Global Systems Flashcards
memorise
Heat stress threshold
The point at which life suffers irreversible damage
Climate sensitivity
The temperature rise for each doubling of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
Wet bulb temperature
The temperature at which water can evaporate in a certain place
Paleoclimates
The climate at a particular time over many millions of years
Renewable energy
Energy that will last forever
Geosequestration
The process of separating carbon dioxide from other gases emitted by fossil fuel burning, then compressing and piping it to a storage site.
Hydroelectricity
Energy produced when water in a stream, canal or other bodies of water is pulled through a turbine.
Solar power
Energy produced from the electromagnetic waves from the sun
Wind power
Energy produced from wind spinning a windmill
Geothermal energy
Energy produced from heat inside the earth
Kyoto Protocol
An international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, therefore combating the effect of global warming.
Metagenomics
The study of nucleic acid from environmental samples, that combines DNA sequencing with molecular and computational biology. It is being used to study the gut bacteria of marsupials to discover how to reduce the amount of methane produced by livestock
Biodiversity
The total variation of genetic material in all species throughout the Earth
Genetic diversity
Variation between alleles of the genes
Species diversity
Genetic diversity between individuals in a population of a species
