Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

ATM 005 > Definitions > Flashcards

Definitions Flashcards

1
Q

Climate Justice

A

the framing of climate change as an ethical and political issue, rather than a purely environmental or physical issue.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Environmental Justice

A

the equitable distribution of environmental risks and benefits, that is fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Mitigation

A

actions aimed at limiting the magnitude of climate change

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Adaptation

A

actions that are aimed at minimizing the impact of climate change

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Geoengineering

A

the deliberate large-scale manipulation of environmental processes that affect the Earth’s climate in an attempt to counteract climate change

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Adaptive Capacity

A

a measure of the capacity and potential for humans in a particular region to adapt to changes in climate

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Climate Change
Vulnerability

A

a measure of the danger posed by the changing climate to a particular region

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Water Conveyance

A

canals, ditches, pipelines, or other means of moving water

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Groundwater Overdraft

A

Pumping more groundwater than the system can sustain

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Lifting Condensation Level (LCL)

A

The altitude at which the air hits the dew point temperature (100% relative humidity)

This is also the bottom (base) of the cloud. Because temperatures are fairly uniform horizontally, the cloud base tends to be flat

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Air Parcel

A

body of air which represents a collection of air particles. This is analogous to a balloon with an invisible boundary.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Absolute Humidity

A

the mass of water vapor divided by the volume of air
(also known as the density of water vapor)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Specific Humidity

A

the mass of water vapor in an air parcel divided by the total mass of air in the air parcel

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Vapor Pressure

A

a measure of the contribution of water vapor to the total pressure exerted at the boundary of the air parcel

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Saturation

A

the condition of air that cannot contain more water vapor. It occurs when the rate of evaporation equals the rate of condensation

100% humidity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Dew Point Temperature

A

the temperature at which an air parcel becomes saturated, when cooled at constant specific humidity. If temperature drops further, then water vapor in the air will begin to condense

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Saturation Specific Humidity
(q * )

A

the maximum value of specific humidity that can be attained at a particular pressure and temperature before condensation occurs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Relative Humidity

A

the ratio of specific humidity to the saturation specific humidity (often expressed as a percentage)

RH= q/q* x 100%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Keeling Curve

A

named after Charles David Keeling, who started the CO2 monitoring program at Mauna Loa Observatory in 1958 and supervised it until his death in 2005.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Representative Concentration Pathways
(RCPs)

A

estimates of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations that would be expected in response to
economic growth and policy scenarios

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs)

A

scenarios of projected socioeconimic global change up to 2100. They have been developed for the IPCC sixth assessment report, and incorporate both greenhouse gas emissions and different climate policies

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Aerosols

A

minute particles suspended in the atmosphere.

-have cooling effect on atmosphere

When these particles are sufficiently large, we notice their
presence as they scatter and absorb sunlight. Their scattering of sunlight can reduce visibility
(haze) and redden sunrises and sunsets

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Smog

A

fog or haze combined with smoke and other atmospheric pollutants or aerosols

24
Q

PM2.5

A

particles are able to penetrate into tissues and the blood stream after inhalation causing DNA damage (lung cancer), heart attacks and premature death

particulates below 2.5 micrometers are particularly deadly

Particulates are a Group 1 carcinogen (WHO)

25
Q

Scattering

A

the process by which a photon of light, on interacting
with a molecule, changes direction

26
Q

Absorption

A

the process by which a photon of light, on interacting with a molecule, is absorbed by the molecule, increasing its internal energy

Each type of molecule can only absorb certain wavelengths of light

27
Q

Albedo

A

the ratio of reflected solar energy to incident solar energy

28
Q

Greenhouse Gases

A

Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect by absorbing terrestrial radiation

-Water vapor, CO2, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, Flourinated Gases

29
Q

Planetary Albedo (ap)

A

the fraction of incoming solar radiation at the Earth reflected back to space averaged over the whole planet

For the Earth ap=0.30

30
Q

Emission Temperature (of a planet)

A

the black body temperature required to achieve energy balance

Emission Temperature of the Earth=-18 degree C or 0 degree F

31
Q

Greenhouse Effect

A

the “trapping” of terrestrial radiation by greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere

namely, the frequent absorption and re-emission of outgoing terrestrial radiation by the atmosphere.

32
Q

Temperature

A

a measure of the average kinetic energy of molecules in a particular substance (such as a parcel of air)

33
Q

Conduction

A

Heat transfer due to contact

Molecules of a warm object bang
against molecules of a cold object, causing “cold” molecules to move faster and “warm” molecules to move slower.

34
Q

Convection

A

Heat transfer due to movement

A balloon full of warm air can
move into a region of cold air and increase the average air temperature

35
Q

Radiation

A

Heat transfer due to photons

small bundles of electromagnetic

When these photons hit another molecule, kinetic energy is
transferred

36
Q

Electromagnetic Spectrum

A

the range of all forms of electromagnetic radiation (light).

any photon of light (gamma rays, visible light, or radio waves) is completely characterized by its wavelength (a single number)

37
Q

Black Body

A

an idealized physical body that absorbs all incident
electromagnetic radiation in accordance with Planck’s law

-ideal emitter: it emits as much
or more energy at every
frequency / wavelength
than any other body at
the same temperature

-diffuse emitter: the energy is
emitted isotropically,
independent of direction

38
Q

Energy Balance

A

Energy recieved= Energy emitted

the total energy within the system must be unchanging

39
Q

Solar Constant

A

the rate at which solar energy is received by the Earth (per unit area)

40
Q

Insolation

A

a measure of the solar radiation energy received on a given surface area and recorded during a given time

41
Q

Temperature Proxy

A

a measurement that can be used to calculate the value of temperature (for example when direct measurements are not available)

  • Tree rings (dendroclimatology)
  • Ice cores (trapped air bubbles and ice layer thickness)
  • Geological evidence in ancient coal beds, sand dunes and fossils
  • Documents concerning droughts, floods, and crop yields
  • The chemistry of lake bottom sediment and soil deposits
  • Pollen in deep ice caves or the growth of of stalagmites
    Discovering Earth’s Temperature Record
42
Q

Dendroclimatology

A

studying the Earth’s climate through the study of tree rings

Distance between rings can tell you something about
temperature and moisture fluctuations related to
climate variability

43
Q

δ18O

A

the difference in the [18O]/[16O] ratio between a sample and an associated standard, normalized by the ratio in the standard

-closely correlated with temperature since 16O is preferentially evaporated from seawater. It can be measured in the calcium carbonate shells
from the fossil record.
-Earth’s temperature record over geological time scales has typically been
measured using the δ18O record

44
Q

Milankovich Cycles

A

refer to oscillations in the Earth’s orbital parameters
that affect its climate over thousands of years

These include cycles in the Earth’s eccentricity, obliquity, precession, and other orbital parameters

45
Q

Thermosphere

A

Edge of Space. Highest Layer.
Temperature is very high and variable. Short wavelength ultraviolet radiation is absorbed here by oxygen. Molecules are dissociated with high-energy ultraviolet radiation from the sun (λ < 0.1 μm). Temperatures can get very high (up to 1000K), even though air density is very low

46
Q

Mesopause

A

Layer in between Thermosphere and Mesosphere

47
Q

Mesosphere

A

2nd highest layer. Temperature increases towards the surface in this layer, driven by increased ozone concentration.

-3rd layer up

48
Q

Stratopause

A

Layer in between Mesosphere and Stratosphere.

49
Q

Stratosphere

A

Exhibits a temperature increase with altitude due to the presence of the ozone layer-second layer up.

highly stratified and poorly mixed (the increase in temperature with
altitude makes the atmosphere
very stable)-has lots of ozone

50
Q

Troposphere

A

Below the tropopause (typically located between 10-18km depending on latitude and season), temperature increases strongly towards the surface
-Contains about 85% of the atmosphere’s mass and
essentially all the water vapor

50
Q

Climate

A

the pattern of variation in temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count, and other meteorological variables in a given region over long periods

Climate also describes the variability of weather events, e.g. the probability of a major rainfall event occurring in July in San Francisco, or variations in
temperature that typically occur in January in Chicago.
What is Climate?

51
Q

Climate Experiments

A

Scientific procedures undertaken to test a
hypothesis about the climate system
Ex: Understanding the response of atmospheric gases to radiation in a laboratory
-Investigating the effect of organic and inorganic fertilizer on carbon storage

Intentional changes are
made to the input variables
and outputs observed and
quantified

52
Q

Climate Models

A

Mathematical representations of the Earth system built using fundamental laws of physics (conservation of mass, conservation of energy, etc.)

Goal: To understand interdependency and variation in the Earth system, and
as a virtual laboratory for experimenting on the Earth

53
Q

Climate

A

the pattern of variation in temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological variables in a given region over long periods

Climate also describes the variability of weather events, e.g. the probability of a major rainfall event occurring in July in San Francisco, or variations in
temperature that typically occur in January in Chicago

54
Q

Weather

A

the state of the atmosphere at a place
and time with regards to meteorological variables
such as dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc.

the present condition of these
variables over short periods

ATM 005 (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions