Climate Change

Question 1

What is the difference between weather and climate?

Answer 1

Weather: conditions of atmosphere over short time periods.

Climate: average of weather conditions over long time period.

Question 2

Preserved physical characteristics of the past that stand in for direct meteorological measurements and enable scientists to reconstruct the climatic conditions over a longer fraction of the Earth’s history.

Answer 2

Climate proxies.

Question 3

Proxy data consists of two elements. Define both.

Answer 3

Span: range of time for which data from a given type of proxy exists.

Resolution: how much detail is to be found in a given type of proxy data.

Question 4

What is palynology?

Answer 4

Study of pollen.

Question 5

What are two ways we can know past temperatures?

Answer 5

Ice cores; sediment cores.

Question 6

Lighter water _____ preferentially. Heavy water _____ preferentially.

Answer 6

Evaporates.

Precipitates.

Question 7

What are the climate and sea level proxies for the Eocene (~55Ma)?

Answer 7

Marine sediments.

Question 8

Describe the greenhouse effect.

Answer 8

Ultraviolet (UV) energy absorbed by the Earth’s surface; at night, radiated as infrared (IR) energy. IR prevented from leaving the atmosphere by certain gasses.

Question 9

Which two gasses contribute most to the greenhouse effect?

Answer 9

Carbon dioxide; methane.

Question 10

What is albedo?

Answer 10

Measure of how much light that hits surface is reflected without being absorbed.

Question 11

How is carbon stored? What is the process for it?

Answer 11

Photosynthesis.

Water + Carbon Dioxide + Nutrients + Sunlight ➔ Oxygen + Organic material.

Question 12

How is carbon released back into the atmosphere?

Answer 12

Decomposition.

Question 13

Between 2007-2017 the ocean absorbed what?

Answer 13

25% of anthropogenic CO2.

Question 14

Increased CO2 decreases what? Why is this important?

Answer 14

pH.

Warm water holds less gas.

Question 15

Increased CO2 in the ocean = increased _____.

Answer 15

Acidification.

Question 16

List eight climate concerns.

Answer 16

Food security.

Increase in extreme weather events.

Drought/forest fires.

Access to water.

Flooding.

Melting of the permafrost.

Displacement of vulnerable peoples.

Sea level rise.

Question 17

Why does sea level rise occur?

Answer 17

Glacial ice melting, expansion of water with heat.

Question 18

What is the risk of permafrost melting?

Answer 18

Release of methane; ancient viruses.

Question 19

Agricultural lands contribute 20% of greenhouse gasses. Why is this?

Answer 19

Methane from soil.

Question 20

North Americans waste _____% of the food they buy.

Answer 20

30-50.

Question 21

Decreasing food waste would be beneficial for what three reasons?

Answer 21

Decreases use of pesticides/fertilizers runoff into water.

Decrease release of methane.

Decrease soil degradation.

Question 22

One method of geoengineering is solar radiation management. What does this entail? What are four problems with it?

Answer 22

Artificially increasing albedo.

Doesn’t decrease CO2.

Sudden spikes in temperatures if technology fails.

Ocean acidification is not mitigated.

Effectiveness depends on latitude.

Question 23

Which is more potent: methane or carbon dioxide?

Answer 23

Methane.