ATMS Exam 3 Flashcards
Where (geographically) is the greatest increase in average temperature projected?
Polar Regions, Artic and Antarctic
(The arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet)
What does a fire triangle consist of?
Oxygen, Heat, & Fuel
Types of Fuels
Fine Fuels and Course Fuels
Types of Distribution
Continuous Fuels
Discontinuous Fuels
Ladder Fuels
Fuel moisture
Continuous Fuels
fuels that are closely packed and in direct contact with one another over a horizontal area
Discontinuous Fuels
a situation where flammable materials (like vegetation in a wildfire scenario) are not evenly distributed
Fuel Moisture
the amount of water in a fuel, expressed as a percentage of the fuel’s dry weight
Natural ignition sources
Lighting
Human ignition sources
- Campfires
- Vehicles
- Fireworks
- Electrical lines
- Target shooting
- Prescribed fire
Fire weather:
More precipitation
less fire
Fire weather:
lower relative humidity
more fire
Fire weather:
higher temperature
more fire
Fire weather:
more wind
bigger fire
How are increases in the heaviest precipitation related to temperature?
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)
2.5% of water
is readily available
0.5% of water
is considered “useable” freshwater
Primary human uses of water resources
- Domestic
- Industrial application
- Irrigation and Agriculture
- Hydropower
- Water disposal
- Recreation
Drought
“insufficient water to meet needs”
Flooding and Water Quality
- 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
Climate change impacts water quality
Higher temperatures:
- More algal blooms
- More pathogens
- More drought
Climate change impacts water quality
Heavier precipitation:
- More flooding
- More flood = more gross water
Consumptive use
use of water that renders it no longer available because it has been removed from water supplies
Non-Consumptive use
goes down a drain or goes back into the water system directly
In areas where snowmelt is an important contributor to runoff, what responses due to warming are expected?
- Earlier peak stream flow
- Earlier runoff
- Water availability
- Decreased water storage
- Risk of flooding
- Disruption of ecosystem and agriculture
What is aridification and what societal and physical impacts can it have?
“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
What kind of marine organisms would be most directly impacted by ocean acidification?
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
What are algal blooms, and what condition favors their growth?
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
What is the main reason for the snowpack decline in the western US?
Rising temperatures driven by climate change is the the main reason for the decline in the snowpack.
Higher temperatures means drier conditions.
What is the primary difference between migration and dispersal?
Migration is seasonal while dispersal is permanent
Migration:
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
Dispersal:
Movement of individuals away from their place of origin
Organisms move to new areas in response to climatically
What is thermocline?
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
Meteorological Drought
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.
Agricultural Drought
refers to a situation where the amount of moisture in the soil no longer meets the needs of a particular crop.
Hydrological Drought
occurs when surface and subsurface water supplies are below normal.
Snow Drought
when it is too warm to snow (and rains instead)
What are some of the ways that forest conditions after a sever wildfire can affect snowmelt?
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
Describe the ways that climate change can have a direct and indirect impact on biodiversity.
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
What are three ways that species or individuals in an ecosystem can respond to climate change.
Move, Adapt, or Die
Move
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
Adapt
Biological adaptation: species change traits- genetic diversity can help
Behavioral Adaption: individuals change behavior
Die
Individuals and populations can die out
Species go extinct
Component of an Ecosystem
- 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
What is a biome
District geographical region with specific climate, vegetation & animal life !
What is a habitat
A place that provides conditions and resources that species need to grow, survive, and successfully reproduce
The role of human beings
Causes of climate change
- 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
Cryosphere
Greek word kryos meaning cold or ice, refers to the region of Earth that contains water in solid form
Cryosphere can be found?
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
Impacts of declining snow cover
- 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
Permafrost
Soil, sediment and rock that is permanently frozen
Massive storage of carbon, microbes, bacteria, and viruses
Permafrost has been thawing
Causes damages to infrastructure, ecosystems, impacting wildlife, and releasing GHGs
Consequences of a changing cryosphere
- 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
A changing cryosphere- negatively impacts food and water security:
- 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
Climate change becomes a threat multiplier
a threat multiplier makes existing problems or the consequence of existing problems worse
The value of the ocean for climate
The lungs of the Earth
Carbon Sink
Heat Sink
The lungs of the Earth:
through photosynthesis, oceans generate about half of the oxygen in the atmosphere
A carbon sink
through exchange with the atmosphere, oceans absorb 25% of all carbon dioxide emissions
A heat sink
oceans capture 90% of the warming due to carbon emissions
How does climate change impacts ocean processes and marines ecosystems
- Warming causes change in the physical structure of the ocean
- Increased co2 change the chemistry of the oceans
- Warming can exacerbate existing problems
- Warming impact marine life and those who depend on marine ecosystem service
- Warming causes change in the physical structure of the ocean
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
- Increased co2 change the chemistry of the oceans
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
- Warming can exacerbate existing problems
Anoxia
Anoxia
a condition where there is an absence or near-absence of oxygen in a given environment, especially in water bodies like oceans
- Warming impact marine life and those who depend on marine ecosystem service
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
