Definitions Flashcards
Climate Justice
the framing of climate change as an ethical and political issue, rather than a purely environmental or physical issue.
Environmental Justice
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
Mitigation
actions aimed at limiting the magnitude of climate change
Adaptation
actions that are aimed at minimizing the impact of climate change
Geoengineering
the deliberate large-scale manipulation of environmental processes that affect the Earth’s climate in an attempt to counteract climate change
Adaptive Capacity
a measure of the capacity and potential for humans in a particular region to adapt to changes in climate
Climate Change
Vulnerability
a measure of the danger posed by the changing climate to a particular region
Water Conveyance
canals, ditches, pipelines, or other means of moving water
Groundwater Overdraft
Pumping more groundwater than the system can sustain
Lifting Condensation Level (LCL)
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
Air Parcel
body of air which represents a collection of air particles. This is analogous to a balloon with an invisible boundary.
Absolute Humidity
the mass of water vapor divided by the volume of air
(also known as the density of water vapor)
Specific Humidity
the mass of water vapor in an air parcel divided by the total mass of air in the air parcel
Vapor Pressure
a measure of the contribution of water vapor to the total pressure exerted at the boundary of the air parcel
Saturation
the condition of air that cannot contain more water vapor. It occurs when the rate of evaporation equals the rate of condensation
100% humidity
Dew Point Temperature
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
Saturation Specific Humidity
(q * )
the maximum value of specific humidity that can be attained at a particular pressure and temperature before condensation occurs
Relative Humidity
the ratio of specific humidity to the saturation specific humidity (often expressed as a percentage)
RH= q/q* x 100%
Keeling Curve
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.
Representative Concentration Pathways
(RCPs)
estimates of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations that would be expected in response to
economic growth and policy scenarios
Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs)
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
Aerosols
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
Smog
fog or haze combined with smoke and other atmospheric pollutants or aerosols
PM2.5
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)
Scattering
the process by which a photon of light, on interacting
with a molecule, changes direction
Absorption
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
Albedo
the ratio of reflected solar energy to incident solar energy
Greenhouse Gases
Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect by absorbing terrestrial radiation
-Water vapor, CO2, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, Flourinated Gases
Planetary Albedo (ap)
the fraction of incoming solar radiation at the Earth reflected back to space averaged over the whole planet
For the Earth ap=0.30
Emission Temperature (of a planet)
the black body temperature required to achieve energy balance
Emission Temperature of the Earth=-18 degree C or 0 degree F
Greenhouse Effect
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.
Temperature
a measure of the average kinetic energy of molecules in a particular substance (such as a parcel of air)
Conduction
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.
Convection
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
Radiation
Heat transfer due to photons
small bundles of electromagnetic
When these photons hit another molecule, kinetic energy is
transferred
Electromagnetic Spectrum
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)
Black Body
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
Energy Balance
Energy recieved= Energy emitted
the total energy within the system must be unchanging
Solar Constant
the rate at which solar energy is received by the Earth (per unit area)
Insolation
a measure of the solar radiation energy received on a given surface area and recorded during a given time
Temperature Proxy
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
Dendroclimatology
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
δ18O
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
Milankovich Cycles
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
Thermosphere
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
Mesopause
Layer in between Thermosphere and Mesosphere
Mesosphere
2nd highest layer. Temperature increases towards the surface in this layer, driven by increased ozone concentration.
-3rd layer up
Stratopause
Layer in between Mesosphere and Stratosphere.
Stratosphere
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
Troposphere
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
Climate
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?
Climate Experiments
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
Climate Models
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
Climate
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
Weather
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
