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A Level Environmental Science > Global Climate Change > Flashcards

Global Climate Change Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the greenhouse effect?

A

The warming of the atmosphere due to insulation by GHGs

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2
Q

How is the greenhouse effect useful?

A

Maintains a suitable temperature range on Earth by reducing temperature extremes

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3
Q

What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?

A

The impact on the climate from the additional heat retained due to increased human GHG emissions

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4
Q

What are the 5 main GHGs?

A
  • Carbon dioxide (CO2)
  • Methane (CH4)
  • Oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
  • Tropospheric ozone (O3)
  • CFCs
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5
Q

What are the human sources of CO2?

A
  • Deforestation
  • Fossil fuel combustion
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6
Q

What are the human sources of CH4?

A
  • Cattle farming
  • Rice production
  • Landfill sites
  • Fracking
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7
Q

What are the human sources of NOx?

A
  • Combustion engines in vehicles
  • Artificial fertilisers
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8
Q

What are the human sources of CFCs?

A
  • Air conditioning
  • Refrigeration
  • Propellants
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9
Q

How is tropospheric O3 formed?

A

Photochemical breakdown of NOx and subsequent reactions with O2

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10
Q

Which of the GHGs does not occur naturally?

A

CFCs

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11
Q

What does CFCs stand for?

A

Chloroflourocarbons

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12
Q

How might climate change affect oceans?

A
  • Change in thermohaline circulation in the N. Atlantic
  • Change in El Nino / La Nina
  • Sea level rise
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13
Q

Why are sea levels likely to rise?

A
  • Melting ice sheets increase the volume of water in the oceans
  • Thermal expansion of seawater increases volume
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14
Q

Which 2 main factors affect ocean currents?

A
  • Temperature
  • Salinity
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15
Q

What affect does increased precipitation have on water salinity and density?

A

Both decrease as more freshwater is provided

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16
Q

What happens to cold, salty water?

A

Sinks as density increases

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17
Q

What happens to warm, less salty water?

A

Rises as density decreases

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18
Q

What is thermohaline circulation?

A

Circulation driven by temperature and salinity

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19
Q

What is the North Atlantic Conveyor / Gulf Stream?

A

A 10,000km long thermohaline circulation system which flows NE across the Atlantic

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20
Q

What happens in the Gulf Stream?

A
  1. Arctic winds cool water which causes it to sink and move towards the equator
  2. Warm, less dense water flows across the Atlantic to replace it
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21
Q

Why is the Gulf Stream important for the UK climate?

A

It maintains temperatures 5-10°C higher than other areas at the same latitude

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22
Q

What effect might climate change have on the Gulf Stream?

A
  • Increased ice melting in Greenland would reduce the salinity of the ocean, therefore decreasing density and making it less likely to sink
  • This would reduce the rate of flow of warm water to NW Europe and cause a decrease in temperature
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23
Q

What does ENSO stand for?

A

El Nino Southern Oscillation

24
Q

What happens in the Pacific during a regular year?

A
  1. Prevailing easterlies (E to W)
  2. Warm surface water is moved west
  3. Upwelling of cold water
  4. Settled weather
25
Q

What happens in the Pacific during El Nino?

A
  1. Prevailing winds may reverse
  2. Warm surface water is moved east
  3. Little or no upwelling
  4. Unsettled weather (e.g. droughts in the west)
26
Q

How often does El Nino occur?

A

Every 2-7 years

27
Q

What happens in the Pacific during La Nina?

A
  1. Strengthened easterlies (E to W)
  2. More warm water is moved west
  3. More upwelling in E Pacific
  4. Increased temperature difference
28
Q

What is the cryosphere?

A

The components of Earth that are frozen (e.g. ice sheets, permafrost)

29
Q

What effect might climate change have on the amount and duration of snow and sea ice cover?

A

Decreased amount and duration reduced albedo and therefore increases insolation absorption

30
Q

What effect might climate change have on glaciers?

A

Increased subglacial meltwater provides lubrication for basal sliding, therefore increasing the speed at which glaciers move towards the ocean and increase sea level

31
Q

What effect might climate change have on ice shelves?

A

Sea level rise will lead to a loss of ice shelves, therefore causing more rapid glacial advances towards the ocean

32
Q

What effect might climate change have on precipitation?

A

Increased temperatures lead to more evaporation and therefore more rainfall

33
Q

What effect might climate change have on wind patterns?

A

Jet streams that contribute to rainfall will become slower and begin to meander

34
Q

What are the ecological impacts of climate change?

A
  • Changes in species range of tolerance
  • Population fragmentation
  • Changes in migration patterns
35
Q

What is a species’ range of tolerance?

A

The range of environmental conditions in which a species can survive

36
Q

Why is it difficult to predict future global climate change?

A
  • Difficult to differentiate between natural and anthropogenic causes of change
  • Timelapse between cause and effect
  • Earth’s systems and cycles are not fully understood
37
Q

What are some examples of natural causes of climate change?

A
  • Milankovitch cycles
  • Sunspots
  • Volcanic ash clouds
38
Q

What device can be used to monitor ocean currents?

A

Argo floats (measures salinity)

39
Q

How can computer models help predict climate change?

A

Data is inputted to predict possible future outcomes, and past data can be inputted for events for which the outcome is known to test reliability

40
Q

What is a positive feedback mechanism?

A

A chain of events/processes which amplifies the effect of the original change

41
Q

What is a negative feedback mechanism?

A

A chain of events/processes which nullifies the effect of the original change

42
Q

What are some examples of positive feedback?

A
  • Increased melting of permafrost accelerates the release of CO2 and CH4
  • Increased temperatures cause ice to melt and reduce surface albedo
43
Q

What are some examples of negative feedback?

A
  • Increased low-level cloud cover increases albedo
  • Increased photosynthesis increases CO2 absorption
44
Q

What is a tipping point?

A

A critical threshold that, when crossed, will lead to irreversible changes in the climate system

45
Q

What is adaptation?

A

Reducing the impacts of climate change

46
Q

What is mitigation?

A

Aiming to solve the causes of climate change

47
Q

How can agriculture adapt to climate change?

A
  • Growing drought resistant crops
  • Urban farming
  • Manage water resources efficiently
48
Q

How can building design adapt to climate change?

A
  • Water efficient fittings
  • Reflective surfaces to increase albedo
  • Use of insulation (e.g. glazing)
49
Q

How can flood control adapt to climate change?

A
  • Use of permeable materials for roads
  • Flood diversion channels
  • Floating houses / use of stilts
50
Q

How can coastal erosion control adapt to climate change?

A
  • Protection of mangroves
  • Protection of sand dunes
  • Hard and soft engineering strategies
51
Q

What is CCS?

A

Carbon Capture and Storage - technology that can remove CO2 produced by industrial processes

52
Q

How can carbon sequestration be increased?

A

Aforestation

53
Q

What are the 2 main international climate change agreements?

A
  • The Kyoto Protocol (1997)
  • The Paris Agreement (2015)
54
Q

How did the Kyoto Protocol aim to limit climate change?

A
  • Placed emissions limits on countries
  • Provided an adaptation fund for LEDCs
  • Superseded by the Paris Agreement
55
Q

How does the Paris Agreement aim to limit climate change?

A
  • Aims to limit global warming to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels
  • 5 year cycles of climate change targets
  • Part of UNFCCC

A Level Environmental Science (22 decks)

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