Lesson 15: Climate Change and Drought

Question 1

Define drought

Answer 1

An extended period of deficient rainfall relative to the statistical average of that region measured over a long period of time

Question 2

A 2 degree rise in warming had led to what % of Earth’s land shifting into a new climatic zone?

Answer 2

5%

Question 3

What does this % increase to with the next 2 degree rise?

Answer 3

10%

Question 4

What will drought cause the expansion of in the mid-latitudes?

Answer 4

Subtropical deserts and a poleward movement of stormy, wet weather

Question 5

How will drought affect mountainous regions?

Answer 5

Changing snow/rainfall patterns and increasing temperatures in mountain means reliable streams/springs dry and melt glaciers resulting in very little run off in the future

Question 6

In what years did the Amazon basin experience droughts?

Answer 6

2005, 2010 and 2014-15

Question 7

What % of terrestrial vegetation carbon does the Amazon basin store?

Answer 7

17%

Question 8

How many tonnes of CO2 does the Amazon normally absorb?

Answer 8

1.5 billion tonnes

Question 9

How much CO2 was released by the Amazon in 2005?

Answer 9

5 billion tonnes

Question 10

How many tonnes of CO2 was released by the A,azon in 2010?

Answer 10

8 billion tonnes

Question 11

Why is so much CO2 released by the Amazon?

Answer 11

-Fires broke out – burning trees and litter releasing CO2
-Decomposition of dead vegetation

Question 12

What is the biggest concern about the Amazon?

Answer 12

It will change from a carbon sink to a carbon source – accelerating global warming