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Physical Geography 1000 > Climate and environmental change > Flashcards

Climate and environmental change Flashcards

1
Q

what 6 things are basic human needs for survival

A
  1. oxygen
  2. water
  3. food
  4. shelter
  5. clothing
  6. sanitation
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2
Q

what of the six basic human needs for survival are DIRECTLY threatened by climatic change

A
  1. water
  2. food
  3. sanitation
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3
Q

do human needs show the BEST connection to climate change and nature

A

NO - animals do nature decides what lives or dies

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4
Q

climate change

A

significant and long-lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over time

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5
Q

how can climate change be changed

A
  1. change in average weather condition
  2. distribution of events around that average
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6
Q

what kind of term is climate change

A

umbrella term

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7
Q

what does climate change encompass

A
  1. global warming = average temp warming
  2. paleoclimatology = study of past climates
  3. geological temp record/natural climate variability = long term changes
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8
Q

can climate change be natural

A

YES

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9
Q

weather vs climate

A

weather = observations in meteorological phenomena day to day (short term)

climate = observations in meteorological phenomena over long period of time

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10
Q

climate or weather forms an average

A

climate

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11
Q

climatology

A

study of climate

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12
Q

what is studied in climatology (specifics)

A
  1. climatic pattern
  2. consistent behaviour of weather
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13
Q

does climatology include effects of climate change on human society and culture

A

YES

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14
Q

is climate static

A

NO - dynamic (evolves)

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15
Q

how does climate show its static

A

it varies over time (temporal) and from one place to another (spatial)

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16
Q

how else can climate vary

A
  1. natural phenomena
  2. anthropogenic forcings
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17
Q

natural phenomena is a _______ (dominant short or long term) variation in climate

A

dominant long term

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18
Q

anthropogenic forcing is a _______ (dominant short or long term) variation in climate

A

dominant short-term

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19
Q

3 general categories of evidence to reconstruct the past climates

A
  1. meteorological/instrumental records
  2. historical records
  3. physical and biological records (paleoclimatology)
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20
Q

what general categories of evidence for past climates is this
was highly placed around large pops of people

A

meteorological/instrumental records

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21
Q

what general categories of evidence for past climates is this
the most accurate reading despite being limited and having huge gaps

A

meteorological/instrumental records

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22
Q

what general categories of evidence for past climates is this
things that have happened in the past (culture/food, art,literature)

A

historical records

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23
Q

what general categories of evidence for past climates is this
diatoms and other creatures have certain conditions that indicate they are thriving and others they don’t

A

physical/biological records

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24
Q

is time constant

A

nO

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25
Q

what influences time

A

the mass of an object or its velocity (time dilation)

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26
Q

time

A

indefinite continuous process of existence and events in the past, present and future regarded as a whole

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27
Q

time needs a ____ in order to have an easier time understanding

A

reference point

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28
Q

what makes time scales meaningful

A

reference points

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29
Q

are time scales overly meaningful to science without a reference point

A

NO

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30
Q

what is our reference point

A

the age of the earth and its beginning

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31
Q

geologic timescale

A

breaks down time into meaningful time periods

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32
Q

what caused extinctions in the past

A

natural or punctuated events that lead to CLIMATIC changes

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33
Q

what period in the geological timescale are we in

34
Q

what does the Holocene period mark

A

the end of the last glacier max

35
Q

9 different tools used in paleoclimatology

A
  1. satellite data
  2. instrument records
  3. documentary records
  4. tree rings
  5. polar ice core
  6. lake sediments
  7. pollen
  8. ocean cores
  9. sedimentary rocks
36
Q

satellite data resolution

37
Q

instrument records resolution

38
Q

documentary evidence resolution

A

1000 years

39
Q

tree ring resolution

A

10 000 years

40
Q

polar ice cores resolution

41
Q

what do lakes transport

A

water and sediments

42
Q

what happens to lakes over time

A

the sediments begin to build up and the lake fills up

43
Q

are co2 levels and temp correlated

44
Q

as CO2 levels increase, temp _____

45
Q

as CO2 levels decrease, temp ____

46
Q

glacial period

A

periods of time where continental ice sheets dominate polar areas

47
Q

is this glacial or interglacial period
last for about 100ka

48
Q

is this glacial or interglacial periods
20 ka to 40 ka

A

interglacial

49
Q

interglacial

A

periods of time when continental ice sheets retreated and it is relatively warm between glacial periods

50
Q

four major glacials in NA

A
  1. Wisconsinan glacial
  2. Illinoian glacial
  3. Kansan glacial
  4. Nebraskan glacial
51
Q

four major glacials in NA (youngest to oldest)

A
  1. Wisconsinan glacial
  2. Illinoian glacial
  3. Kansan glacial
  4. Nebraskan glacial
52
Q

the Wisconsinan glacial period was followed by the ______ interglacial

A

Sangamonian

53
Q

the Illinoian glacial period was followed by the ______ interglacial

A

Yarmouthian

54
Q

the Kansan glacial period was followed by the ______ interglacial

55
Q

the glacial periods in NA were named after _____

56
Q

The last major warm was in

A

the Pliocene

57
Q

first major northern hemisphere glaciation began during the

A

Pleistocene

58
Q

when did alternation of glacial and interglacial periods begin

A

about 2.4 MY ago

59
Q

what is the GLOBAL TEMP DIFFERENCE between glacials and interglacials

A

5 degrees Celsius

60
Q

glacial are _____ then interglacial

61
Q

interglacial is ______ then glacial

62
Q

current interglacial period is called

A

the Holocene

63
Q

when did the current interglacial period begin

A

10 to 12 thousand years ago

64
Q

what were temps like in the Holocene 6500 years ago compared to present

A

2 degrees Celsius warmer

65
Q

what is the Climatic Optimum

A

6500 years ago when temps in the Holocene were 2 degrees warmer then today

66
Q

what was temp like in the Holocene from 2500 to 1200 BP compared to today

A

up to 1 degrees Celsius cooler

67
Q

what is associated with the 0.5 degree Celsius warmer temps between 800 and 1200 AD

A

the Medieval warm period (when Vikings landed in NA and Greenland)

68
Q

when did the Little Ice Age occur

A

from 1400 to 1850 AD

69
Q

what were temps like in the Little Ice Age

A

up to 1 degree Celsius cooler than at present and had advances of glacier fronts

70
Q

when did warming begin

A

late 19th century

71
Q

when were peak temps reached

A

in the 1940s

72
Q

when did temps begin to decline

73
Q

sunspots vary in an _____ year cycle

74
Q

Maunder Minimum date

A

1645 to 1715

75
Q

Maunder Minimum

A

the sunspot activity was VERY LOW and global temps were COOLER

76
Q

what are examples of LONG term climate change mechanisms

A
  1. change in solar output
  2. Milankovitch
77
Q

what are examples of SHORT term climate change mechanisms

A
  1. volcanoes
  2. mountain barriers
  3. changes in ocean currents
78
Q

what are the perfect conditions for glacial periods

A

low seasonality in the NH

79
Q

what grows ice sheets in NH

A
  1. less summer insolation
  2. low tilt
  3. Aphelion in June (farthest away)
  4. high eccentricity
80
Q

what causes interglacial periods in NH

A
  1. most incoming solar radiation and seasonality
  2. high tilt
  3. low eccentricity
  4. aphelion in January (farthest)

Physical Geography 1000 (21 decks)

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