P2 - Greenhouse Effect & Global Warming and Climate Change

Question 1

What is the Earth surrounded by?

Answer 1

The Earth is surrounded by an atmosphere made of up various gases - the air.

Question 2

What do the gases in the atmosphere do?

Answer 2

The Gases in the atmosphere filter out certain types of radiation from the sun, they also absorb or reflect radiation of certain wavelengths.

Question 3

What type of radiation is absorbed or reflected by the atmosphere do?

Answer 3

Infrared radiation is absorbed or reflected by the atmosphere.

Question 4

What type of radiation is allowed to pass through?

Answer 4

Some wavelengths of radiation, mainly visible light and some radio waves pass through the atmosphere quite easily.

Question 5

What does the Greenhouse effect help do for the Earth?

Answer 5

The greenhouse effect helps regulate the Earth’s temperature.

Question 6

What kind of EM radiation is absorbed by the earth?

Answer 6

The Earth absorbs short wavelength EM radiation from the Sun.

Question 7

What does short wave EM radiation do for the Earth?

Answer 7

• Short wavelength EM radiation warms up the earth’s surface
• The Earth emits some of this EM radiation back out into space which cools down the Earth.
• Most of the emitted radiation from the Earth is longer wavelength infrared radiation - heat.

Question 8

What kinds of gases absorb most infrared radiation?

Answer 8

A lot of infrared radiation is absorbed by the atmospheric gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour.

Question 9

What can the atmosphere be compared to ( what is the greenhouse effect ) ?

Answer 9

The atmosphere can be described as an insulating layer stopping the Earth losing all its heat at night, as carbon dioxide methane and water vapor can reflect some of the radiation back into the Earth, this is known as the greenhouse effect.

Question 10

How is this similar to a Greenhouse?

Answer 10

In a Greenhouse, the sun shines in and the glass helps keep some of the heat in, without the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere the Earth would be a lot colder.

Question 11

What are some processes that release carbon dioxide?

Answer 11

• People requiring more energy results in a greater amount of carbon dioxide released, more fossil fuels being burned = more carbon dioxide produced.
• More land is needed for houses and food, the space is often made by chopping down and burning trees, fewer trees means less Co2 is absorbed and burning releases more c02
• Co2 also comes from natural sources, such as respiration in animals, in plants, and volcanic eruptions can release it.

Question 12

What are some processes that result in an increase in methane?

Answer 12

• Cattle farming has increased to feed the growing population - cattle digestion produces methane, more cattle = more methane
• Decaying waste in landfill sites produces methane, the amount of waste is increasing.
• Methane is released naturally by volcanoes, wetlands, and wild animals.

Question 13

What can cause an increase in water vapor?

Answer 13

• Most water vapor comes from natural sources, mainly oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes, as global temperature increases so does water vapor.
• Power stations produce water vapor.

Question 14

Why has the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased over time?

Answer 14

The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased over time because we have started burning more and more fossil fuels.

Question 15

What is the correlation between CO2 and global warming?

Answer 15

The correlation is that the increase in CO2 potentially leads to a greater level of global warming.
- A lot of evidence has been collected that shows the rise on CO2 is causing global warming by increasing the greenhouse effect.

Question 16

How does temperature affect weather?

Answer 16

• Many regions will suffer more extreme weather because of global warming, e.g. longer hotter droughts.
• Hurricanes form over warm water, so with more warm water, you expect more hurricanes.
• Changing weather patterns affect food production, some regions are now too hot to grow food, some too wet, this will get worse as temperature increases and the weather patterns get more random.

Question 17

What natural causes cause change to the weather?

Answer 17

• Ash and Gases thrown into the atmosphere by volcanoes can reflect radiation from the sun back into space, causing the earth to cool down.
• Changes to our orbit around the sun can cause ice ages.

Question 18

What are some human causes that cause change to the weather?

Answer 18

Soot and gases produced by factories can reflect heat from cities back down to Earth, which can cause increases in local temperature.
See previous cards for more information on more Natural causes that produce CO2

Question 19

What can climate change models be used for?

Answer 19

Climate models can be used to explain why the climate is changing now, we know that the earth’s climate varies naturally.
- But climate modelling over the last few years has shown that natural changes don’t explain current “global warming”