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GEOG-2204 - Human Impact on the Environment > Chapter 8 - Climate Change > Flashcards

Chapter 8 - Climate Change Flashcards

1
Q

What are the two key factors when responding to Climate change?

A
  1. Mitigation
  2. Adaptation
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2
Q

Define Weather:

A

Short-term (hourly or daily) fluctuation of atmospheric conditions

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3
Q

Define Climate:

A

Long-term average of atmospheric conditions of a specific region or entire planet

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4
Q

What is the global average temperature?

A

15 degrees C

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5
Q

Define Climate Change:

A

A long-term alteration in the climate of a particular location, region or for the entire planet

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6
Q

Define Global Warming:

A

Global warming addresses changes only in average surface temperatures, although these changes are not uniform

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7
Q

What are the two types of natural causes of climate change?

A
  • External
  • Internal
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8
Q

Dark spots on the sun _____ radiating temperature.

A

lower

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9
Q

Bright spots on the sun have ____ radiating temperature

A

higher

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10
Q

The Milankovich Hypothesis addresses _______

A

Orbital variatinos

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11
Q

What are the two main external natural causes of climate change?

A
  1. Solar output variations
  2. Orbital variations
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12
Q

What are the five key natural internal causes of climate change?

A
  • Aerosols- Volcanic eruption- (Pinatubo, June 15, 1991) cooling up to 3 years
    – El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
    – El Niño, La Niña, La Nada
    – NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation)
    – AO (Arctic Oscillation)
    – Climate variability
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13
Q

What is the ENSO?

A

El Niño Southern Oscillation

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14
Q

What is the NAO?

A

North Atlantic Oscillation

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15
Q

What is AO?

A

Artic Oscillation

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16
Q

What does the Milankovich Hypothesis address?

A

Amount of solar radiation received at the Earth’s surface is not constant over time

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17
Q

What are the three theoretical variations occur due to?

A
  1. Obliquity
  2. Eccentricity of the earths orbit
  3. Precession
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18
Q

What is the formula for Precession?

A

= Axial Precession + Precession of the ellipse

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19
Q

Define Axial Precession (wobbling):

A

Wobbling movement of Earth’s axis of rotation, which causes it to point in different directions over a cycle of 26,000 years

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20
Q

What is the “Precission of the ellipse” also known as?

A

“Precission of the equinoxes”

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21
Q

How often does the earths orbit complete a full cycle?

A

Every 23,000 years

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22
Q

What does the ENSO stand for?

A

El Niño Southern Oscillation

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23
Q

What is El Niño?

A

Anomalous warm water off the west coast of south America

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24
Q

What does Southern Oscillation mean?

A

Pressure variability between eastern and western tropical pacific

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25
What are the three phases of ENSO?
- Warm (El niño) - Cold (La nina) - Neutral (La nada)
26
Following a ______________, large amounts of SO2, HCl and ash spew into the Earth’s stratosphere
volcanic eruption
27
True or false: The increase in the average temperature of the northern hemisphere during the 20th century was the largest of any century in the past 1,000 years
True
28
The average rate of sea-level rose from ____ to ____ mm/year during the past 3,000 years to ____mm/year in the 20th century.
0.1 - 0.2, 1 -2
29
The __________ warms up the troposphere and the earths surface.
greenhouse effect
30
What is a source of Nitrous Oxide?
- Burning organic material - Using inorganic fertilizers
31
What is a source of Tropospheric Ozone?
Pollutants from cars, power and chemical plants
32
What is a source of Chloroflurocarbons?
- Fridges - Air conditioners - Aerosol sprays
33
True or false: All ghg absorb more infrared radiation than CO2
True
34
Sea level has risen ______ inches in the last century/
6-8 inches
35
South Pacific island nation of _______ already abandoned due to climate change.
Tuvalu
36
Why will infectious diseases increase with global warming?
Insects that spread them are able to move to places where they could not live before.
37
What are Climate Models?
Climate models are computer codes, which are used to test the validity of a proposed hypotheses and to predict future climate change
38
Climate models consider what five components to predict future climates?
1. Radiation 2. Energy Dynamics 3. Surface processes 4. Chemistry 5. Time step and resolution
39
What are the four types of climate models?
1. Energy Balance Models 2. One-Dimensional Radiative Convective Model (RCM) 3. Two-Dimensional Statistical-Dynamics (SD) Climate Models 4. General Circulation Models (GCMs)
40
What are the two kinds of GCMs?
- Ocean GCMs - Vegetation GCMs
41
What are some limitations of GCMs?
1. Policy and planning anticipation 2. GCM outputs to be highly variable
42
What is the IPCC?
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
43
When was the IPCC established?
1988
44
How often are IPCC reports published?
Every 6 - 7 years
45
When was the most recent IPCC report?
2014
46
What did the IPCC conclude in 2007?
That worldwide trends in the 20th century consistently and strongly reveal an increase in global surface temperature
47
In Terrestrial Canadiaan prairies, boreal forests may shift up to _____km to the north.
700
48
What are the changes from forest and grassland boundaries resulted from?
The doubling of CO2 in the climate
49
True or false: Polar bears may no longer remain to breed in Wapusk National Park in MB.
True
50
With climate change in agriculture. challenges may arise from:
- Vulnerability to heat and drought - Limited water supply
51
True or false: Every part of Canada except the southern prairies has become wetter.
True, precipitation increasing by 16%
52
Higher temperatures cause higher rate of ______________, increasing surface drying and more moisture in the air.
evapotranspiration
53
Higher temperatures and increased evapotranspiration could also lower water levels in _______.
Lakes
54
How will climate change impact the Cryosphere?
Warmer temperatures in higher latitudes (ice melting)
55
True or false: in the rockies, glaciers less than 100m thick could disappear by 2030.
True
56
Warm water holds more _______, increases acidity.
dissolved carbon
57
What are the four key challenges in communicating the issues of climate change?
1. Complex issue 2. Uncertainties 3. Heavier burden on less developed countries 4. Lifestyle change
58
Regarding climate change, there is a strong agreement on two matters related to policy and action?
- International collaborative action - Mitigation and adaption
59
What does mitigating climate change mean?
Involves reducing emissions of GHGs, which in turn will limit future temperature changes
60
What are four ways of mitigating climate change?
1. Carbon Tax 2. New Technologies 3.Carbon sequestration 4. Geo-engineering
61
What is the intent of Geo-engineering?
Intent is to reduce the greenhouse effect and thereby reduce global warming through systematic large- scale manipulation of the Earth’s climate
62
There is strong agreement that international _______________ is required, since climate change is a shared problem
collaborative action
63
What is a challenge with international climate policy and action?
Each national government may be reluctant to take the “first step” for fear that it might become less economically competitive with other nations.
64
What was the Kyoto Protocol?
The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement reached in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997 that targets 38 developed nations as well as the European Community to ensure that their emissions of six GHGs do not exceed their assigned amount
65
In the Kyoto Protocol, Canada’s goal was to reduce GHG emissions to ____% below 1990 levels by between 2008 and 2012
6
66
What were the six GHGs discussed under the Kyoto protocol?
1. Carbon Dioxide 2. Nitrous Oxide 3. Methane 4. Hydroflorocarbons (HFCs) 5. Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) 6. Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF)
67
When did Canada pull out of the Kyoto protocol?
2011
68
What was the Kyoto Protocol replaced by in Canada?
The Paris Agreement
69
What is the intent of the Paris Agreement?
Commits the signatory parties to reduce GHG emissions and keep mean global temperature increases to within 2°C (below 1.5°C)
70
Canada has implemented the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, what 4 pillars are involved?
1. Pricing carbon pollution 2. Actions to reduce GHG emissions 3. Adaption and climate resilience 4. Clean technology, innovation and jobs
71
2018 IPCC report points out that _____% of global GHG emissions are from livestock and this number is increasing rapidly
14.5

GEOG-2204 - Human Impact on the Environment (11 decks)

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