Climate System and Drivers Flashcards
Define ‘climate’ and why it is different from ‘weather’?
Climate is the average weather over a period of time, commonly 30 years. Including means, variations, and frequency of extreme values
Weather is the state of the atmosphere
What are the five spheres of the climate system?
Atmosphere
Hydrosphere
Cryosphere
Biosphere
Lithosphere
Wavelength is measured in what?
What is the units for radiation and energy?
Micrometres
Joules per second per square metre, which is Watt per square metre
The Kelvin scale is how much higher/lower than degrees Celsius?
273.15 higher
What are the four things that happen to shortwave radiation?
Absorption
Reflection
Scattering
Transmission
List the atmospheric gases in order from most abundant to less
Nitrogen - 78%
Oxygen - 21%
Argon - 0.90%
Water Vapour
Carbon Dioxide - 0.04%
Greenhouse gases are transparent to short/long wave solar radiation but absorb short/long wave terrestrial radiation
Shortwave
Longwave
Earths greenhouse increment is what?
What gases are responsible?
33K
H20 at 66%
Co2 at 33%
Pressure decreases/increases with height in the atmosphere
Decreases
The temperature increases/decreases till the stratosphere
The temperature increases/decreases till the mesosphere
Decreases (from 12km)
Increases (from 50km)
What is latent heat?
The release of energy from a change in of state of a gas
What are the 4 broad zonal divisions?
Polar
Temperate
Tropical
Equatorial
What are the 6 seasonal variations?
Polar
Temperate
Mediterranean
Dry tropics
Wet tropics
Equatorial
True / False: We do not see longitudinal variations of climate.
False
Uneven distribution of land and sea, complications arising from terrain and rotation of the earth can complicate fluid sphere circulations
What is the world map that depicts the actual climate distribution?
The ‘Koppen-Geiger Climate Classification’
Define ‘climate change’
Changes in the mean and / or variability of the climates properties that persist for an extended period
What is the Milankovitch cycle phenomenon?
What are the three explanations?
The characteristics of the orbit of earth which can affect seasonal and latitudinal distribution of solar energy (trivial)
The Precession: the direction the earths spin axis is pointed
The Obliquity: the angle the earths axis is titled
The Eccentricity: shape of earths orbit
How much do sunspots effect solar output?
What are the two main cycles?
0.1% change (0.03K) as regions of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic flux inhibiting convection
11 years and 22 years
Explain the phenomenon of cooling from volcanic eruptions?
Ejected particulates called ‘aerosols’ have a long residence time.
The particulates can reflect solar radiation which blankets the earth and induce a cooling effect because of the sustained time in the atmosphere
What major volcanic eruption cause a global mean monthly temperature drop and when?
Mt Pinatubo, 1991
1991 to 1995
Explain the phenomenon of the change to the global mean energy balance with increased human emission activities?
There shows an increase in the absorption by the atmosphere of emitted longwave radiation by the Earths surface, termed ‘Radiative Forcing’
What is Radiative Forcing?
Change in the net radiative flux (downward minus upward) because of a change to an external climate driver (concentration
+ = increase in temperature
- = decrease in temperature
