Chapter 14

Question 1

Climate Change

Answer 1

an array of changes in aspects of Earth’s climate, such as temperature, precipitation, and the frequency and intensity of storms

Question 2

Global Warming

Answer 2

an increase in Earth’s average surface temperature; only one aspect of climate change

Question 3

Solar Radiation

Answer 3

influences climate; sun supplies most of our planet’s energy; Earth;s atmosphere, clouds, land, ice and water together absorb about 70% of incoming solar radiation and reflect the remaining 30% back into space.

Question 4

Oceans

Answer 4

influences climate by storing and transporting heat and moisture

Question 5

Earth’s tilt and orbit (MIlankovitch cycles)

Answer 5

variations that alter the way solar radiation is distributed over Earth’s surface; the planet wobbles on its axis, varies in the tilt of its axis and experiences change in the shape of its orbit

Question 6

Atmospheric Gases and Greenhouse effect

Answer 6

Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrochlorofluorocarbon HFC-23; after absorbing radiation emitted from the surface greenhouse gases re-emit infrared radiation; some of this re-emitted energy is lost to space but most travels back downward, warming the lower atmosphere

Question 7

Anthropogenic Factors affecting climate

Answer 7

greenhouse gases: since the start of the industrial revolution global concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere have increased markedly

Question 8

Carbon dioxide

Answer 8

human activities send more CO2 from Earth’s surface to its atmosphere than is moving from the atmosphere to the surface (fig 14.4); fossil fuel burning

Question 9

Methane

Answer 9

concentrations are rising 2.6 fold since 1750; we release methane by tapping into fossil fuel deposits, raising livestock, disposing of organic matter in landfills and growing certain crops such as rice

Question 10

Nitrous oxide

Answer 10

by-product of feedlots, chemical manufacturing plants, auto emissions and synthetic nitrogen fertilizers; risen by 20% since 1750

Question 11

Tropospheric ozone

Answer 11

associated with photochemical smog; risen 36% since 1750

Question 12

Halocarbon gases (CFCs)

Answer 12

begun to slow since the Montreal Protocol and controls on production and use

Question 13

Land use

Answer 13

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Question 14

Aerosols

Answer 14

microscopic droplets and particles that can have either a warming or cooling effect; soot particles or “black carbon aerosols” generally cause warming by absorbing solar energy, but most other tropospheric aerosols cool the atmosphere by reflecting the sun’s rays

Question 15

Surface Albedo

Answer 15

the fraction of solar energy (shortwave radiation) reflected from the Earth back into space. It is a measure of the reflectivity of the earth’s surface

Question 16

Radiative Forcing

Answer 16

to measure the degree of impact that a given factor exerts on Earth’s temperature; the amount of change in thermal energy that the factor causes

Question 17

Feedbacks and Uncertainty

Answer 17

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Question 18

Proxy Indicators

Answer 18

types of indirect evidence that serve as proxies, or substitutes for direct measurement

Question 19

Ice cores

Answer 19

ancient atmosphere preserved in ice cores in air bubbles; layers in ice cores provide a time scale; can determine atmospheric composition, greenhouse gas concentrations, temperature, snowfall, solar activity, and frequency of forest fires and volcanic eruptions

Question 20

Sediment cores

Answer 20

sometimes sediment beneath bodies of water; often preserve pollen grains and other remnants from plants that grew in the past; because climate influences the types of plants that grow in an area knowing what plants were present can tell us a great deal about the climate at the place and time

Question 21

Tree rings

Answer 21

reveal year-by-year histories of precipitation and fire

Question 22

Packrat middens

Answer 22

rodent dens in which plant parts may be preserved for centuries in arid regions

Question 23

Coral reef cores

Answer 23

reveal aspects of ocean chemistry

Question 24

Direct measurements

Answer 24

tells us about the present

Question 25

Thermometers

Answer 25

temperature

Question 26

Rain gauges

Answer 26

rainfall

Question 27

Barometers

Answer 27

air pressure

Question 28

Anemometers

Answer 28

wind speed

Question 29

Atmospheric gauges

Answer 29

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Question 30

Timing of sea ice

Answer 30

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Question 31

Winemakers records

Answer 31

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Question 32

Flowering phenology

Answer 32

the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation)

Question 33

Climate models

Answer 33

tell us about the future; programs that combine what is known about atmospheric circulation, ocean circulation, atmospheric-ocean interactions and feedback cycles to simulate climate processes; increasingly vital for society

Question 34

Intergovernmental Panal on Climate Change (IPCC)

Answer 34

reviews and summarizes the research knowledge accessible to policymakers and the public; international body that consists of hundreds of scientists and governmental representatives

Question 35

Climate change "debate"

Answer 35

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Question 36

2005 National Academies of Science consensus statement

Answer 36

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Question 37

Temperatures

Answer 37

global temps have risen sharply in the past century and are projected to continue rising

Question 38

Precipitation

Answer 38

different in different areas of the world; some parts in drought; related to how much emissions used and global temp rise

Question 39

Extreme weather

Answer 39

changes in the jet stream can cause extreme weather events; when arctic warming slows the jet stream it departs from its normal configuration and goes into a blocking pattern that stalls weather systems in place; can bring weather breaking heat for example

Question 40

Melting snow and ice

Answer 40

glaciers are melting as global warming proceeds

Question 41

Sea levels

Answer 41

global average sea level has risen roughly 210 mm since 1880

Question 42

Ocean acidification

Answer 42

threatens the oyster industry and other shellfish

Question 43

Impacts on organisms and ecosystems

Answer 43

animal populations are shifting toward the poles and upward in elevation; 177 of 305 North American bird species have shifted their winter ranges significantly northward in the past 40 years; plants are leafing earlier, eggs are hatching sooner, birds are migrating and animals are mating earlier

Question 44

Impacts on Society

Answer 44

drought, flooding, storm surges, sea level rise, and more

Question 45

Agriculture

Answer 45

decreases crop yields when there is a drought; in temperate zones can increase growing season and increase crop yields, added CO2 in the atm may or may not increase crop yields but may become less nutritious with more CO2; intensity of droughts and floods changes yields

Question 46

Forestry

Answer 46

enriched atm CO2 may spur greater growth but drought, fire and disease may eliminate these gains; invasive species, insect and disease outbreaks; milder winters and hotter, drier summers are promoting outbreaks of bark beetles that destroy acres of trees

Question 47

Health

Answer 47

more heat waves and heat stress can cause death; respiratory problems from air pollution; expansion of tropical diseases such as malaria and dengue fever; disease and sanitation problems when floods overcome sewage treatment systems; injuries and drowning as more storms are intense and frequent

Question 48

Economics

Answer 48

costs will outweigh the benefits of climate change; expected to widen the gap between the rich and the poor b/c poorer people lack the wealth and technology to help people adapt to change and people rely on resources that are sensitive to climate change

Question 49

Geographic Variation

Answer 49

impacts vary by region; temp changes greatest in the Arctic; in the U.S. varies by region (see Fig 14.23)

Question 50

Mitigation

Answer 50

the pursuit of strategies to lessen the severity of climate change, notably reducing greenhouse gases

Question 51

Adaptation

Answer 51

the pursuit of strategies to protect ourselves from impacts of climate change

Question 52

Example from Electricity generation and transportation

Answer 52

conventional cars are fuel-inefficient; only about 13-14% of the energy from a tank of gas actually moves a car down the road; nearly 85% of useful energy is lost primarily as heat; cooking, heating, lighting

Question 53

The stabilization triangle

Answer 53

(fig 14.26) when the job is big, break it into smaller parts; the graph shows the doubling of CO2 emissions scientists expect to occur; the triangle is emissions to avoid and divided that into 7 equal wedges; each wedge represents 1 billions tons of CO2 emissions that should be avoided; strategies listed in the figure

Question 54

1997 Kyoto Protocol

Answer 54

a binding treaty that required emissions reductions of six greenhouse gases to levels below those of 1990; took into effect in 2005 after Russia became the 127th nation to ratify it; emissions decreased after this protocol

Question 55

2009 Copenhagen Conference

Answer 55

ended without specific targets or solid commitments; in 2010 developed nations promised to pay developing nations to assist mitigation and adaptation efforts and broadly agreed on a plan nicknamed REDD to help tropical nations reduce forest loss; developed nations agreed to transfer clean energy technology to developing nations; most of these plans and promises have not yet come to pass

Question 56

2015 Paris Agreement

Answer 56

climate action; emission reduction commitments from 187 countries starting in 2020

Question 57

US Congressional (in)action

Answer 57

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Question 58

State and local action

Answer 58

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Question 59

Cap-and-trade system

Answer 59

industries and utilities would compete to reduce emissions for financial gain and under which emissions were mandated to decrease 17% by 2020

Question 60

Carbon offsets

Answer 60

voluntary payments intended to enable another entity to help reduce the emissions that one is unable to reduce; the payment thus offsets one's own emissions

Question 61

Carbon tax

Answer 61

governments charge polluters a fee for each unit of greenhouse gases they emit; this gives polluters a financial incentive to reduce emissions; have been introduced in over 20 nations

Question 62

Geoengineering

Answer 62

proposals that seek to use technology to remove carbon dioxide from the air or reflect sunlight away from Earth