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CIVE40010 - Energy and environmental engineering > Climate Emergency > Flashcards

Climate Emergency Flashcards

1
Q

What key problems make the climate emergency?

A
  • Rising temp
  • Increased climate phenomena
  • Impacts on freshwater
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2
Q

Why do we need to learn about climate emergency in a civil engineering course?

A
  • Caused by human activity
  • Civil engineers responsible for society
  • Sustainabl infrastructure
    Design for avoidance, mitigation and adaption of climate effects
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3
Q

What’s at the heart of climate dynamics?

A

The sun

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4
Q

What is the global energy budget?

A

Amount of incoming solar radiation

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5
Q

Why does infrared occur?

A

Because the surface is warm

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6
Q

How many watts of solar radiation enter the earth?

A

89 PW

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7
Q

How many watts of infrared radiation get reflected back in to space?

A

10

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8
Q

How does solar forcing vary?

A

Varies spatially and temporally

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9
Q

How the climate system be defined?

A

A gigantic heat engine to transport heat between the equator and the poles

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10
Q

What does the “engine” drive?

A

Wind and ocean circulation

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11
Q

What is the albedo?

A

Albedo is a measure of the reflection of solar radiation out of the total radiation received by an astronomical body such as the Earth.

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12
Q

What does it mean albedo is 0?

A

Black body that absorbs all incident radiation

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13
Q

What does it mean if albedo is 1?

A

A body that reflects all incident radiation

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14
Q

What is the average albedo of the earth from the upper atmosphere?

A

30-35%

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15
Q

Give 4 examples.

What affects the surface temperature?

A

Optical properties of the atmosphere e.g.,
- Sunlight Intensity
- Atmosphere Composition
- Surface Albedo
- Ocean Currents

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16
Q

Describe what a greenhouse gas?

A

The earth’s atmosphere has trace gases that are transparent to sunlight but partially absorb the cooler infrared radiation from bodies at around Earth surface temperatures.

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17
Q

How does wavelength change?

A

Wavelength changes from short wavelength energy to cooler longer wavelength energy absorbed by trace gases

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18
Q

What are the two main atmospheric gases?

A

Nitrogen and oxygen

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19
Q

What acts as the strongest contributor to greenhouse gases?

A

Water vapour acts as the strongest contributor

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20
Q

What is the natural feedback loop?

A

Oceans provide water vapour which raises the earth temp and raised temp keeps oceans surfaces warm so more evaporation

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21
Q

How can engineers predict weather patterns?

A

Civil engineers look at past weather records (20-100 years) assuming climate is stable

22
Q

How long does methane live in the atmosphere and what does it oxidise to?

A

Lives in the atmosphere for around 12 years and is oxidised to CO2

23
Q

What are CFCs?

A

Chlorofluorocarbons

24
Q

How do you usually measure greenhouse effect?

A

Climate forcing

25
Q

What is the relationship between CF and CO2?

A

Climate Foricing is due to CO2 level and is given as a function of concentration of C relative to pre-industrial levels

26
Q

What is climate sensitivity?

A

The climate sensitivity is the global average temperature rise resulting from the forcing equivalent to doubling the 𝑪𝑶𝟐 concentration over pre-industrial levels

27
Q

What are some amplifying feedbacks?

A
  • Permafrost
  • Peatland - warming peat cause temp increase
  • Ice sheet collapse
  • Tundra
  • Destroying rainforest removing carbon sink
28
Q

What are the possible states of the earth?

A
  • Snowball earth
  • Grounded/floating ice and sea level
  • Hothouse Earth
29
Q

What does a snowball earth look like?

A
  • Low GHG conc.
  • Earth was made of ice
  • Below freezing point no mechanism to put water vapour in atmosphere
30
Q

What happens in a cooling environment?

A

Cooling tends to increase ice cover and hence the albedo, reducing the amount of solar energy absorbed and leading to more cooling

31
Q

What would happen if the Arctic melted?

A

Weather would change not sea level

32
Q

What is floating ice?

A

Floating ice displaces the same vol. of sea water as when it melts so no sea level change

33
Q

What does grounded ice like glaciers contribute to?

A

Sea levels

34
Q

What is the runaway greenhouse effect?

A
  • Positive feedback between surface temp and atmosphere opacity
  • More warming more evapo. in a vicious cycle until ocean boils away
35
Q

What happens if released CO2 is not absorbed?

A

This means that if 𝐶𝑂_2becomes a problem, it will stay a problem even if we magically switched off all emissions.

36
Q

How many GT of carbon in the atmosphere?

A

600

37
Q

How many GT of carbon per year goes from the atmosphere into oceans?

A

2

38
Q

What helps to analyse CO2 levels?

A

Ice cores

39
Q

What is the keeling curve?

A

The Keeling Curve is a graph that represents the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in Earth’s atmosphere since 1958.

40
Q

When did the industrial revolution start?

A

1769

41
Q

How has CO2 level changed from pre industrial to current level?

A

278-422ppm

42
Q

What can contribute to surface temp response?

A

Solar activity or changes in cloud cover, but only rising GHG conc. would account for persistent rise

43
Q

What are Global Circulation Models?

A
  • A model that simulates general circulation of planetary atmosphere or oceans
  • Can compute a warmer world
44
Q

What type of warming would be catastrophic?

A

4˚C warming

45
Q

Climate Emergency

What are the consideration of civil engineers?

A

Design for extreme events

46
Q

What are two primary process affecting sea level?

A
  • The melt of ice sheets
  • Sea water expansion → heat water and it will expand and volume increases
47
Q

Explain how relative sea level can contribute to sea level changes?

A
  • Places around the earth where land is sinking
  • 3 Gorges Dam caused earth beneath to sink due to such a great load
48
Q

What are examples of amplified hydrological cycle?

A
  • Higher temperature → more evaporation → increased precipitation
  • Extreme events
49
Q

What’s waters life span in the atmosphere?

A

Couple of days

50
Q

What are some scientific uncertainties?

A
  • It is easier to calculate the equilibrium climate after a change in greenhouse gas concentration than projecting the response over time to a gradual increase of 𝐶𝑂2 levels
51
Q
A

CIVE40010 - Energy and environmental engineering (21 decks)

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