Climate Change Flashcards
What is Climate Change?
Significant change in Earths climate over a long period
What does Global Warming Describe?
Sharp rise in global temperatures over last century - type of climate change
How do you work out how Climate has Changed over time?
- Ice & sediment cores
- Tree rings
- Diaries & Paintings
- Sea ice positions
- Pollen analysis
- Temperature data
How do you work out how the climate has changed from the Sea Ice Positions?
Observe maximum & minimum extent of Sea ice each year
How do you work out how the climate has changed from the Tree Rings?
- Thicker in warm,wet conditions
- Get cores & count rings to find age of Tree
- Thickness of each ring shows what climate was like
How do you work out how the climate has changed from the Ice and Sediment Cores?
- Drill into ice sheets to get long cores of ice
* Analyse gases trapped in layers of ice, see what temp was each year
How do you work out how the climate has changed from the Pollen Analysis?
- Pollen preserved in sediment
* Identify pollen to see what species living at time
What Factors show that human activity caused Global Warming?
- Declining arctic sea
- Sea level rise and warming oceans
- Global temperature rise
- Extreme weather events
What is Thermal Expansion?
Water in ocean expands as it gets warmer
What are the Natural Causes of Climate Change?
- Orbital changes
- Volcanic activity
- Solar Output
- Asteroid collisions
What are Orbital Changes?
Variations in the way the earth moves around the sun
What is Stretch (orbital change)?
Path Earths orbit around sun changes from circle to ellipse
What is Tilt (orbital change)?
Earth axis tilted at angle as orbits sun
What is Wobble (orbital change)?
Axis of Earth wobbles like spinning too on cycle
How does Volcanic Activity affect Climate Change?
- Ejects ash into atmosphere
* Particles reflect sun rays out to space, earths surface cools
How does Solar Output cause Climate Change?
If reduced cause earth climate to become cooler
How does Asteroid Collisions cause Climate Change?
- Asteroids jotting earth surface throws dust into atmosphere
- Particles Prevent sun energy from reaching earth - global temperature falls
How are humans increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases?
- Energy
- Transport
- Deforestation
- Industry
- Farming
How does Deforestation make the Greenhouse effect stronger?
- Plants remove CO2 from atmosphere
* CO2 released into atmosphere when trees burnt as fuel
How does Farming make the Greenhouse Effect Stronger?
- Cows produce methane from farting
* Flooded field emit methane
How does Energy make the Greenhouse effect stronger?
CO2 released into atmosphere when fossil fuels (coal,etc) are burnt in power stations
What are the Environmental Impacts of Climate Change?
- Rise in Temperature = ice sheets melt = sea levels rise
- Sea ice shrinking = loss of polar habitats
- Species declining due to warming
- Droughts frequently
- Flooding more common
What are the Economic Impacts of Climate Change?
- More money spend on predicting extreme weather events
- Permafrost = collapsed buildings
- Crops suffering - decreasing in size
- Water shortages affect ability to generate power - hydroelectric power require water
- Fishing infrastructure at risk
What are the Social Impacts of Climate Change?
- Increased threat for wildfires from reduced rainfall
- Impossible to inhabit from areas becoming so hot and dry
- Lower Crop yield increases ill health, death from starvation
