Class Notes for Climate and Climate Change

Question 1

What does humidity include?

Answer 1

rain and snow

Question 2

What does wind include?

Answer 2

hurricanes and tornadoes

Question 3

What are the 5 local climate controls?

Answer 3

1) Latitude
2) Elevation
3) Position in a continent
4) Ocean currents
5) Normal wind direction

Question 4

What is the role of latitude as a local climate control?

Answer 4

polar (90 degrees latitude) vs equatorial (0 degrees latitude) so it is warmer

Question 5

What is the role of elevation as a local climate control?

Answer 5

low- near sea level
high- mountains (thinner air so will always be colder)
*Elevation: thinner air at high elevation. Fewer molecules per unit volume, so less to heat up by sunshine; lower heat content – lower temp

Question 6

How is position in a continent a local climate control?

Answer 6

• sea short (plus or minus 10 degrees celsius)
• interior (plus or minus 10 degrees celsius)
• location of mountains controls rain
• Warmer in the middle of continent than shoreline because ocean has moderating effect. Does not go up and down like the atmosphere.

Question 7

How do ocean currents control local climate?

Answer 7

move warm water around (plus or minus 5 degrees C)

Question 8

How do normal wind directions act as a local climate control?

Answer 8

e. g. bring moist air in from ocean
- move air masses
- move sand
- control rain
- dry warm air

Question 9

The drop in temperature per___m rise in elevation is about the same as an increase of___degrees latitude.

Answer 9

• 300

- 10

Question 10

Why is the equator warmer than the North pole?

Answer 10

Because the energy is spread over a larger area which is why it is colder

Question 11

What is the Earth’s tilt (on average)?

Answer 11

23.5 degrees

Question 12

What are the 6 things that can tell us how warm/cold it was in the past?

Answer 12

1. distribution of plant and animal fossils at different geological times
2. distribution of ancient glaciers — glacial drift deposits…e.g. tills, moraines. Gas bubbles in modern glaciers — composition of ancient atmosphere…use the CO2 for “O” isotope analysis
3. “O” isotope analysis of ancient ice, bubbles in ice, clay from marine muds, fossils from various rocks.
4. Historical and archeological information — good for the past few millennia
5. Temperature proxies — “O” isotopes, tree width variation

Question 13

What is the must useful temperature proxy we have

Answer 13

“O” isotope analysis

Question 14

Besides the 6 reasons, what else must we also know to determine how warm/cold it was in the past?

Answer 14

The absolute age of the material

Question 15

What was the global average atmospheric temperature at sea level?

Answer 15

15 degrees C

Question 16

What is the cyclicality for climate?

Answer 16

100 000 years

Question 17

What was the cycle before the 100 000 year cycle (700 000 years ago)?

Answer 17

41 000 year cycle dominant (tilt)

Question 18

From___isotopes we can see temp of water in which organisms lived.

Answer 18

O

Question 19

What was the global average temp for the 1900s?

Answer 19

15 degrees C

Question 20

Was the temperature cooling or warming from 1800-1940s? What about 1940-1980?

Answer 20

• warming
• cooled for 40 years
• 1980s –> mostly warming

Question 21

When does tree rings analysis indicate atmospheric warming started?

Answer 21

around 1850

Question 22

What are the 8 controls on climate change?

Answer 22

1) fluctuations in solar output
2) variations in Earth’s orbital elliptical eccentricity from circle to maximum ellipse–100 000 year cyclicality
3) Variations in tis of earth’s axis
4) Plate tectonics
5) large meteorite (or comet) impacts
6) volcanic eruptions
7) CO2
8) Methane – CH4

Question 23

How do variations in Earth’s orbital elliptical eccentricity from circle to maximum ellipse–100 000 year cyclicality control climate change?

Answer 23

Earth’ warms because when it is a circle it’s always closer to sun than when it is on its elliptic path.

Question 24

How do plate tectonics control climate change?

Answer 24

Moves continents into new climatic zones; builds mountain belts

Question 25

How does CO2 control climate change?

Answer 25

volcanoes, weathering of limestone, animal activity, melting of glaciers, human industry

Question 26

What are the 2 parts of how methane controls climate change?

Answer 26

A. Volcanoes

B. Organic decay — clathrates

Question 27

What was the biggest cause of CO2 5 decades ago? What is the biggest cause now?

Answer 27

Until about 5 decades ago, volcanism was the biggest cause, but now our industry puts more CO2 in than the sum of other natural causes.

Question 28

How much of the CO2 we’ve put into the atmosphere been sucked up by the ocean?

Answer 28

~ 1/3

Question 29

What is the CO2 cycle in the atmosphere (5 things?

Answer 29

1) weathering of limestone
2) melting of glaciers
3) volcanoes
4) humans and other animals breathing
5) human industry

Question 30

Where does the CO2 from the atmosphere go (6 things)?

Answer 30

1) into the ocean (main sink)
2) shell fish and corn (main sink) [used to build shells]
3) ppt of limestone [chemical participation]
4) plants (main sink)
5) subducted (main sink) [trapped in H2O that is sucked down and reacts chemically with rocks)
6) chemical decay in atmosphere

Question 31

Limestone produces___.

Answer 31

CO2

Question 32

Is there a correlation between temperature changes and CO2?

Answer 32

While here is a “broad” agreement, temperature is not a perfect match with CO2. It is a far from perfect correlation

Question 33

CO2 bubbles show___of snowfall

Answer 33

temperature