Greenhouse Gases Flashcards
What is the natural greenhouse effect?
50% CO2 is removed by natural systems
A further 30% is removed after 100 years
CO2 is always increasing however
BUT it changes with the seasons
What are the 4 anthropogenic causes of CH4?
Cattle
Fossil fuels
Rice paddy agriculture
Landfills and waste
What are RCP’s and what do they include?
Representation concentration pathway scenarios
They include: air pollution, land use, greenhouse gases
What are the two natural causes of CH4?
Biomass burning
Wetlands
What does the hockey stick model show?
The increase in levels of CH4
What does sequestration mean?
Stopping something reacting
What 6 things are we doing to aid sequestration?
Ocean fertilisation (iron filings) Carbon capture and storage Peat production Restore wetlands Bio char (biomass made into charcoal) Increase forest cover
Where are nitrogen isotopes found?
In ice cores
Where does NO2 come from and what effect does it have?
Comes from organic and synthetic nitrogen fertiliser
It drastically effects the nitrogen cycle and has risen by 20%
What is the EU target?
20-20-20
20% less CO2
20% increase in renewables
20% decrease in primary energy use
What is the Ruddiman hypothesis?
Humans altered greenhouse gases for 1000’s of years
8000 years agriculture and 5000 years cattle (CH4)
What does the earths orbital predict about CH4 and CO2?
It predicts that they should be decreasing but they’re actually rising
What was the temp change in the little ice age due to?
Population decrease so less CO2 was produced, more trees grew as people died so more O2 was produced.
What is a global mean?
Observe farmland stations and ships
They’re all within grid squares
Observe each square
Weigh the square by area and form an average
