Climate Change Mid-Term Exam
Chapter 1
Climate: The long-term weather patterns in a given area
Weather: The short-term atmospheric conditions that can change from hour to hour.
Latitude: distance north or south of the Earth's equator, influences climate by determining the amount of solar energy received.
Longitude: distance east or west of the Prime Meridian, affects climate and weather patterns of local time zones and the distribution of solar energy.
IPCC: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an organization that assesses the scientific knowledge related to climate change and its impacts, provides policymakers the most recent data to inform their decisions.
Chapter 2
Examples of Temperature Anomalies
Urban Heat Effect: increased temperature in urban settings compared to surrounding rural areas due to human activities
El Niño: the warming of ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean
How is temperature measured directly: Thermometers and satellites.
Cherry picking: cutting out facts or data to support a specific argument, leads to an overall incorrect picture
Glacial periods: periods of time when global temperatures were significantly lower, resulting in the expansion of ice sheets and glaciers across the Earth.
Interglacial periods: the warmer periods between glacial periods, rising global temperatures that lead to the melting of ice sheets and glaciers, contributing to higher sea levels
Icehouse Earth: periods in Earth's history characterized by significant ice sheet coverage and cooler global temperatures
The Little Ice Age: 14th to the 19th century, cooler decades that influenced climate and agriculture across Europe and North America.
The Medieval Warming Period: a warmer period during the Middle Ages, 10th to the 14th century, allowed for agricultural expansion and the growth of settlements in Europe.
Proxies for temperature:
Historical records
Ice cores
Tree rings
Chapter 3
Electromagnetic Radiation: helps in understanding climate change, the range of wavelengths emitted by the sun and absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, like infrared
Electromagnetic Spectrum: Radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma rays
Radiative Balance and Energy Balance: energy in, energy out, which is crucial for maintaining the Earth's climate.
Incandescent Lighting: electric light that produces light through the heating of a metal filament, which leads to energy consumption and warming the environment.
LED Lighting: a more energy-efficient alternative to incandescent bulbs, using light-emitting diodes to convert electricity directly into light, producing less heat and reducing overall energy consumption.
Chapter 4
Albedo Effect: the measure of reflectivity of a surface, how much sunlight is reflected into the atmosphere, which affects Earth’s temperature
Layers of Albedo:
Ice and Snow: High albedo
Water: Lower albedo
Forests and Vegetation: Varies depending on the type
Types of Atmospheric Gases and Concentrations:
Carbon Dioxide
Methane
Nitrogen Oxide
Halocarbons
Argon
The Carbon Cycle: a natural process that regulates the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, involving various stages such as photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, and fossil fuel combustion.
Photosynthesis: green plants, algae, and some bacteria convert light energy into chemical energy, using carbon dioxide and water to produce glucose and oxygen.
Respiration: glucose + oxygen = energy, produces CO2 as byproduct, returning carbon into the atmosphere
Mixed Ocean Layer: A layer within the ocean where warm and cold waters mix, facilitating the exchange of carbon between the atmosphere and ocean, plays a critical role in the global carbon cycle.
Deep Ocean: A layer of the ocean where cold, dense water resides, playing a significant role in carbon storage + influencing global climate patterns.
Isotopes and Radio Carbon Dating: A technique used to determine the age of organic materials by measuring the ratio of carbon isotopes, which leads to providing insights into past atmospheric and oceanic conditions.
Chapter 6
Forcing: external factors, such as volcanic eruptions or human activities, impact the climate system, altering the balance of energy received and emitted by the Earth.
Feedbacks: The reactions that occur within the climate systems as a result of changing conditions, which can either amplify or dampen the effects of climate forcings, such as changes in temperature leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate Sensitivity: The measure of how responsive the Earth's climate system is to a change in greenhouse gas concentrations, expressed as the temperature increase resulting from a doubling of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Aerosols: solid or liquid particles in the atmosphere that can influence climate by reflecting sunlight away from the Earth and making cloud formations, affecting temperature and precipitation patterns.
Methane: a potent greenhouse gas that is more effective than CO2 at trapping heat in the atmosphere, emitted through agricultural practices, landfills, and fossil fuel extraction.
Chapter 7
Plate Tectonics: The movement of the Earth's lithosphere is responsible for earthquakes, volcanic activity, and the formation of mountains.
Solar Cycle: periodic change in the amount of solar energy output from the sun, which influences climate patterns and can impact weather on Earth.
Milakovitch Cycles: Climate patterns resulting from variations in Earth's orbit and axial tilt, affects the distribution of sunlight, reasons for Ice Age.
Forced Variability: Changes in climate due to external factors such as human activity, natural disasters, and volcanic eruptions, which can alter atmospheric composition + influence global temperatures.
Unforced Variability: Natural changed in climate that occur without external influences, internal dynamics within the Earth's climate system, such as ocean currents and atmospheric conditions.
Chapter 8
Climate Models: computational tools used to simulate + predict climate behavior by incorporating physical processes like atmosphere, oceans, land surfaces, and ice.
Kaya Identity: an equation that describes the driving forces of carbon emissions, expressed through factors such as population, GDP per capita, energy intensity of the economy, and carbon intensity of energy sources.
I = P + A + T
Impact = Population + Affluence + Technology
Energy Intensity: the amount of energy consumed per unit of economic output
indicates how efficiently an economy uses energy in the production of goods and services.
Carbon Intensity: the amount of carbon emissions produced per unit of energy consumed
reflecting the environmental impact of energy sources used in the economy.
Chapter 9
Precipitation: the process by which water vapor condenses and falls back to the Earth's surface
playing a crucial role in maintaining the water cycle and influencing ecosystem health.
What are the causes of droughts?
Changes in weather patterns
Increased temperatures
Over-extraction of water resources
What are the causes of floods?
Heavy rainfall
Urbanization: contributing to surface runoff and flooding.
Climate change: Altered weather patterns may result in more frequent and severe storms
Sea level rise: Increased temperatures and melting ice caps
Ocean Acidification: As CO2 levels rise, oceans absorb more carbon dioxide, leading to increased acidity, which affects marine life and coral reef health.
What causes Hurricanes?
warm ocean waters + moisture in the atmosphere + wind patterns
Mitigation: strategies focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing energy efficiency, and transitioning to renewable energy sources.
Adaptation: Communities enhancing resilience through improved infrastructure, disaster preparedness plans, and ecosystem protection to better withstand climate-intense events
Tipping Points: Critical thresholds in the climate system, beyond which significant and irreversible changes occur
Can use glacial patterns to determine specific points