Exam 3-Chapter 18 Flashcards
Ways to mitigate cos emissions
place a cap on how much fossil fuels can be used in industry and transportation, subsidies, mileage standards, carbon tax, sequestation, renewable energy
hadley cell
natural movement of air from uneven heating of Earth’s surface at different latitudes.
other greenhouse gases
methane from livestock, manure, natural gas, and landfills. nitrous oxide from agriculture, biomass and fossil fuel burning, fertilizers. Water vapor
relationship between ghg and climate change
ghg warm the planet. with levels of CO2 rising from 280 to 400 ppm since start of industrial revolution it has caused enhanced greenhouse effect
convection cell
large-scale vertical air movement driven by solar energy, convection cells produce weather and global winds.
what was the purpose of the kyoto protocol and why didn’t it work
1997-38 industrial nations agreed to reduce emissions to 5% below 1990 levels by 2012. developing nations refused any reductions/said have as much right to develop using fossil fuels as developed nations had.
what are positive and negative forcing factors, also internal and external forces
causes warmer=positive, cooler=negative. internal factors: oceans, atmospheric gases, snow cover, sea ice. External: solar radiation, earth’s rotation.
how do we know ghg concentrations are increasing
CO2 is measured at observatories
why are gh gases important to Earth’s climate
Without them, the Earth would be much colder (40 degrees cooler at least).
how is thermohaline circulation important to maintaining Earth’s climate
It drives large-scale ocean currents, the movement of warm water to the north atlantic transfers enormous amounts of heat toward Europe providing them with a warmer climate, and forms deep waters at the poles.
GH effect diagram percentages - sun’s energy reflected and absorbed
Lands and oceans-absorbs 51%, Atmosphere-19%, clouds-reflects 20%, atmosphere-reflects 6%, Earth’s surface-reflects 4%
Atmospheric level - about troposphere
lowest level of gases, source of all weather, all water vapor and clouds, air mixing so substances don’t stay there long, gets colder with altitude
biological pump
the ocean’s biologically driven sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere to deep sea water and sediment. part of oceanic carbon cycle, cycling organic matter formed by phytoplankton and cycling of calcium carbonate formed into shells by certain organisms such as plankton.
greenhouse effect
caused by energy warming Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere.
how do we know that most anthropomorphic CO2 comes from fossil fuels
Before the industrial revolution, the CO2 content in the air remained quite steady for thousands of years. Natural CO2 is not static, however. It is generated by natural processes, and absorbed by others. Human CO2 emissions upset the natural balance of the carbon cycle. Man-made CO2 in the atmosphere has increased by a third since the pre-industrial era 280 to 400 ppm, creating an artificial forcing of global temperatures which is warming the planet.
