Climate Change Lecture Notes

Climate Change Flashcards

Anthropogenic Climate Change

Long-term changes in climatic trends driven by human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and agriculture.

Weather

The short-term conditions (temperature, humidity, cloud cover, winds, precipitation) of the atmosphere at a given place and time.

Climate

The long-term average weather conditions for a location, calculated over long periods of time. It is measured from long-term precipitation and temperature patterns.

Climate Variability

The year-to-year variation in monthly or seasonal climatic conditions.

Climate Change

The long-term change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years, due to natural or anthropogenic processes.

Insolation

Incoming solar radiation.

Albedo

Reflectivity of a surface.

Heat Budget

The eventual balance between insolation with the amount of heat energy emitted by Earth into space. When in balance, the climate remains stable.

Natural Greenhouse Effect

The natural process by which radiation from the Earth’s atmosphere warms the planet’s surface to a temperature above what it would be in the absence of its atmosphere, caused by greenhouse gases.

Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

An increase in the effectiveness of the natural greenhouse effect caused by an increase in the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases which have come from human activities.

Hydrological Cycle

The continuous movement of water as a liquid, gas and solid throughout the land, oceans and atmosphere.

Carbon Cycle

The continuous movement of carbon compounds between the land, oceans, atmosphere and living organisms in its various states.

Atmospheric Circulation

The large-scale movement of air over planet Earth, influencing climate patterns.

Natural Carbon Sequestration

The process of capture and long term storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide by the natural biogeochemical cycling of carbon.