Greenhouse Effect and Climate Change

Flashcards covering the greenhouse effect, CO2 reservoirs, the Keeling Curve, and climate change impacts.

What is the greenhouse effect?

The greenhouse effect is the warming that occurs when the Sun's energy reaches the Earth's atmosphere – some of it is reflected back to space and the rest is absorbed and re-radiated by greenhouse gases.

What are the major reservoirs of CO2 production and uptake?

The major reservoirs include the atmosphere, oceans, soil, and living organisms.

How much carbon is stored in the oceans?

The oceans store approximately 38,000 gigatons (or 38 petagrams) of carbon.

What is the Keeling curve?

The Keeling curve is a graph that shows the concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere since the late 1950s.

How was the data for the Keeling curve collected?

The data was collected through precise measurements of atmospheric CO2 at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii.

How do we have an atmospheric CO2 record from before the Keeling Curve?

Atmospheric CO2 records before the Keeling Curve were obtained from ice core samples, such as the Vostok ice core.

Describe one way that the Earth is changing due to climate change.

One significant change is an increase in global temperatures, leading to the melting of ice caps and glaciers.

Describe a second way that the Earth is changing due to climate change.

A second change includes rising sea levels due to thermal expansion of water and melting ice.

Describe a third way that the Earth is changing due to climate change.

The increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and heatwaves.

What is biological carbon pump?

The biological carbon pump is a process where carbon is absorbed by marine organisms and transported to the deep ocean, sequestering it from the atmosphere.

Define gigaton and petagram in terms of carbon measurement.

A gigaton is equal to one billion metric tons, and a petagram is equal to one trillion metric tons.