ATMS Exam 3 Flashcards

1
Q

Where (geographically) is the greatest increase in average temperature projected?

A

Polar Regions, Artic and Antarctic
(The arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What does a fire triangle consist of?

A

Oxygen, Heat, & Fuel

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Types of Fuels

A

Fine Fuels and Course Fuels

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Types of Distribution

A

Continuous Fuels
Discontinuous Fuels
Ladder Fuels
Fuel moisture

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Continuous Fuels

A

fuels that are closely packed and in direct contact with one another over a horizontal area

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Discontinuous Fuels

A

a situation where flammable materials (like vegetation in a wildfire scenario) are not evenly distributed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Fuel Moisture

A

the amount of water in a fuel, expressed as a percentage of the fuel’s dry weight

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Natural ignition sources

A

Lighting

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Human ignition sources

A
  • Campfires
  • Vehicles
  • Fireworks
  • Electrical lines
  • Target shooting
  • Prescribed fire
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Fire weather:
More precipitation

A

less fire

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Fire weather:
lower relative humidity

A

more fire

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Fire weather:
higher temperature

A

more fire

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Fire weather:
more wind

A

bigger fire

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

How are increases in the heaviest precipitation related to temperature?

A

Warmer air holds more moisture- as temperature rises, the atmosphere can hold more water, providing more fuel for heavier rain fall.
(tropics, some sub-tropics, & polar regions)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

2.5% of water

A

is readily available

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

0.5% of water

A

is considered “useable” freshwater

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Primary human uses of water resources

A
  • Domestic
  • Industrial application
  • Irrigation and Agriculture
  • Hydropower
  • Water disposal
  • Recreation
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Drought

A

“insufficient water to meet needs”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Flooding and Water Quality

A
  • Results in damage to infrastructure, especially sewer systems and water treatment plants
  • Increase pollutants, trash, animal waste, etc. into water supply (rivers and lakes)
  • Making them unusable, unsafe, or in need of extensive water treatment
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Climate change impacts water quality

Higher temperatures:

A
  • More algal blooms
  • More pathogens
  • More drought
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Climate change impacts water quality

Heavier precipitation:

A
  • More flooding
  • More flood = more gross water
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Consumptive use

A

use of water that renders it no longer available because it has been removed from water supplies

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Non-Consumptive use

A

goes down a drain or goes back into the water system directly

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

In areas where snowmelt is an important contributor to runoff, what responses due to warming are expected?

A
  • Earlier peak stream flow
  • Earlier runoff
  • Water availability
  • Decreased water storage
  • Risk of flooding
  • Disruption of ecosystem and agriculture
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

What is aridification and what societal and physical impacts can it have?

A

“the gradual change of a region from a wetter to a drier climate.”

Societal Impacts:
- water scarcity/ shortage
- impact on agriculture
- migration and displacement
- economic impacts

Physical Impacts:
- Reduced water availability
- increased evaporation
- change in ecosystems

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

What kind of marine organisms would be most directly impacted by ocean acidification?

A

Marine organisms- clams, coral, plakton, shellfish

  • they absorb co2 from the air an transform it into their calcium-based shells.
  • decline in shell size, weigh 30-35% less than before the industrial revolution
  • magnify the effects of GHGs, less carbon is being removed from the atmosphere
27
Q

What are algal blooms, and what condition favors their growth?

A

Algal blooms are rapid growth of algae

  • Warming can increase the likelihood of algal blooms

Higher temperature => Greater algal growth => reduced oxygen => Fish die off

28
Q

What is the main reason for the snowpack decline in the western US?

A

Rising temperatures driven by climate change is the the main reason for the decline in the snowpack.

Higher temperatures means drier conditions.

29
Q

What is the primary difference between migration and dispersal?

A

Migration is seasonal while dispersal is permanent

30
Q

Migration:

A

seasonal or periodic movement of individuals or groups of species from one place to another

Organism moving across the landscapes as part of an annual cycle

31
Q

Dispersal:

A

Movement of individuals away from their place of origin

Organisms move to new areas in response to climatically

32
Q

What is thermocline?

A

Transition layer b/w warmer mixed water at the ocean’s surface and cooler deep water below

Is a specific layer in the ocean characterized by a sharp change in temperature with depth

33
Q

Meteorological Drought

A

a measure of departure of precipitation from normal. Due to climate difference, what might be considered a drought in one location of the country may not be a drought in another location.

34
Q

Agricultural Drought

A

refers to a situation where the amount of moisture in the soil no longer meets the needs of a particular crop.

35
Q

Hydrological Drought

A

occurs when surface and subsurface water supplies are below normal.

36
Q

Snow Drought

A

when it is too warm to snow (and rains instead)

37
Q

What are some of the ways that forest conditions after a sever wildfire can affect snowmelt?

A

Snow albedo declines after a fire due to black carbon shedding from the burned trees
- increase albedo

Snowy areas in the burn zone melt out weeks earlier than unburned areas
- risk of flooding
- alter soil

38
Q

Describe the ways that climate change can have a direct and indirect impact on biodiversity.

A

Direct: push species outside their climate tolerance
- shifting habitat/ range shifts
- ocean acidification
-extreme weather events/fires

Indirect: affect resources or other species needed by a species
- habitat loss/fragmentation
- invasive species
cycling of water and nutrients

39
Q

What are three ways that species or individuals in an ecosystem can respond to climate change.

A

Move, Adapt, or Die

40
Q

Move

A

Migration: seasonal or periodic movement of individuals or groups of species from one place to another

Dispersal: movement of individuals away from their place of origin

41
Q

Adapt

A

Biological adaptation: species change traits- genetic diversity can help

Behavioral Adaption: individuals change behavior

42
Q

Die

A

Individuals and populations can die out

Species go extinct

43
Q

Component of an Ecosystem

A
  • Individual of a species
  • Population: individual of the same species
  • Community: multiple species
  • Biotic components: living things, waste, decaying remains
  • Abiotic components: air, rocks, soil, water
  • Energy: sunlight
44
Q

What is a biome

A

District geographical region with specific climate, vegetation & animal life !

45
Q

What is a habitat

A

A place that provides conditions and resources that species need to grow, survive, and successfully reproduce

46
Q

The role of human beings

Causes of climate change

A
  • Humans’ activities have increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
  • The gases trap heat and cause the earth to warm

Compounding Factors
- Pollution
- Habitat fragmentation
- Invasive species
- Overfishing
- Manipulation of water source and etc

47
Q

Cryosphere

A

Greek word kryos meaning cold or ice, refers to the region of Earth that contains water in solid form

48
Q

Cryosphere can be found?

A

Can be found in high latitudes (polar regions) and at high elevations in mid-latitudes

Contains: Glaciers, snow cover, sea ice, ice shelf, ice sheet

49
Q

Impacts of declining snow cover

A
  • Earlier start of the growing season
  • Longer, more intense wildfire season
  • Changes in streamflow
  • Challenges for snow-dependent wildlife
  • Greater variability and uncertainty
  • Economic impacts- less snow means less winter recreation
50
Q

Permafrost

A

Soil, sediment and rock that is permanently frozen

Massive storage of carbon, microbes, bacteria, and viruses

51
Q

Permafrost has been thawing

A

Causes damages to infrastructure, ecosystems, impacting wildlife, and releasing GHGs

52
Q

Consequences of a changing cryosphere

A
  • Change in the jet stream, leading to more extreme weather events
  • Melting land ice results in significant sea level rise,
  • Antarctica Ice Sheet 60 meters of sea rise, Greenland 6 meters of sea rise
  • Sea level rises is also caused by thermal expansion; warmer water occupies a greater volume
53
Q

A changing cryosphere- negatively impacts food and water security:

A
  • Disrupts access and availability to food within, herding, hunting, fishing, and gathering areas
  • Harming the livelihoods, cultural, identify and the health of indigenous populations and communities
54
Q

Climate change becomes a threat multiplier

A

a threat multiplier makes existing problems or the consequence of existing problems worse

55
Q

The value of the ocean for climate

A

The lungs of the Earth
Carbon Sink
Heat Sink

56
Q

The lungs of the Earth:

A

through photosynthesis, oceans generate about half of the oxygen in the atmosphere

57
Q

A carbon sink

A

through exchange with the atmosphere, oceans absorb 25% of all carbon dioxide emissions

58
Q

A heat sink

A

oceans capture 90% of the warming due to carbon emissions

59
Q

How does climate change impacts ocean processes and marines ecosystems

A
  1. Warming causes change in the physical structure of the ocean
  2. Increased co2 change the chemistry of the oceans
  3. Warming can exacerbate existing problems
  4. Warming impact marine life and those who depend on marine ecosystem service
60
Q
  1. Warming causes change in the physical structure of the ocean
A

Density of water
- Warmer water is less dense than colder water
- As the oceans warm, they are becoming more stratified (layered)
- Fresh water is less dense than salty water

Thermohaline circulation
- Refers to the global circulation pattern influenced by temperature and salinity, affecting oceans currents

61
Q
  1. Increased co2 change the chemistry of the oceans
A

Ocean acidification
- Oceans are not acidic, but slight basic
- Historical global mean seawater values are approximately 8.16 on this scale
- Even a small change in pH may lead to large changes in ocean chemistry and ecosystem functioning. Global mean ocean pH values have never been more than 0.6 units lower than today

62
Q
  1. Warming can exacerbate existing problems
A

Anoxia

63
Q

Anoxia

A

a condition where there is an absence or near-absence of oxygen in a given environment, especially in water bodies like oceans

64
Q
  1. Warming impact marine life and those who depend on marine ecosystem service
A

Habitat
- Different species require different conditions: temperature, salinity, pH, vegetation

Ecosystem services: Marine system provides critical ecosystem service
1. Aquaculture
2. Fishing
3. Tourism
4. Subsistence harvest
5. Shoreline protection
6. Cultural identity