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Grade 10 IB Science > Climate Change > Flashcards

Climate Change Flashcards

1
Q

What is weather?

A

the atmospheric conditions in a particular location over a short period of time

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2
Q

What are examples of atmospheric conditions?

A
  • temp
  • wind direction
  • amount of precipitation
  • relative humidity (amount of moisture in the air compared to the maximum amount of water the air could hold at that temperature)
  • wind speed (steady speed, gust speed)
  • cloud cover (fog or mist)
  • type of precipitation
  • atmospheric pressure (the force exerted on the surface by the weight of the air above it)
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3
Q

What is weather caused by?

A

Weather is caused by the interactions between water and air on earth - powered by the energy from the sun

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4
Q

What is climate?

A

Climate - the usual pattern of weather in a region over a long period of time (collected for 30 years or more)

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5
Q

What are climate zones based on and examples?

A

Climate zones (humid, subtropical, semiarid, subarctic) based on temperature, precipitation, and plant communities

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6
Q

What are ecoregions based on and examples?

A

Ecoregion (Great Lakes Lowlands, Central Canadian Shield, Hudson Bay taiga) based on landforms, soil, plants, animals, crops, urban centers

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7
Q

What are five factors affecting climate?

A
  • distance from the equator (latitude)
  • the presence of large bodies of water
  • the presence of ocean or air currents
  • land formations (mountains, valleys)
  • height above sea level (altitude)
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8
Q

What is the climate system?

A

Climate system - complex set of components (air, land, water, ice, living things) that interact with each other to produce climate (powered by the sun)

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9
Q

What types of energy does the sun emit?

A

Sun - emits Ultraviolet Radiation (invisible high energy), visible light, infrared radiation (invisible low energy)

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10
Q

What are the % of energy that the sun reflects back from the earth and absorbs?

A
  • 30% is reflected back into space
  • 70% is absorbed
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11
Q

Energy absorbed by earth is radiated back into space by what form of radiation?

A

Energy absorbed by Earth is radiated back into space in the form of infrared radiation

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12
Q

Where is energy concentrated on Earth?

A
  • at the equator, sun is overhead so the energy is concentrated over a smaller area
  • at the poles, sun is low in the sky so the energy is spread out over a larger area
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13
Q

What are the four components of Earth’s climate system?

A
  • the atmosphere
  • the hydrosphere
  • the lithosphere
  • living things
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14
Q

What is the atmosphere?

A
  • layers of gases surrounding the Earth
  • ozone (O3) in the troposphere is pollution (photochemical smog)
  • ozone in the stratosphere is protection (blocks UV light)
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15
Q

What is the hydrosphere?

A
  • the water cycle
  • large bodies of water moderate climate (less temp, extremes, more precipitation)
  • ice reflects sunlight (temp stays cool)
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16
Q

What is the lithosphere?

A
  • land formations affect climate
  • altitude affects temp.
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17
Q

What are living things to do with climate change?

A
  • the Carbon Cycle
  • production of Methane
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18
Q

What is the greenhouse effect?

A

A natural process where gases and clouds absorb infrared radiation from Earth’s surface and radiate some back to Earth, heating the surface and atmosphere.

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19
Q

What are some greenhouse gases?

A
  • carbon dioxide
  • water vapour
  • methane (decomposition in eco)
  • ozone
  • nitrous oxide (fertilizers)
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20
Q

What does the intensity of the sun’s radiation on earth depend on?

A
  • the intensity of the sun’s radiation on earth depends on latitude (higher latitude = less intensity)
  • water and land absorb energy at different rates (earth is unevenly heated)
21
Q

What happens to reduce the temperature difference over Earth’s surface?

A
  • climate system transports energy from areas that receive a lot of the sun’s radiation to areas that receive less (reduces the temperature difference over Earth, Polar = warmer, Tropical = colder)
22
Q

What is a convection current?

A

This movement of warm and cool air is called a convection current (move thermal energy from the equator towards the poles).
Convection currents are repeated closer to the poles and give Earth permanent bands of high and low pressure. This causes air currents known as wind. Due to the rotation of the Earth, these prevailing winds curve around the globe instead of travelling directly north or south.

23
Q

Facts about prevailing winds:

A
  • factor in determining climate zones
  • regions next to water that have prevailing winds have more precipitation
  • if a prevailing wind comes from a polar area, it will cool and dry out the region
  • large deserts tend to form in the regions where there is higher pressure from the convection currents in the atmosphere
24
Q

Explain thermohaline circulation

A
  • water near the poles will cool down and freeze due to the temperature
  • sea ice is mostly freshwater because the salt is rejected when it freezes
  • cold saltier water left behind is more dense and sinks to the ocean floor
  • warmer surface water from the equator will flow to take its place (Thermohaline Circulation)
25
What gives Europe a warmer, damper climate?
- the warm gulf stream current travels along the east coast of North America and then across the Atlantic towards northwestern Europe
25
What are feedback loops?
Feedback Loop - the cause of something creates an effect that impacts the original cause Positive feedback loop - the effect increases the original cause Negative feedback loop - the effect decreases the original cause
26
Water vapour feedback loop?
- higher temperatures will evaporate more water into the atmosphere - water vapour is a greenhouse gas which will increase the temperature more - the higher temperatures will evaporate more water into the air, making it warmer (positive feedback loop)
27
Example of a positive feedback loop
- when clouds are high in the atmosphere, they tend to hold heat and create a positive feedback loop - warmer temp. = more high clouds = even warmer temp.
28
Example of a negative feedback loop
- when clouds are low in the atmosphere they reflect the sun’s radiation back into space which creates a negative feedback loop - warmer temp. = more low clouds = cooler temp.
29
What is the Albedo affect?
The measure of the reflectivity of a surface. Snow and ice have a high albedo (they reflect radiation). Water and vegetation have a low albedo (they absorb radiation). The Albedo effect is a positive feedback loop between ice on the surface and Earth’s average temperature. If the temp increases, ice will melt, so less radiation from the sun is reflected (more is absorbed), which increases the temperature. If the temp decreases, ice forms, so more of the radiation from the sun is reflected (less is absorbed), which decreases the temperature.
30
What are long term change factors?
Long term change factors: - movement of continents - variations in earth’s orbit
31
What are short term change factors?
Short term change factors: - volcanic eruptions - changes in air or ocean currents
32
Why does the northern hemisphere have colder winters and warmer summers?
The Northern Hemisphere has the most land mass, due to fewer large bodies of water, the northern hemisphere has warmer summers and colder winters.
33
Milutin Milankovitch calculated earth’s orbit around the sun changes in three main ways?
Milutin Milankovitch calculated earth’s orbit around the sun changes in three main ways: 1. Eccentricity - the shape of earth’s orbit varies from nearly circular to being more elliptical over a cycle of 100 000 years 2. Tilt - the tilt of Earth’s axis changes from 22.1 degrees to 24.5 degrees over a cycle of 41 000 years, as the angle increases, seasonal differences increase 3. Precession - Earth slowly wobbling on its axis in a cycle of 24 500 years, the angle of the tilt remains the same but the direction of tilt changes
34
What would happen if the amount of radiation from the sun drops?
The amount of radiation from the sun drops, Earth receives less energy and Earth’s climate will cool down
35
What are proxy records?
proxy records is an indirect record of climate, likes stores of information in tree rings, ice cores, and fossils that can be measured to give clues as to what climate was like in the past
36
What are ways scientists can find information about the climate?
Ice cores, coral reefs, tree rings, rock, ocean sediment, and caves
37
What are stalactites and stalagmites?
- Stalactites (from the roof) and Stalagmites (from the floor) show indirect evidence of precipitation patterns, Column (when they join)
38
Why are sea levels rising?
Rising Sea Levels - sea levels are rising because of ice on land melting and from the thermal expansion of water
39
When have the production of greenhouse gases increased the most?
Over the past 200 years, the levels of greenhouse gases have increased the most
40
What are anthropogenic greenhouse gases?
Anthropogenic Sources of Greenhouse Gases - the additional amount of human-produced greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
41
What are the types of anthropogenic greenhouse gases?
primary anthropogenic greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s)
42
What is the CO2 Positive Feedback Loop?
CO2 Positive Feedback Loop: - increase in carbon dioxide levels cause an increase in global temperature - increases in temperature cause an increase in carbon dioxide production because of the carbon that is released from plants and the oceans carbon sink
43
How is Methane released?
Methane (CH4) - this is released from agricultural activities and the decay of organic materials, and during coal mining and natural gas extraction
44
How is nitrous oxide produces?
Nitrous Oxide (N20) - emissions come from the management of livestock feed and waste, the use of nitrogen fertilizers, certain industrial processes and fossil fuel use
45
How are CFCs produced?
(CFC’s) - commonly used as refrigerants, there are no natural sources of CFCs, these gases leak out of refrigerators and air conditioners or are released by industrial processes
46
How can changes in the Arctic affect the rest of the world?
- Albedo effect - release of CO2 - sea level rise - disruption of ocean current - changes to biodiversity
47
What are local impacts of climate change?
- warmer winters (less snow and ice) - hotter summers (more heat waves) - changing lake levels - ecosystem shift - risk of disease/illness - more forest fires - higher electricity demand
48
What are clean energy sources?
Clean Energy - wind - solar - hydroelectric - nuclear

Grade 10 IB Science (6 decks)

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