ice-covered landmass is ________ at the South Pole, with about 90% of the world’s ice and 70% of its freshwater.

50%

The total surface area of glaciers worldwide has decreased _____ since the end of the 19th century.

Sea-level rise

________ threatens to inundate many coastal wetlands, threatening biota that cannot move inland due to coastal development.

absorb

As the oceans _______ more heat from the atmosphere, sea surface temperatures rise and ocean circulation patterns change.

store

As the oceans _____ a large amount of heat, even small changes in these currents can have a large and lasting effect on the global climate.

carbon dioxide

The world’s oceans contain more _______ than the atmosphere.

methane

Agricultural activities, waste management, and energy use all contribute to _______ emissions.

nitrous oxide

Fertilizer use is the primary source of _________ emissions.

infrared radiation

When sunlight strikes Earth’s surface, some of it is reflected back toward space as ________ (heat).

Greenhouse gases

It absorb this infrared radiation and trap the heat in the atmosphere.

global warming

Due to ________, mosquitoes have more places to breed, which increases malaria, dengue fever, Zika virus, and yellow fever rates.

Ocean currents

________ carry heat around the Earth.

Atomic oxygen

________ can combine with oxygen molecules to form ozone.

Stratosphere

Contains approximately 97% of the ozone in the atmosphere, and most of it lies between 9 and 25 miles (15-40 km) above Earths surface

UVA

It is closest to blue light in the visible spectrum and is the form of ultraviolet radiation that usually causes skin tanning

UVB

It causes blistering sunburns and is associated with skin cancer

UVC

It is found only in the stratosphere and is largely responsible for the formation of ozone

Ozone Layer

A belt of naturally occurring ozone gas that sits between 9 and 19 miles (15-30 km) above Earth and serves as a shield from the harmful ultraviolet B radiation emitted by the sun

Ozone

A highly reactive molecule and is constantly being formed and broken down in the stratosphere

Chlorofluorocarbons

These are nonflammable chemicals that contain atoms of carbon, chlorine, and fluorine

Halocarbons (halons)

These are organic chemical molecules that are composed of at least one carbon atom with one or more halogen atoms; the most common halogens are fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine

Agriculture

Mostly comes from the management of agricultural soils

Commercial and residential buildings

On-site energy generation and burning fuels for heat in buildings or cooking in homes

Energy supply

The burning of coal, natural gas, and oil for electricity and heat is the largest single source of global greenhouse gas emissions

Industry

Primarily involves fossil fuels burned on-site at facilities for energy; cement manufacturing also contributes significant amounts of CO2 gas

Land use and forestry

It includes deforestation of old-growth forests (carbon sinks), land clearing for agriculture, strip-mining, fires, and the decay of peat soils

Transportation

It involves fossil fuels that are burned for road, rail, air, and marine transportation

Waste and wastewater

Landfill and wastewater methane (CH4), and incineration as a method of waste management

Carbon dioxide (CO2)

It is an important heat-trapping (greenhouse) gas, and is released through human activities such as deforestation and burning fossil fuels, as well as natural processes such as respiration and volcanic eruptions

Fluorinated gases

Industrial processes, refrigeration, and the use of a variety of consumer products all contribute to this gases, which include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)

Black carbon (soot)

It is a solid particle or aerosol, not a gas, but it also contributes to the warming of the atmosphere

Ocean acidification

It occurs when atmospheric carbon dioxide reacts with seawater to form carbonic acid,

Kyoto Protocol (2005)

A plan created by the United Nations to reduce the effects of climate change, which results in a reduction in the pH of ocean water over an extended period of time

Montreal Protocol (1987)

An international treaty designed to phase out the production of substances that are responsible for ozone depletion

Paris Agreement (2016)

It deals with greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation

Adaptation

The ability to survive in changing environmental conditions

Acclimatization

The process by which an individual organism adjusts to a gradual change in its environment allowing it to maintain performance across a range of environmental conditions

Invasive species

These are animals and plants that are transported to any area where they do not naturally live

Endangered Species

A species considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild