Climate change Flashcards

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1
Q

How many major ice sheets have there been in the last 1 mil years

A

10

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2
Q

When and where was the last major ice sheets

A

20,000 years ago in Scottish Highlands

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3
Q

What is it called when there is 20% colder winters every 100,000 years

A

Albedo affect

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4
Q

What is the Quaternary period

A

Last 2.6 million years

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5
Q

What happens during warm spells

A

Ice retreats and opens glacial landscapes
Megafauna go extinct (e.g. woolly mammoths

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6
Q

How long do glacial’s last

A

100,000 years

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7
Q

How long do interglcials last

A

10,000 years

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8
Q

Evidence of recent climate change

A

Global temperature data from over 1000 weather stations across the world - highly accurate
Sea level rise measured using tide stations and satellite laser altimeters - highly accurate
Shrinking ice sheets and glaciers measured using a grid of ablation stakes (poles of wood or plastic) and seeing if they move over time, front of glacier must be checked constantly

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9
Q

Evidence of historical climate change

A

Tree rings - dating trees to the exact date they were formed, can give climatic conditions for each year - narrow rings during cold climate - wider rings during warmer climate, problems are only shows local climate - different species grow at different rates, forest fires and animal influence
Ice cores - analyse the trapped water molecules - can give accurate dates and temperature of atmosphere, helps create many accurate historical climate graphs, past 400,000 years - accurate
Historical paintings and dairies - not accurate

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10
Q

3 natural climate change theories

A

Sunspot theory - sometimes the sun has little black spots on it, less spots mean less solar energy - more spots mean more solar energy reaching earth
Eruption theory - big volcanic eruptions produce lots of smoke + ash, spread around the earth, block suns radiation lowering temp
Orbital theory - orbit can change in 3 ways, sometimes axis tilts or wobbles, or orbit is more circular, these alter the amount of radiation earth receives

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11
Q

Describe enhanced greenhouse effect

A

suns energy arrives as short wave - reflected off of earth as long wave - human activity leads to increase of greenhouse gasses - less radiation can escape into space, trapped heat warms earth

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12
Q

Causes of greenhouse gasses

A

Vehicle exhausts, burning fossil fuels, electricity in homes, deforestation, industrial processes

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13
Q

Which greenhouse gas has the most warming power

A

Flourinated gasses, 3000x more powerful than CO2

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14
Q

What is the greenhouse effect?

A

Layer that traps suns radiation to heat the earth

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15
Q

Social effects of climate change in the UK

A

Elderly become vulnerable during heat waves, but less cold related deaths
Increased flood risk on lowlands, may become sever affecting housing and infrastructure

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16
Q

Environmental effects of climate change in the UK

A

Bird migration patterns change
Trees and plants flower earlier
Vegetation and ecosystems move north

17
Q

Economic effects of climate change in the UK

A

Summer heat means increased tourism
New crops such as Peaches and Oranges in southern England
Cairngorms ski resorts may be forced to close

18
Q

Global environmental effects of Climate Change

A

Animals and plants that originate from the amazon are being wiped out due to rising number of wildfires and draughts

19
Q

Global health effects of climate change

A

Risk of heat related deaths increase
Transmission of airborne diseases is expected to increase at 1.5 degrees higher than todays climate, exposing tens of millions, mainly in Southern and Eastern Africa