Global warming Flashcards
1
Q
How CO2 can be removed long time
A
- CO2 is locked up in trees, trees live for ages
- When trees die, peat forms, fossil fuels form
- carbon sink
2
Q
Net effect of oceanic processes on CO2 content
A
- CO2 taken in by marine animals to create calcium carbonate shell
- CO2 taken in by algae/seaweed for photosynthesis
- marine organisms die and form fossil fuels
- (more CO2 taken in than given out)
3
Q
How to reduce CO2 releases by combustion of fossil fuels
A
- increased use of public transport
- burn biogas
- produce electricity from renewable resources, e.g. wind or solar
- plant trees
- improve fuel efficiency
4
Q
How a forest could be managed sustainably in order to ensure continual supply of wood
A
- replanting after harvesting trees
- selective felling of timber trees, leaving rest of forest intact
- harvesting trees on rotation
- trees cut at ground level and allowed to regrow, leave for 20 years
- plant fast growing trees
5
Q
How pollen analysis is carried out
A
- take a peat core
- peat develops in layers
- the deep the layer, the older the pollen
- identify and analysis species
- certain species grow in certain climates/environmental conditions
- by identifying the specie and climate grown in, you can identify climate When peat was from
- compare pollen to present day species
- radiocarbon date the peat to calculate age of peat
- calculate the density of a specie in the peat to find the relative abundance of specie
6
Q
Why might global warming predictions be inaccurate
A
- they assume that current trends will continue
- we cannot be sure they will
- there is only limited amount of long term data used to produce them
- older records may have been made with inadequate equipment
- something unforeseeable may happen
- not all relevant factors may have been included, e.g. chaos theory
- many factors involved
- inadequate computing power
7
Q
What is meant by the term global warming
A
- the rise in the MEAN!! temperature of the Earth’s surface
- due to the increases in greenhouse gases
- e.g. CO2, methane, CFCS, water vapour
- which trap heat in the atmosphere by reflecting it back
- there is an increased greenhouse effect
8
Q
Why might specie abundance change due to global warming
A
- species have lost their specific habitat
- species have lost their food source
- weather has affected food
- global warming reduces the number of predators - not able to exploit other habitats
- another species may be better able to adapt and exploit new habitats, larger niche
- one specie might out compete another
- moves to avoid intraspecific competition
9
Q
Examples of how CO2 is used
A
- CO2 converted into wood by photosynthesis
- dead wood is converted to other substances by decomposition
- CO2 is released from organisms by respiration
- CO2 is released from wood by combustion
10
Q
Explain why coal reserves represent a carbon sink
A
- coal contains carbon that has been taken from the atmosphere in the past
- the carbon has been taken out of circulation in the carbon cycle
11
Q
Explain why burning wood is considered ‘carbon neutral’
A
- burning wood does not add to the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere (doesn’t cause net increase)
- CO2 taken in equals CO2 given out
- burning wood releases carbon recently absorbed by photosynthesis
12
Q
Why planting extra forest may not be a complete long term solution to rising CO2 levels
A
- not enough room to keep planting enough forests to use up all the surplus CO2
- a mature forest is carbon neutral, only young forests are net absorbers
- the forest will decay (releasing CO2) or be burnt by humans
13
Q
Explain the difference between ‘global warming’ and ‘greenhouse effect’
A
- global warming is an global increase in the temperature of the earth’s surface whereas the greenhouse effect explains why global warming is occurring (greenhouse gases, e.g. CO2 and methane trap in heat)
- greenhouse effect is how the sun keeps the keeps the Earth warm whereas global warming is an increased greenhouse effect
- global warming is due to raised CO2 concentration, e.g. from the burning of fossil fuels
14
Q
Why might estimates of future temperature be accurate predictions
A
- we assume the trend continues, we do not know it will
- prediction not based on long enough series of data
- data prediction is based on may not be accurate
- some unpredictable event, e.g. volcanic eruption may occur
- there may be a sharper than expected change in fossil fuel consumption
- changes in solar radiation
15
Q
Why might a small increase in temperature have a large effect on the survival of particular species of plants and animals of a particular species
A
- enzymes are temperature sensitive
- rate increases with temperature
- enzymes may be denature by very high temperatures
- this may affect respiration/metabolic activity
- may give competitor an advantage, they will out compete the other specie
- may affect water availability
- may affect supply of food plants/prey species/predators
- change of sex ration in reptiles, e.g. turtles
- photosynthesis affected
