Climate Flashcards
What is the difference between a open, closed, and an isolated system?
Open: Allows energy and matter
Closed: Only allows energy
Isolated: Allows neither
What is the difference between the tropo, strato, hydro, and lithosphere?
Lithosphere: Land
Troposphere: Low atmosphere
Stratosphere: High atmosphere
Hydrosphere: Water
What is a radiation budget?
The balance between letting in and releasing radiation in space.
Name the top 6 GHGs.
water vapour
carbon dioxide
methane
nitrous oxide
ground level ozone
halocarbons
What is the specific heat capacity?
The amount of energy required to raise a 1g substance by 1C
How do you calculate the amount of heat required to raise a substance by a set temperature?
Q = mcΔT
Name the three energy transfer methods.
conduction: molecules from land and water collide with molecules
from air close to surface; collisions transfer energy from Earth’s surface
to air
convection: air circulates and distributes heat; air warm, becomes
less dense and rises; air cools, becomes more dense and falls
radiation: components of air are inefficient at absorbing med
wavelength and greenhouse gases absorb IR emitted by Earth
What is the heat of vaporization and fusion?
H of Vaporization: Amount of energy required to convert one mole of a substance from liquid to gas
H of fusion: Amount of energy required to convert one mole of a substance from solid to liquid
How do you calculate the H of vap/fus?
Q = nH
Fill in the blank:
Water molecules cycle through the Earth in a process called the
__________. It also transports ______.
- hydrologic cycle
- energy
What is a Gulf stream?
It is a large surface current that starts in the warm, shallow seas of the Caribbean and follows the eastern coastline of North America, curving east past Newfoundland and ending up at the British Isles where it is called the North Atlantic Drift.
Fill out the blank:
The Gulf stream is part of a global ocean current called the
_____________ or Great Ocean Conveyer Belt.
- thermohaline circulation
What is El Nino?
disruption of ocean-atmosphere system in
tropical Pacific; occurs every 37yrs; wind direction over
South Pacific reverses, winds flow eastward causing increase in
sea-surface temp and unusual weather conditions (Warmer oceans)
What is La Nina?
increase in strength of normal westward winds;
accompanied by cooling of surface waters; produces more
precipitation
What is the coriolis effect?
convection currents on Earth veer sideways from
original course due to Earth’s rotation on its axis. Northern hemisphere turns right and southern hemisphere turns left.
What are jet streams?
form at the boundary of cold and warm air; larger and travel
faster in winter than in summer
What are the two factors that determine a climate?
- Temperature
- Precipitation
What are climatographs?
Graphical representations of climate data for a
specific region and time period
What two factors make up the biosphere?
- Biotic (Living)
- Abiotic (Non-living)
What are the three units of the biosphere?
biome: major geographic region with similar
environmental conditions and life forms
ecosystem: community of living organisms that interact
with each other and with abiotic/physical environment
habitat: place where organism lives or is usually found
What are the three types of adaptations and their definitions?
physiological: occur inside the organism
ie. hibernation; stomachs of ruminants
structural: physical features of the organism
ie. fur of mammals; thick, fleshy stem and
small needles of cacti
behavioral: things organism does to survive in some climates
ie. migration; hibernaculum of garter snakes
What is the study of past climates called?
Paleoclimatology
What are some possible causes of climate change?
Earth’s tilt
Earth’s orbit
Continental drift
Weathering
catastrophic events
feedback response to climate change
What is the positive and negative feedback loop?
Negative Feedback Loop: CO 2 and H2Og; increase in Earth’s
temp leads to increase in evaporation of water, forming more
clouds that block solar radiation… result is cooling (heating
causes cooling)
Positive Feedback Loop: drop in Earth’s temps results in
formation of sea ice that reflects solar radiation causing cooling
and more sea ice
