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Geology 150: Climate Change > Climate Change I > Flashcards

Climate Change I Flashcards

1
Q

Name the factors that climate change is comprised of

A
  • atmospheric composition
  • ice-ocean interaction
  • atmosphere-ocean
  • air-ice interaction
  • heat exchange
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2
Q

The two forces enabling planet Earth to maintain a temp range of 0C and 100C

A
  1. Plate tectonics

2. Weathering

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3
Q

Plate tectonics

A

Plate movement generates increased volcanic activity. This leads to more C02 released into the atmosphere

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4
Q

Weathering

A

The large-scale removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Binds water and C02 into an acid allowing it to flow to the bottom of the ocean for storage

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5
Q

International Meteorological Organization

A

The predecessor to the WMO. Sets international standards for taking observations

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6
Q

How much has climate warmed across the globe?

A

1 degree C

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7
Q

Name the two periods used to compare the recent period of warming

A
  1. Medieval warming period

2. Little Ice Age

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8
Q

Climate Sensitivity

A

Defined by the IPCC as the change in global mean temperature in response to a doubling of atmospheric C02

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9
Q

Preindustrial C02 PPM = ____ppm

A

280ppm

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10
Q

Modern C02 PPM = _____ppm

A

415ppm

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11
Q

Doubled C02 PPM = ___ppm

A

550ppm

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12
Q

What’s the Climate Sensitivity formula?

A

Climate sensitivity = Initial C02 Warming + Feedbacks

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13
Q

How much will the temp increase with no feedbacks and a doubling of C02?

A

1.2 C

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14
Q

How much will the temp increase with a doubling of C02 AND feedbacks?

A

when you introduce water vapors, ocean interactions etc., within decades the Charney Sensitivity suggests warming of 2 - 4.5C

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15
Q

3 measures of Climate Sensitivity

A
  1. Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity
  2. Transient Climate Response
  3. Earth System Sensitivity
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16
Q

Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity

A

Long term transition to a new equilibrium due to the time for excess heat to work through the system

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17
Q

Transient Climate Response

A

Temp change at the time C02 hits 580ppm

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18
Q

Earth System Sensitivity

A

Very long response to the planet as a whole

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19
Q

What’s the estimated climate sensitivity range?

A

1.5 to 4.5C

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20
Q

3 Ways to Estimate climate sensitivity

A
  1. Direct Observation
  2. Proxies
  3. Computer modeling
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21
Q

Positive Feedback

A

when an initial change in a climate subsytem enhances additional changes in climate

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22
Q

Negative Feedback

A

A feedback that dampens an initial change in the climate system; a stabilizing feedback

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23
Q

The net of all feedbacks in the climate is _______(positive/negative)

A

positive

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24
Q

Types of feedbacks

A

Water vapor: (warmer air holds more water)
Clouds: (low level clouds can affect incoming radiation)
Albedo: (reflectivity changes affect incoming radiation)

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25
Q

3 components of water as a climate change feedback

A
  1. direct surface heating
  2. tropospheric heating
  3. evaporation
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26
Q

How does Snow/Ice affect the atmosphere

A

Snow reflects 80% or more of solar radiation
Snow cover chills the near surface air
Extensive snow cover is self sustaining

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27
Q

Significantly ______(lower/higher) land-surface albedo in late spring means sensible heating of the lower atmosphere begins _______(earlier/later)

A

lower ; earlier

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28
Q

Between 1980 and 2000, average ice thickness decreased by ___%

A

22%

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29
Q

Models predict an Arctic Ocean free of summer ice by _____, the loss is unlikely to occur as a single event

A

2037

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30
Q

3 approaches to measuring climate sensitivity

A
  1. Climate models
  2. Constrained models
  3. Paleoclimate data
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31
Q

(True/False): Model and paleoclimate data rarely give estimates below 2C whereas instrumental approaches do

A

True

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32
Q

(True/False)If the rate of reduction of continues, we will no longer have Arctic sea ice

A

True

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33
Q

Name the top 2 elements impacting radiating forcing

A
  1. C02

2. Methane

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34
Q

Climate Change Hypothesis

A

Anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gas is responsible for the observed changes in ECVs

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35
Q

Forcing agents that can change climate

A
  1. Fluctuations in solar energy output
  2. Regular variations in Earth-Sun geometry
  3. Plate tectonics and volcanic eruptions
  4. Variations in atmospheric chemistry
  5. Changes in land-surface properties
  6. Human activities
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36
Q

Callendar effect

A

the theory that global climate change can be brought about by enhancement of Earth’s natural greenhouse effect by increased levels of atmospheric C0_2 from anthropogenic sources

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37
Q

On a seasonal basis, C02 concentrations drop by ___ppm due to photosynthesis

A

5

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38
Q

Keeling Curve

A

record of atmospheric carbon dioxide from NOAA that shows a sustained increase in average annual atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations

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39
Q

True/False: The anthropogenic contribution to atmospheric C0_2 may have begun hundreds of years ago with land clearing for agriculture and settlement with wood burning

A

False. (Thousands)

40
Q

Fossil fuel combustion accounts for roughly ______% of the increase in atmospheric C0_2 while deforestation and other land clearing credited for the balance

41
Q

The concentration of atmospheric C02 is now about _____% higher than it was in the pre-industrial era

42
Q

With continued growth in fossil fuel combustion, we can surpass _____ppm by the end of the century

43
Q

The IPCC estimates that ____ GtC (Gigaton of Carbon) have been taken up by the ocean

44
Q

How does the ocean take up CO2?

A
  1. Photosynthesis

2. Cold surface water absorbs C02 and sequestration

45
Q

Uptake of CO2 by the ocean likely to slow as the surface _______(cools/warms) in response to higher air temps

46
Q

(True/False) Methane in the atmosphere is now greater than at any time in the past 400k years

47
Q

Direct sources of methane

A 
Biomass burning
Fertilizer
Air pollution
Rice cultivation
Cattle
Landfills
48
Q

Indirect sources of methane

A

Arctic warming
Permafrost
Methane hydrates
Thermokarst lakes

49
Q

Ice records tell us that for 10k years, the methane concentration never exceeded _____ ppb until humans came along

50
Q

Aerosols

A

solid and liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere that vary in size and shape and chemical composition

51
Q

About _____% of anthropogenic aerosols are byproducts of fossil fuel burning in the northern hemisphere

52
Q

(True/False) Atmospheric aerosols cause warming of the atmosphere

A

False. Atmospheric aerosols cause either cooling or warming of the atmosphere

53
Q

Types of Aerosols

A

Sulfurous

Black carbon

54
Q

Sulfurous aerosols

A

tiny droplets of sulfuric acid and sulfate particles in the air

55
Q

Black carbon

A

tiny droplets of sulfuric acid and sulfate particles in the air

56
Q

Positive forcings (e.g. greenhouse gases) cause the climate to become ______(warmer/cooler)

57
Q

Negative forcing (e.g. aerosols) cause the climate to become ______(warmer/cooler)

58
Q

The rate of radiative forcings due to forcings in the atmosphere has _______(doubled/tripled) since 1980

59
Q

(True/False) The fact that the troposphere is warming and the stratosphere is cooling suggests that the troposphere is trapping the greenhouse gases that would otherwise escape to the stratosphere

60
Q
  • Troposphere warming at __ to ___ per decade

- Stratosphere cooling at ____ per decade

A

.3 to .4; .4

61
Q

Top Radiative influences

A

greenhouse gases
ozone
aerosols
black carbon

62
Q

Observations from satellites document _______ (cooling/warming) in the troposphere and ______ (warming/cooling) in the stratosphere, consistent with Greenhouse Theory.

A

warming; cooling

63
Q

Net global warming since 1860 is ____C

64
Q

3 Types of models

A
  1. Conceptual,
  2. Physical,
  3. Numeric
65
Q

Global Climate Models (GCMs) use _______________ in three dimensions.

A

gridded spatial coordinates

66
Q

Boundary conditions for GCMs

A

Solar radiation
Snow and ice coverage
GHGs

67
Q

(True/False) The greatest uncertainties in future climate change projections stem from “Feedbacks”

68
Q

Weather forecast models require an _________, which means they start from the weather conditions on a given day and simulate forward at spatial scales of a few kilometers.

A

initial value

69
Q

(True/False) The Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) takes real-time observations from multiple sources and these are used to initiate a climate forecast model

A

False (weather, not climate)

70
Q

(True/False) GCMs are able to simulate the 20th-century warming very well and also the cooling episodes following volcanic eruptions.

71
Q

(True/False) Precipitation can simulate surface temperatures better than GCMs

72
Q

(True/False) GCMs can simulate frequency of extreme hot and cold days and nights over the second half of the 20th century that are consistent with observations.

73
Q

(True/False) The variance between observations and model simulations gives scientists less confidence in model ability to simulate future climate change in response to rising greenhouse gas concentration and other human influences.

A

False (Observations follow closely with model simulations)

74
Q

Positive radiative forcings (warming effect) stem from what variables?

A
  1. Solar variations
  2. Black carbon on snow
  3. Tropospheric Ozone
  4. GHGs
75
Q

Negative radiative forcings (cooling effect) stem from what variables?

A
  1. Aerosols
  2. Land-use change
  3. Stratospheric ozone
  4. Volcanic eruptions
76
Q

The biggest influence on the radiative balance is the _______ forcing

A

The biggest influence on the radiative balance is the CO_2 forcing

77
Q

Chaos theory

A

Changes in these systems are highly sensitive to the conditions of their initial state so small differences in their initial conditions can lead to vastly different outcomes

78
Q

Coupling

A

when various sub-systems are modeled in parallel to each other

79
Q

CMIP’s 4 Scientific Working Groups

A
  1. Data Management
  2. Diagnosis
  3. Scenarios
  4. Financial Analyst
80
Q

The ______ (low/high) latitudes will experience the highest increase in warming

81
Q

RCP 8.5

A

“business as usual” scenario (1200ppm)

82
Q

RCP 6.0

A

Peaks in the year 2080 (700ppm leading to 3C warming)

83
Q

RCP 4.5

A

“most likely” scenario (550ppm leading to 2.5C warming)

84
Q

RCP 2.6

A

“best case” scenario

85
Q

6 types of extreme events

A
  1. Thunderstoms
  2. Extreme Precipitation
  3. Tropical cyclones
  4. Winter storms
  5. Heat waves
  6. Drought
86
Q

2 ways that increased forcings change the distribution of extreme events

A
  1. Frequency

2. Magnitude

87
Q

(True/False) Warming has already surpassed 1.5C in some regions

88
Q

(True/False) 2/3rds of all humans live in regions that have already seen warming of 1.5C

A

False (1/5th)

89
Q

Top contributors to Fossil Fuel emissions

A
  1. Coal
  2. Oil
  3. Gas
  4. Cement
90
Q

How far away are we from reaching our global carbon budget?

A

8%, (roughly 10 years)

91
Q

What percentage of GHG emissions come from energy suppliers?

92
Q

Fossil fuels

A

a broad category of fuel types derived from natural geologic processes that bury decomposing organic material

93
Q

Coal

A

a combustible black sedimentary rock composed of fossilized plant material which humans use as an energy source

94
Q

What percentage of energy emissions is coal responsible for?

95
Q

More than ____% of C02 cycles out within a century but about ____% remains for a millennia

96
Q

Greenhouse gas removals strategies (6)

A
  1. Habitat restoration
  2. Soil Carbon sequestration
  3. Biochar
  4. Mineral carbonization
  5. Carbon capture storage
  6. Direct air capture
97
Q

the most viable pathway forward for extracting C02 from the atmosphere given our limited resources

A

What is direct air capture

Geology 150: Climate Change (5 decks)

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