4 - Global climate change

List the general proportions of gasses that make up the atmosphere (5 gasses)

• CO2 55%

• methane 16%

• halocarbons 10%

• ozone 10%

• nitrous oxide 5%

How much more effective is methane at trapping heat than CO2 over 100 years?

30x

How much more effective is methane at trapping heat than CO2 over 20 years?

84x

How much more effective is nitrous oxide at trapping heat than CO2?

264x

Describe 4 weather statistics due to climate change

>90% probability

• decrease in cold days / nights

>66% probability

• increase in heatwaves

• increase in heavy precipitation events

• extreme high sea level

How big of a decrease in sea ice has there been over the past 40 years?

40%

Give the average expected measurement of sea rise by the end of this century

2m

How much of US land has experienced conditions at least “abnormally dry“ from 2000-2012

30-70%

What are the main 4 species responses to climate change

• move

• tolerate

• evolve

• die

Species response to climate change: movement

species may be forced to relocate or go extinct in response to increasing temperature

Species response to climate change: toleration

species may be able to survive locally to changing conditions, through evolution or in response to new selective

Species response to climate change: timing (4 points)

• frogs breeding earlier

• cherry blossoms earlier

• great tits laying eggs earlier

• oak leaves unfurling earlier