Climate Change Flashcards
How can extreme weather be linked to climate change?
- Global Warming which leads to more energy in the atmosphere which could lead to more intense storms
- Global warming possibly affect atmospheric circulation bringing floods to normally dry areas and heatwaves to normally cooler areas
How is shrinking glaciers and ice melting evidence for climate change?
Some glaciers may disappear by 2035. The extent of Artic seas ice reached an all time low in 2014
How does rising sea levels give evidence for climate change?
- Glacier and ice cap melting adds fresh water
- Thermal expansion- warm ocean waters expand in volume
- Low lying islands such as the Maldives and coastal regions in Bangladesh, India and Vietnam in danger of flooding
How do seasonal changes give evidence for climate change?
- Tree flowering and bird migration is advancing
* Bird nesting is earlier that in 1970’s
What are the three main natural causes of climate change?
Orbital changes, Solar activity and volcanic activity
How do orbital changes cause climate change?
- Eccentricity - Every 10,000 years also all the changes from almost circular to mildly elliptical and back again
- Axial tilt - every 41,000 years the tilt of the earths axis move back and forth between 21.5° and 24.5°
- Precession - over a period of around 26,000 years the axis wobbles from one extreme to the other
How does solar activity cause climate change?
- The Surface of the Sun has dark patches on short-term regions of reduced surface temperature
- They are usually accompanied by explosive, high energy solar flares increasing heat output
- Over a period of around 11 years sunspots increase from a minimum to maximum and back again
How does volcanic activity cause climate change?
- Volcanic ash can block out the sun reducing temperatures on the Earth. This is a short-term impact
- Sulphur dioxide is also blasted out which converts to droplets of sulphuric acid and acts like mirrors to reflect solar radiation back into space
- Longer term impact also reduces temperatures
What is the natural greenhouse effect?
- Greenhouse gases trap heat that would otherwise escape into space
- Allowing shortwave radiation from the sun through to the earth
- Trapping some of the longer wavelength radiation that would otherwise be radiated back into the atmosphere
How do humans impact the enhanced greenhouse effect?
- CO2 contributes to roughly 60% of the net warming by greenhouse gases
- Most CO2 comes from burning fossil fuels, transport and farming.
- Deforestation of tropical rainforests by burning is another major source
- CH4 émissions from increasing numbers of farm livestock, rice farming, sewage treatment, emissions from landfill sites, coal mines and natural gas pipelines are growing even faster than CO2
Give 5 ways to mitigate climate change
- Alternative energy sources
- Carbon capture
- Planting trees
- International Agreements
- Global impacts of climate change
How can alternative energy sources mitigate climate change?
- The burning of fossil fuels account for 87% of all CO2 emissions
- Alternative sources such as hydroelectric power, nuclear power, solar, wind and tides represent sustainable, low carbon Alternatives
- The Uk aims to produce 15% of its energy from renewable energy sources
How can carbon capture mitigate climate change?
- Carbon capture uses technology to capture co2
- Once captures the CO2 is compressed, piped and injected underground for long term storage in suitable geological reservoirs, such as depleted oil and gas wells
How can planting trees mitigate climate change?
- Trees act as carbon sinks removing CO2 from the atmosphere by the process as photosynthesis
- They also release moisture, producing more cloud and so reducing incoming solar radiation
- Plantations are more efficient at absorbing CO2 than natural forests
Give two ways of adapting to climate change
- Agricultural adaptation
* Reducing risks from sea levels
