Climate Change Flashcards
Climate
atmospheric conditions that are long term, patterns, trends
Weather
Atmospheric conditions that are at a given moment (individual events)
How much of the suns energy does the Earth absorb?
Around 70%
How much of the suns energy does the earth reflect into space?
Around 30%
Greenhouse Effect
The atmosphere absorbs suns energy and prevents it from being radiated back into space
Greenhouse gases
Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide
An increase in greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide can lead to what?
Greenhouse effect and increase temperature of the earths surface
Ice sheet
Mass of glacial land covering +50k square kilometers (Antarctica and Greenland)
Sea Ice
Ice that forms over the open ocean
Glaciers
Formations of ice throughout the world where mountain range elevations are high enough
Permafrost
Frozen ground
Continuous Permafrost
Entirely frozen ground with 90-100% frozen
Discontinuous permafrost
Not a single solid sheet of frozen land, less than 90% permafrost
Sporadic permafrost
10-50% of the land frozen
Isolated Permafrost
Less than 10% of land frozen
Why doesn’t sea ice contribute to rise in sea level
Sea ice is formed in the sea already so the mass of water in the ice is already represented by the level of water
Melting of permafrost can cause what?
Release of greenhouse gases, collapse of infrastructure, mudslides
How does the ocean help prevent warming?
It absorbs most of the heat energy, and directly absorbs CO2
What reaction happens when the ocean absorbs CO2?
CO2 combined with H2O releases H+ which contributes to acidification
What is an effect of ocean warming?
More intense storms, more melted ice
