Midterm #2 Flashcards
Define Climate
Info on meteorological variables over 30 years
Paleoclimatology
Studies ancient climates from inferred proxies (tree rings, ice cores)
4 Climate Variables
Annual, seasonal, monthly, and per variable (derived variables)
Oceanic Drivers
Ocean currents transport heat + moisture to store solar radiation
Köppen Climate Classification
What are the 5 classes?
Which class is Edmonton?
Combines different climates to map how climates work/averages/support life.
Classes: Tropical, Dry, Temperate, Continental, Polar
Edmonton: continental w/o dry season and warm summers
Hardiness Zones
Global mapping of hardiness of different plants
Edmonton zone is 4a
Alberta zone is mostly 2 and 3
Terrain-related Microclimates
Cold-air drainage into low swells (kettles) can cause microclimates on borders of forests causing a failure to grow trees. Different plants!!!
Slope-aspect Relationships and Example
Different variation in plants due to temp change depending on slope angles and height and which direction it faces
Example: south facing means more solar insulation
Lake Effect
Large, deep lakes cause microclimates because upswells of cool water to surface affect the land temperature
Hot House
Early Cambrian
Cyclical Warming causing marine life diversification before land plants existed and captured CO2
Cold House and Current Global Mean Temp
Ice Capps form
Current times with Global Mean Temp: 14.3 degrees celsius
Gaia Hypothesis
Lovelock and Margulis
Earth has self-regulating negative feedback loop causing homeostasis of cool and warm that stays in a narrow range for life.
Daisyworld Model
Simulated planet model by Lovelock and Watson to respond to Gaia criticism using black and white daisies with increased solar energy to show the feedback loop with luminosity and albedo
Luminosity
Solar energy intensity
Younger Dryas Event
Dramatic cooling of the earth 11.6 ka
Climatic Optimum and Holocene Optimum
5.5 to 9 Ka than was warmer than now.
Signs: higher tree-line for warmer climates and retreating glaciers
Neoglacial Period
5 ka to 1850.
Colder conditions causing more glaciers
Climate Variability 1500 yrs Timeline
Dark Age - Medieval Warming Period - Little Ice Age - Modern Global Warming
Mean annual solar insolation at top of the atmosphere
340 w/min2 (squared)
Irradation
Mean annual solar insolation
Mean irradiation at Earth’s surface
161 w/min2 (squared)
Earth’s Energy Budget
Incoming shortwave radiation MUST EQUAL outgoing long wave radiation
Greenhouse Gas Logistics
CO2 absorption via longwave radiation excited O2 molecules resulting in absorption and reflection
Long wave radiation out to space has curves at different temps.
Most radiation dips are from water
Planck’s Curves
Difference in Radiation when doubling CO2 (300-600 PPM)
+3.4 w/min2 (squared)
Greenhouse Gases and percentage of each
Water: 50%
CO2: 20%
Clouds: 25%
Other gases: 5%
CO2 inertia/long cycling time
300 to 1000 yrs
Means CO2 caused now has affect in future warming (inertia)
Industrial Rev to 1958 CO2 concentration change
275 PPM to 315 PPM
Weather station Temp change from 1900
1.5 degrees Celsius warmer
Warming bias
Siting of stations and urbanization cause 92% of USHCN stations to fail siting requirement of >30m away from artificial radiating/reflection source
Urban areas 3 degrees celsius warmer and affects weather stations
Satellite Measures
1970s to today
Tracks weather like weather stations but hides local variation and uses the same method across land and water
No long term data yet
Global Dimming
Sulfate (SO2) and air pollutants reduce expected climate warming by blocking solar heat
2020: global standard from International Maritime Organization requiring 86% reduction in fuel sulfur
Arctic amplification
Higher altitudes = greater climate warming as much as 4 degrees more
Arctic warms faster because of positive feedback loop between ice melt and air warming because more open ocean means more heat absorption
Lowest Ice Extent Time
September
Climate Stripes
Graphs depicting climate temp anomalies through a reference of colored stripes
Global Greening
Warming and CO2 increases have caused greater vegetative growth
Cereal Production
Agriculture innovation and increases in CO2 result in increased cereal production and yields
250% growth
General Circulation Model (CGM)
Future climate model employing math of circulation of atmosphère and oceans to create 3D grid simulations
Next 10-15-100 years
IPCC
International Panel on Climate Change
IPCC 3 Working Groups
Physical science
Impacts, Adaptations and Vulnerability
Mitigation and Climate Change
Coupled Model Intercomparison Project
Framework to improve knowledge of climate change and modeling by standardized CGMs
Representive Concentration Pathways
Assume different trajectories of greenhouse gas emissions and radiative forcing
SSP Indicators ranking and expected future
8.5 w/m2 - warmest future, no mitigation
6.0 w/m2 - moderate mitigation (reduce emissions)
4.5 - moderate mitigation
2.6 - mitigation (low g gas concentration laws
Expected: 2.6-4.5 w/m2
Key Challenges to Projection GHG
Estimating pop. Growth, energy use and transitions, and geopolitics
Global Fertility Rate
Halved since 1960s
Stable fertility rate: 2.1
Canada’s rate: 1.33
Net Zero Pathway result and costs
Result in mid-century CO2 emissions at zero.
Cost $2.4 trillion/yr USD (2.5% GDP)
Velocity of Climate Change
How fast you would need to mitigate to maintain the same climate
Climate Change Refugia and modern use
Represent areas of stable paleoclimates/escape climates during historic times like Ice Age
Used to examine where in future places will be more stable with low climate velocity
Biomass Proxy in Aquatic systems
Chlorophyll
Biomass proxy on land
Remote sensing
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)
Holdridge’s Life Zone 3 Axises
Precipitation
Biotemperature
Potential for evapotranspiration
Whittaker’s Biome
1969 proposed 5 Kingdom taxonomic classification
1962 Biome classification
