Climate Change Flashcards

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1
Q

What is Climate Change?

A

Significant change in Earths climate over a long period

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2
Q

What does Global Warming Describe?

A

Sharp rise in global temperatures over last century - type of climate change

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3
Q

How do you work out how Climate has Changed over time?

A
  • Ice & sediment cores
  • Tree rings
  • Diaries & Paintings
  • Sea ice positions
  • Pollen analysis
  • Temperature data
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4
Q

How do you work out how the climate has changed from the Sea Ice Positions?

A

Observe maximum & minimum extent of Sea ice each year

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5
Q

How do you work out how the climate has changed from the Tree Rings?

A
  • Thicker in warm,wet conditions
  • Get cores & count rings to find age of Tree
  • Thickness of each ring shows what climate was like
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6
Q

How do you work out how the climate has changed from the Ice and Sediment Cores?

A
  • Drill into ice sheets to get long cores of ice

* Analyse gases trapped in layers of ice, see what temp was each year

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7
Q

How do you work out how the climate has changed from the Pollen Analysis?

A
  • Pollen preserved in sediment

* Identify pollen to see what species living at time

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8
Q

What Factors show that human activity caused Global Warming?

A
  • Declining arctic sea
  • Sea level rise and warming oceans
  • Global temperature rise
  • Extreme weather events
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9
Q

What is Thermal Expansion?

A

Water in ocean expands as it gets warmer

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10
Q

What are the Natural Causes of Climate Change?

A
  • Orbital changes
  • Volcanic activity
  • Solar Output
  • Asteroid collisions
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11
Q

What are Orbital Changes?

A

Variations in the way the earth moves around the sun

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12
Q

What is Stretch (orbital change)?

A

Path Earths orbit around sun changes from circle to ellipse

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13
Q

What is Tilt (orbital change)?

A

Earth axis tilted at angle as orbits sun

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14
Q

What is Wobble (orbital change)?

A

Axis of Earth wobbles like spinning too on cycle

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15
Q

How does Volcanic Activity affect Climate Change?

A
  • Ejects ash into atmosphere

* Particles reflect sun rays out to space, earths surface cools

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16
Q

How does Solar Output cause Climate Change?

A

If reduced cause earth climate to become cooler

17
Q

How does Asteroid Collisions cause Climate Change?

A
  • Asteroids jotting earth surface throws dust into atmosphere
  • Particles Prevent sun energy from reaching earth - global temperature falls
18
Q

How are humans increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases?

A
  • Energy
  • Transport
  • Deforestation
  • Industry
  • Farming
19
Q

How does Deforestation make the Greenhouse effect stronger?

A
  • Plants remove CO2 from atmosphere

* CO2 released into atmosphere when trees burnt as fuel

20
Q

How does Farming make the Greenhouse Effect Stronger?

A
  • Cows produce methane from farting

* Flooded field emit methane

21
Q

How does Energy make the Greenhouse effect stronger?

A

CO2 released into atmosphere when fossil fuels (coal,etc) are burnt in power stations

22
Q

What are the Environmental Impacts of Climate Change?

A
  • 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
23
Q

What are the Economic Impacts of Climate Change?

A
  • 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
24
Q

What are the Social Impacts of Climate Change?

A
  • 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
25
Q

How do we Aim to Reduce the Causes of Climate Change?

A
  • Planting Trees
  • Alternative energy production
  • International agreements
  • Carbon capture
26
Q

What is Carbon Capture and Storage?

A
  • Technology to reduce climate change by reducing emissions from fossil fuel burning power station
  • Captures CO2, store it safely underground
27
Q

How does Planting Trees help reduce causes of Climate Change?

A

Increases amount of CO2 absorbed from atmosphere through photosynthesis

28
Q

What Alternative Energy Production could you use to reduce the causes of climate change?

A
  • Replace fossil fuel with nuclear power
  • Offshore wind farms
  • Tidal wave projects
  • Nuclear power plants
29
Q

How are people Managing Water Supply?

A
  • Water meters installed to discourage them from using a lot of water
  • Rainwater collected & waste water recycled
30
Q

How are people Coping with Rising Sea Levels?

A
  • Flood barriers built, better flood warning systems put in place
  • Buildings raised if can’t afford flood barriers
31
Q

How are people coping with Changing Agricultural Systems?

A
  • New crops planted that more suitable to new climate

* Biotechnology used to create new crop varieties that more resistant to extreme weather events