Climate change unit Flashcards
What is the Atmosphere
The layers of gas that surround the Earth. They regulate temperature and weather patterns.
Hydrosphere
How does it regulate temperature?
Includes all water on earth. Regulates temperature with specific heat capacity
Greenhouse effect
A natural process that warms earth by trapping heat in the atmosphere
Water vapour
The most abundant greenhouse gas.
Source: Evaporation, warmer air can hold more water vapour which results in a positive feedback loop
Atmospheric CO2
sinks and sources
Source: Animal respiration, fossil fuels
Sinks: Plants during cellular respiration, oceans and large bodies of water
Methane
sources and def
CH4
Source: swamps, cattle during digestion
Produced by bacteria that break down matter in oxygen free environment
Nitrous oxide
sources
Sources: Damp tropical soils, oceans, agricultre, fossil fuels, industrial processes
Ozone
Def and sources of depletion
O3
Occurs natually and blocks harmful UV radiation from the sun
Since the 1970s there has been a steady decline in the volume ozone in the atmosphere.
Sources: Man-made gases containing chlorine
Seasons on earth are a result of what
Mainly because of Earth’s tilt on its axis,
When one hemisphere is tilted towards the sun they experience summertime which the other, winter.
Weather vs climate
Weather is a short-term state of the atmosphere. Climate is long term atmospheric patterns over a 30 year period that trends over a region
Albedo
Reflectivity of earths surface such as snow and ice
Heat resevoirs
Can absorb and store a high amount of heat without a significant change in temperature. Can absorb heat when it warms up and release heat when it cools down.
Ocean acidification
Decrease of the pH in the ocean. Source: Increased level of CO2 dissolving in the ocean. Eats away at minerals crabs, coral reefs ect use to build their shells and skeletons.
