Climate Change Flashcards
Name 5 greenhouse gases and their anthropogenic sources
Carbon Dioxide: fossil fuel combustion, land-use conservation, cement production
Methane: fossil fuels, rice paddies, waste dumps
Nitrous Oxide: fertilisers, industrial processes, combustion
Troposperic Ozone: fossil fuel combustion, chemical solvents, industrial emissions
CFC 12: liquid coolants, foam
What is a natural CO2 sink?
Stores CO2 away from the atmosphere
How does soil release CO2? and How else is CO2 released?
If the soil dries out, it can be released from dead organic matter
Deforestation - in particular the combustion of trees and other biomasses
Where is CO2 trapped and what does this cause?
trapped beneath permafrost, which is contributing to climate change as more permafrost melts (in the Arctic)
What is the natural greenhouse effect?
Incoming energy/light from the sun is absorbed by land, seas and mountains
Outgoing energy/heat heads back to space through the atmosphere - but not all is lost due to GHGs
Incoming = short wave (UV) energy
Outgoing = long wave (infrared)
Atmosphere is transparent to incoming short wave radiation
GHGs = CO2, methane, NO, water vapour
Earth would otherwise be -18 degrees, 33 degrees cooler
How can you get long term evidence for climate change?
Ice Core: extract from sheets of ice (30,000km from Antartica), gases analysed in core samples, when the ice formed can give a year-by-year picture of the temp each year, will show trends over time, can go back 40,000 yrs
Pollen Analysis: often preserved in sediment, can be identified and dated to show when it was released, up to 15,000 years, raised beaches can show sea level change and how much water was stored as ice
How can you get medium term evidence for climate change?
Historical Records: indirectly show changing conditions
Dendrochronology: looking at tree ring data, the thickness of tree rings incates growth rates and so past temperature and be worked out, up to 10,000 years of data possible
How can you get short term evidence for climate change?
Weather Record Data: collected since 1861, can show very detailed climate change
Polar Ice Melt: can show change, especially trend of increased melting
Ecosystem Change: climate change can change competition between species and distribution of species
What is the tipping point?
When a rise in temperature proves to be irreversible and catastrophic for the environment
Can be linked to positive feedback mechanisms
Name 5 impacts of climate change
Ice melt on land/thermal expansion from the slow warming of ocean increases volume of the ocean
IPCC: sea levels could rise 18.59cm by 2100 meaning Bangladesh and the Maldives will be impacted
Melting permafrost releases CO2/methane which can cause buildings to collapse/disrupt pipelines and roads
Global warming can increase the frequency of extreme weather events
Disruption of climatic regions can impact ecology (causing migration/extinction), agriculture and crop yields can be decreased/increased
Why are the impacts of climate change difficult to predict?
No one knows which scenario is correct
Uncertainty over how much CO2 will be absorbed in sinks
Unsure over what climate change impacts will occur from each scenario
Role of natural causes of climate change is unknown
Unable to predict success of human mitigation (e.g. Kyoto or changes to renewables)
What do mitigation strategies involve?
Taking action to reduce how much climate change occurs
What do adaption strategies involve?
Taking action to reduce the impacts climate change is having
Name 6 mitigation strategies
Carbon Tax: taxing companies/individuals who produce CO2
Change Energy Mix: generate energy by renewable/nuclear instead of fossil fuels
Modify Agricultural Practices: reduce methane generation by using different food or encouraging less meat consumption
Energy Conservation: switch to A+ energy appliances, reduce wastage in homes, insulate walls/lofts
Waste Strategies: reduce consumption, reuse, recycle
Tree Planting (afforestation): creating carbon sinks
Name 5 Adaptation Strategies
Lifestyle Adaptation: people adapt to live in new conditions, e.g. planting new crops
Community Awareness: education local communities on potential impacts of climate change
Flood Adaptations: can be building physical defenses/barriers/floating villages (Netherlands) or having better warning systems
Improve Risk Assessment: looking at land use zoning for new building calculated through insurance costs
Water Resource Management: better efficiency to deal with drought, e.g. installing water meters
