Cause and effects of climate change, Anthropogenic & natural biomes Flashcards
What is climate change?
Climate change is a long-term permanent shift in weather conditions in an area, and is consistent over many years that can result in average temperature increase and atmospheric events i.e. droughts.
What is Land Cover Change?
Land cover change is the alterations that have taken place in an environment due to natural or anthropogenic (human) causes.
What is carbon sequestration?
Carbon sequestration is the process and long-term storage of atmospheric carbon by natural biogeochemical cycling of carbon.
What is the carbon cycle?
The carbon cycle is the continuous movement of carbon compounds such as gas (CO2) and solid (calcium carbonate in rocks) between land, oceans atmosphere and living organisms.
What is the heat budget?
The heat budget is the received solar insolation from the sun that is absorbed by Earth, that is eventually re-radiated back into space, hence a balance, otherwise Earth would endlessly heat up.
What is are the percentages absorbed and re-radiated from Earth.
Incoming solar energy - 100%
20% reflected by clouds
4% ice and snow
6% atmosphere
19% absorbed by atmosphere - dust, water vapour
51% absorbed by land and ocean
—
Eventually re-radiated through long-wave radiation. Approx 70% is re-radiated.
64% is made up of radiation from clouds and atmosphere.
7% sensible heat
What is the proccess in which bright surfaces reflect solar insolation?
Albedo effect
What is the greenhouse effect?
The greenhouse effect is the process where greenhouse gases (for e.g: co2) absorb some terrestrial radiation released by Earth’s surface, then re-radiate in all directions.
What is a natural biome?
A natural biome is a community of life forms adapted to a large natural area, they may cover a region of ecosystems - named after the dominant area. This includes the relationships between abiotic and biotic features in addition to the ecosystem dynamics.
How does climate control vegetation?
Vegetation heavily relies on water, solar insolation and climate to survive, if one aspect is altered it can cause imbalance within the health of the species, i.e. warmer climate would provoke vegetation to travel towards higher altitudes where temperatures are cooler.
What geographical areas are pin and spruce beetles attacks evident in?
In North american regions such as the Taiga and Boreal forests.
What is an anthropogenic biome?
Are environments showing patterns of human activity that are created as a result of direct sustained human interactions therefore changing natural ecosystems and environments. This could be different type of ‘land uses’ i.e. agriculture, settlements and mining.
What percentage of vegetation does climate control? And how many acres have been destroyed in Alaska due to beetles.
Approx 80%.
2.5 million acres.
What are the two states of carbon in the carbon cycle?
Gas - carbon dioxide
Solid - calcium carbonate in rocks
What is anaerobic fermentation?
Anaerobic fermentation is when organic matter breaks down and is decomposed by a microorganism- which releases methane a waste by-product into the atmosphere.
