Chapter 4- Climate Change

Question 1

How is carbon dioxide formed and removed ?

Answer 1

Released into atmosphere by cell respiration, combustion of biomass and fuels- removed by photosynthesis and dissolving in the oceans

Question 2

How is water vapour formed and removed?

Answer 2

Formed by evaporation from the oceans and also transpiration in plants - removed by rainfall and snow

Question 3

What are other green house gases

Answer 3

Methane and nitrogen oxides

Question 4

How is methane produced?

Answer 4

3rd most significant greenhouse gas- it is emitted from marshes and other waterlogged habitats and from landfill sites- released during extraction of fossil fuels

Question 5

How is nitrous oxide released?

Answer 5

Released matti ally by bacteria in some habitats and also bt agriculture and vehicle exhausts

Question 6

How much % does green house gases make up

Answer 6

1% of the atmosphere

Question 7

What are the 2 factors that determine the warming impact of a green house gas?

Answer 7

1) how readily the gas absorbs long wave radiation

2) the country concentration of the gas in the atmosphere

Question 8

What does the concentration of the gas depend on?

Answer 8

On the rate at which it is released into the atmosphere

Question 9

What does the warmed earth emit?

Answer 9

The warmed surface of the earth absorbs short-wave energy from the sun and then re-emits it but at much longer wave lengths

Question 10

What are most the of re-emitted waves

Answer 10

Radiation is infrared

Question 11

How much radiation from the sun of short wave lengths is absorbed before it reaches it reaches the earths atmosphere?

Answer 11

25-30%

Question 12

However a far higher percentage of the longer wavelength radiation re emitted by the surface of the earth is absorbed before it has passed out so space which means how % is absorbed by green house gases

Answer 12

70% to 85%- which causes global warming

Question 13

If the concentration of any greenhouse gases in the atmosphere changes what can we expect to happen?

Answer 13

The size of its contribution to the greenhouse effect to change and global temperatures to rise or fall

Question 14

How can we test the carbon dioxide concentration of the atmosphere in the past?

Answer 14

Columns of ice have been drilled in the Antarctic, the ice has built up over thousands of years, so Ice from deeper down is older than ice near the surface - bubbles of air trapped in ice can be extracted and analysed to find co2 conc

Question 15

There is a correlation between co2 concentration and global temps what is it

Answer 15

The periods of higher co2 concentration repeatedly coincide with period when the earth was warmer

Question 16

What is the hypthosjs from global temps and co2 conc correlation ?

Answer 16

That rises in co2 conc increase the greenhouse effect

Question 17

If concentration of greenhouse gases increased what would be expect to happen

Answer 17

Increase in global average temps

Question 18

What other global temps influence other aspects of climate?

Answer 18

1) higher temperatures increase the evaporation of water from the oceans and therefore periods of rain are likely to be more freqjent
2) higher temps cause tropical storms and hurricanes to be more frequent and harmful

Question 19

What would the consequences of any rise in the global average tenp be

Answer 19

Unlikely to be evenly spread out - not all areas would become warmer- distribution of rain fall would change etc

Question 20

What is the correlation between industrilziafikn and climate change?

Answer 20

The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has been rising since the start of the industrial revolution 200 years ago and average global temps

Question 21

What are recent increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide largely due too

Answer 21

Combustion of fossilised organic matter

Question 22

What are the 2 most significant green house gases?

Answer 22

Carbon dioxide and water