Climate Drivers, Energy Transfer, and Glacial Melting Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering climate drivers, greenhouse gas energy transfer mechanisms, ice sheet melting, conservation of matter, and experimental design principles from the lecture.

Volcanic Ash

A climate driver that reflects or blocks incoming sunlight, causing temporary cooling of Earth's climate system.

Axial Tilt

The angle of Earth's rotational axis, changes in which alter the seasonal and geographic distribution of incoming solar energy.

Greenhouse Energy Transfer

The process whereby incoming sunlight warms Earth's surface, which reradiates energy as outgoing infrared radiation; greenhouse gases then absorb and re-emit portions of this infrared energy, reducing energy loss to space.

Outgoing Infrared Radiation

Thermal energy emitted outward from Earth's warmed surface into the atmosphere, where it can be absorbed and reradiated by greenhouse gases like $CO_2$.

Climate Energy Imbalance

A condition in the Earth system that occurs when incoming solar energy exceeds outgoing energy escaping to space, leading to warming.

Melting Land Ice vs. Floating Sea Ice

Melting land ice adds new meltwater to the ocean and causes global sea levels to rise, whereas floating sea ice already displaces approximately its weight in water and produces little to no sea-level change upon melting.

Conservation of Matter (Glacial Melt)

The scientific principle stating that melting ice does not destroy or eliminate water; it converts water from a solid to a liquid phase that remains in Earth's system and increases ocean volume and height.

Evaluating Causal Explanations

The scientific method of assessing cause and effect, which becomes strongest when a matching pattern (correlation), a plausible physical mechanism, and evidence refuting competing explanations all agree.

Solar Output as a Competing Explanation

A hypothesized cause of recent warming that is ruled out because solar output measurements do not show a sustained increase matching the rapid rise in global temperatures.

Anthropogenic $CO_2$ Sources

Human activities that increase atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, specifically burning coal to generate electricity, driving gasoline-powered vehicles, and cutting down large forest tracts.

Albedo

The reflectivity of a surface or material; high-albedo surfaces reflect large amounts of light energy, while low-albedo surfaces absorb energy and reradiate it as infrared radiation.

Glacial Berm

An engineered underwater barrier designed to redirect warm, salty ocean water away from a glacier to reduce energy transfer via convection and slow glacial melting.

Microbeads (Geoengineering)

High-albedo reflective materials intended to be spread over ice during the summer to reflect sunlight away and protect glaciers from melting.

Density ($\text{Mass} / \text{Volume}$)

The measure of mass per unit volume; in ocean systems, dissolved salt adds mass to water, creating denser water that sinks beneath fresh meltwater.

Positive Feedback Loop

A cyclical system process wherein the results of an initial disturbance cause the original causes or conditions to occur more frequently.

Molecular Vibration in Greenhouse Gases

The vibrational movements of atoms within molecules; longer motion arrows indicate increased molecular kinetic energy, providing visual evidence that the molecule is absorbing thermal energy.

Million-Year Temperature, Ice, and Sea Level Relationship

Long-term geological records demonstrating that as global temperature increases, continental ice volume decreases and global sea level rises.