global warming 2

Question 1

what GHG contributes most to CC?

Answer 1

Methane

its stored in hydrate deposits and in permafrost eg high arctic and siberia

Question 2

positive feedback examples

Answer 2

temps warm > permafrost thaws> co2 and ch4 released

GHG increases> earth warms > increase in water vapour

Question 3

negative feedback example

Answer 3

more clouds> more sunlight reflection> less radiation

Question 4

define anomaly

Answer 4

amount of deviation from accepted normal value of that quantity

data - mean = anomaly

Question 5

what year did we hit 1.5 degree warming

Answer 5

2016

Question 6

what tells us cold and warm years

Answer 6

striped graphs

5 warmest years are recent

coldest years are in past

Question 7

how is it hard to predict climate change?

Answer 7

as warming not evenly distributed

warming usually higher in high latitudes

earth climate is non linear dynamical system

Question 8

what was the warming pause in 2000?

Answer 8

here there was no real trend in temp

it wasn;t predicted

don’t know why is happened

lots of energy stored in oceans and linked to el nino and la nina

Question 9

name 2 ways we see climate change impact?

Answer 9

glacier recession -169 glaciers all show same trend - problem for water sources and tourism

arctic sea ice reduction - ice cover shrunk by 9% over 1976-2000 and thats increased to 13.5% decrease

Question 10

if east antarctic ice sheet melted how much would sea evel rise?

Answer 10

65m

Question 11

if west antarctic ice sheet melted how much would sea evel rise?

Answer 11

3.4 m

Question 12

if greenland ice sheet melted how much would sea evel rise?

Answer 12

7.5m

Question 13

if arctic sea ice melted how much would sea evel rise?

Answer 13

0m

sea ice doesn’t contribute to sea level change - only land ice does

Question 14

name 2 ways sea level rises

Answer 14

ocean exppansion

melting glaciers

Question 15

how much does ocean expansion contribute to sea level rise 2005 data?

Answer 15

2/3 from ocean expansion

Question 16

how much does melting glaciers contribute to sea level rise 2005 data?

Answer 16

1/3

howevr melting glaicers contribute more to sea level rise than in the past

Question 17

why is sea level rise not globally unifrom?

Answer 17

eg isostatic rebound - removal of glacial weight from continent, the crust will rebound after losing the weight, land rises relative to the sea, other side of land subsides eg North of uk lifting and south is subsiding

Question 18

describe the impact of global warming on coral reef?

Answer 18

bleaching.

coral get nutrients from photosynthetic algae.

when water is too warm the coral expel algae living in their tissue.

bleaching can be reversible if water cools down

happens in warm waters and when ocean acidifies

Question 19

give examples of bleached coral reefs

Answer 19

great barrier reef worst bleaching in 2016

japans biggest reef - 75% of it has died from bleaching

Question 20

describe ocean acidification

Answer 20

1 half of co2 released over 200yrs has been absorbed by oceans.

co2 in sea water creates carbonic acid which lowers waters PH making it more acidic

this raises hydrogen ions in water and limits organisms acess to carbonate ions which are needed for shells

Question 21

how do we predict cc?

Answer 21

climate computer models - solve math equaltions and asses land/ocean/cryosphere interactions

however not all accurate
data takes a while to process

Question 22

what are the IPCC scenarios

Answer 22

RCP2/4.5/6/8.5

Possible climate futures - all possible depending on how much GHG emitted

Question 23

what is the prediction of global surface temp?

Answer 23

1.5 - 4 degrees

Question 24

what is radiative forcing?

Answer 24

difference of insolation absorbed by earth and energy radiated back to space

Question 25

what is the prospected seal level rise by end of 2100?

Answer 25

40-83 cm

increased recently by 20-60cm

Question 26

what is the prospected sea ice extent by 2100?

Answer 26

worse case scenario is ice free by 2070

Question 27

“All models are wrong. Some are useful”

Answer 27

attempt to stimulate reality

all have errors - comparable to proxy data

all tested, comapres and evaulated