BIOC58: Climate Change (Midterm)

Question 1

the impact of climate change on natural systems, with a focus on future impacts of anthropogenic climate change

Answer 1

climate change biology

_{founders: Rob Thomas & Peter Lovejoy}

Question 2

interactive system consisting of 5 major components and the impacts of forcing mechanisms on these components

Answer 2

climate system

Question 3

what is the greenhouse effect?

Answer 3

• earth’s surface radiats long-wave radiation back into space
• GHG absorb and re-emit some of this long-wave radiation
• radiation that would have escaped to space is re-radiated w/in the atmosphere, causing warming

Question 4

what are the 2 most abundant GHG in the atmosphere?

Answer 4

• water vapour
• carbon dioxide

Question 5

what happens in a region with cloud cover (clouds present)?

Answer 5

• cooler days (sun’s energy reflected back to space)
• warmer nights (head from ground is trapped)

Question 6

what happens in a region with no cloud cover (absence of clouds)?

Answer 6

• warmer days (more energy from sun reaches earth)
• cooler nights (heat doesn’t get trapped)

Question 7

Answer 7

B) When temperatures increase, this can slow down the water cycle due to decreased evapouration, which can influence climate patterns

• should be increased evapouration

Question 8

the amount of solar energy reflected by a surface

Answer 8

albedo

(white = 1, black = 0)

• light surfaces reflect sunlight back into space in wavelengths not trapped by GHG = cooling effect
• dark surfaces re-radiate heat that can be trapped by GHG

Question 9

what are the 5 major components of the climate system?

Answer 9

atmosphere: 78% N, 21% O, GHG

hydrosphere: water/water movement (hydrological cycle) and clouds

cryosphere: ice and snow

land surface: vegetation, soil, rock

biosphere: where all life on earth can exist

Question 10

the amount of solar radiation that reaches the earth’s surface

Answer 10

(direct) insolation

Question 11

the amount of solar radiation lost to the atmosphere or the presence of clouds

Answer 11

diffuse insolation

Question 12

how is insolate measured?

_{^{hint: what are the units used?}}

Answer 12

cm²/min

or W/m²

or KW/m²

Question 13

when warm air rises because it’s less dense than cool air

Answer 13

uplift

Question 14

phenomenon where as air it cools, it becomes more dense and it sinks

Answer 14

subsidence

Question 15

a zone of low pressure where trade winds meet

Answer 15

intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)

Question 16

large scale circulation patterns resulting from tropical uplift

Answer 16

Hadley cells

Question 17

when cold air descends and creates high pressure zones

Answer 17

Polar cells

Question 18

mid-latitude cells, driven by movement of air in Hadley and polar cells

Answer 18

Ferrell cells

Question 19

when winds appear to deflect due to the earth’s rotation around its axis and shape

_{^{think of a ball being thrown on a spinning merry-go-round}}

Answer 19

Coriolis effect

_{^{winds deflect RIGHT In th NORTH, LEFT in the SOUTH}}

Question 20

air flows from _____ pressure to _____ pressure, producing _____

Answer 20

air flows from HIGH pressure to LOW pressure, producing prevailing winds

Question 21

trade winds blow from _____ and meet at the ITCZ

westerlies blow from _____ and balances trade winds

Answer 21

trade winds blow from EAST to WEST and meet at the ITCZ

westerlies blow from WEST to EAST and balances trade winds

Question 22

why do hurricanes spin counterclockwise? how does this relate to the coriolis effect?

Answer 22

• hurricans have low pressure in the center and surrounded by high pressure systems
  
  • winds try to move to the center
• in N. hemisphere, winds deflect right and spins CCW
• in S. hemisphere, winds deflect left and spins CW

Question 23

continually replaces seawater at depth with water from the surface and slowly replaces surface water elsewhere with water rising from deeper depths

Answer 23

thermohaline circulation

_{aka the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt}

Question 24

when surface winds push ocean currents but water currents move slower, resulting in a different deflection (by 15^oC – 45^oC)

Answer 24

Ekman spiral

Question 25

how much of the heat exchange b/w tropics and polar regions occur through ocean currents?

Answer 25

40%

_{^{60% Is from wind movements}}

Question 26

when prevailing winds blow warmer surface water away from coast and deeper, colder, nutrient-rich water rises up to replace it

Answer 26

upwellings

Question 27

the warm and cool phases of a recurring climate pattern across the tropical Pacific

Answer 27

El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

^{_{El Niño and La Niña}}

Question 28

a warming of the ocean surface in central and eastern tropical Pacific ocean

• results in increased rainfall
• trade winds can weaken or start blowing in other direction

Answer 28

El Niño

Question 29

how do volcanic eruptions affect climate change?

Answer 29

• when volcanoes erupt, they release a mixture of gases and particles into the air
• some of these particles can reach the stratosphere and reflect sunlight away from the earth = colder temp.

Question 30

the earth is farthest from the sun in _____ and closest in _____

Answer 30

the earth is farthest from the sun in JULY and closest in JANUARY

Question 31

shape of orbit around the sun

Answer 31

eccentricity

Question 32

the amount of earth’s tilt

Answer 32

obliquity

Question 33

the direction of earth’s tilt relative to other celestial objects (not the sun)

Answer 33

precession

Question 34

what are the 3 orbital forcings?

Answer 34

• eccentricity
• obliquity
• precession

Question 35

what do orbital forcings impact?

Answer 35

they impact the distribution of solar energy across earth b/w seasons and b/w hemispheres

Question 36

Answer 36

D) loss of seasonal changes