AS Climate Change

Question 1

Reasons for sea level rise

Answer 1

melting of land ice, thermal expansion of water

Question 2

Acidification

Answer 2

A process in which the pH drops as the conditions become more acidic.

Question 3

Albedo

Answer 3

A measure of the reflectivity of a surface. More reflective surfaces have high albedos. A surface that reflects all light has an albedo of 100%, while one that absorbs all light has an albedo of 0%. The albedo of an area can affect the local climate.

Question 4

Anthropogenic

Answer 4

Adjective describing outcomes caused by human activities.

Question 5

Atmosphere

Answer 5

The gases surrounding the Earth. Different layers are characterised by their temperature, density, turbulence and composition.

Question 6

Carbon capture and storage (CCS)

Answer 6

A method to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, by removing the gases and storing them in underground geological structures.

Question 7

Carbon footprint

Answer 7

An estimate of the total releases of greenhouse gases caused by the actions of an individual, group of people, an organisation or activity. The amounts of all greenhouse gases are expressed as the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide.

Question 8

Carbon sequestration

Answer 8

Any process which removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, such as afforestation or underground storage (carbon capture).

Question 9

Catalytic converter

Answer 9

A device that reduces emissions of pollutant gases from petrol and diesel engines. Catalysts such as platinum, palladium and rhodium catalyse reactions with oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and unburnt hydrocarbons.

Question 10

Cirrus cloud

Answer 10

Thin, wispy clouds, usually found at altitudes above 6000m. Cirrus clouds can reflect infrared energy emitted by the Earth’s surface and emit infrared produced from absorbed sunlight.

Question 11

Cryosphere

Answer 11

All of the frozen water on Earth

Question 12

Dendrochronology

Answer 12

The method of determining the age of a piece of wood using the characteristic sequence of sizes of growth rings in the wood.

Question 13

El Niño

Answer 13

The name given to events when the wind and ocean currents in the equatorial Pacific Ocean slow significantly or reverse. It alters heat distribution and weather patterns around the Pacific area and elsewhere in the world. El Niño events are caused by natural processes but may be made more frequent by human activities. It is also called ENSO: El Niño Southern Oscillation.

Question 14

Feedback mechanisms

Answer 14

A process where an action has consequences which affect the original process. Positive feedback mechanisms increase the rate of the original action while negative feedback mechanisms reduce it.

Question 15

Greenhouse gas (GHG)

Answer 15

A gas that absorbs infra-red radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface and causes atmospheric heating. Carbon dioxide and water vapour are the main naturally occurring greenhouse gases. Anthropogenic greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, NOx, CFCs and tropospheric ozone.

Question 16

North Atlantic conveyor (Gulf Stream)

Answer 16

An important ocean current that brings warm tropical waters north-eastwards across the Atlantic Ocean and makes the UK much warmer than it otherwise would be.

Question 17

Ocean currents are driven by

Answer 17

water salinity, water density, winds, evaporation

Question 18

Impacts of climate change on human society

Answer 18

health problems and disease vectors, water supplies, impacts on infrastructure (buildings, transport systems, bridges, tunnels etc)

Question 19

Ecological impacts of climate change

Answer 19

range of tolerance, environmental triggers for mating/egg hatching etc, migration, hibernation, pollination, seed dispersal, absence of predator/ prey, increased/decreased competition

Question 20

Physical impacts of climate change

Answer 20

changes in ocean currents, changes in the rate of cycles, loss of the cryosphere, changes in wind patterns, sea level rise

Question 21

Ice core analysis

Answer 21

analysis of the colour, thickness, trapped greenhouse gases and oxygen isotopes to determine past climates

Question 22

Insolation

Answer 22

Sunlight that reaches a particular location.

Question 23

La Niña

Answer 23

The name given to events when the wind and ocean currents in the equatorial Pacific Ocean increase in strength.

Question 24

Permafrost

Answer 24

A layer of soil in which the water is permanently frozen, often trapping bubbles of gases such as methane.

Question 25

Pollen analysis

Answer 25

The use of the pollen present in environmental samples. This can be used to deduce the climate when historic sediments were deposited.

Question 26

Proxy data

Answer 26

The use of data that can be collected to predict the values of a related factor that cannot be measured, e.g. data on tree rings, pollen, coral growth and plankton in marine sediments can be used to determine historic climates.

Question 27

Testing computer models

Answer 27

Input the data collected before a previously know event/outcome and see if the computer correctly predicts the known event/outcome.

Question 28

Thermal stratification

Answer 28

The changing temperatures in different layers of the atmosphere.

Question 29

Thermohaline circulation

Answer 29

The movement of ocean currents caused by changes in temperature, salinity and density.

Question 30

Tipping point

Answer 30

A tipping point is reached when the changes caused by human activities cause further changes such that the human activities are no longer needed to maintain the changes.

Question 31

Difficulties in predicting climate change

Answer 31

lag time, difficulty differentiating between natural and anthropogenic changes, changes in data collection methods, many interconnected cycles and systems that are not fully understood, many different positive and negative feedback mechanisms.

Question 32

Control of CO2

Answer 32

reduction in the combustion of fossil fuels, use of renewable energy generation, carbon sequestration, CCS

Question 33

Control of Methane CH4

Answer 33

Reduction in landfill use, reduced livestock production, improved recovery of losses from oil and gas extraction

Question 34

Control of NOx

Answer 34

Reduced use of internal combustion engines in vehicles, catalytic converters, use of urea

Question 35

Control of tropospheric O3

Answer 35

All controls of NOx reduce O3 as O3 forms from NOx

Question 36

Control of CFCs

Answer 36

alternative propellants eg butane, propane, alternatives for fridges eg HFCs, HCFCs, use of triggers sprays, pump action and roll on deodorants

Question 37

Adapting to climate change includes

Answer 37

flood control, coastal erosion control, managed retreat, urban drainage control, raised and floating buildings