🌦️ Physical: Weather + Climate Change Flashcards
(49 cards)
1
Q
What is extreme weather?
A
A weather event that is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.
2
Q
What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?
A
The warming of the Earth’s atmosphere due to human activity increasing the layer of greenhouse gases.
3
Q
What is a tropical storm?
A
An area of low pressure winds moving in a spiral around a calm central point called the ‘eye’. Winds are powerful + rainfall is high.
4
Q
What is mitigation?
A
Action taken to reduce or eliminate long term risk to human life + property from natural hazards eg. earthquake proof buildings.
5
Q
What is adaptation?
A
Actions taken to adjust to natural events to reduce potential damage + cope with consequences.
6
Q
Describe and explain the climate at the equator.
A
- The equator receives a higher level of insolation and heats the ground
- The air then heats up and rises as it is not very dense
- The air then cools to form clouds which release precipitation
- Therefore the climate at the equator is warm and rainy
7
Q
What happens at places of high air pressure?
A
- Cool air sinks to the ground creating high air pressure
- Precipitation can’t be released from sinking air
- Therefore places like deserts experience dry environments
8
Q
What is the ITCZ, what are its characteristics and why?
A
The Intertropical Convergence Zone, torrential rain because of low pressure around the equator.
9
Q
Where do tropical storms occur?
A
The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)
10
Q
Which way do tropical storms turn in each hemisphere?
A
Northern: Anti-clockwise
Southern: Clockwise
11
Q
What conditions do you need for a tropical storm and why?
A
- Sea temperature above 27°C: providing the heat and moisture that causes the air to rise rapidly
- Low wind shear: winds that remain constant allowing tropical storms to rise to high levels w/o being torn apart
- Not along equator: Coriolis effect is not strong enough here for tropical storms to spin
12
Q
Why do tropical storms start to dissipate when reaching land?
A
There is not an ocean of 27°C below it providing heat so it doesn’t have enough energy.
13
Q
Describe the formation of a tropical storm.
A
- The sun’s radiation warms the oceans to a critical 27°C
- Causing warm moist air to rise through the air in thermals. Giving low pressure at the centre of the storm
- The air cools as it rises producing clouds and rain
- Some cooled air sinks back down creating the eye
- Air from outside high pressure rushes in to lower pressure areas at the centre of the storm creating winds
- The whole storm then spins due to the Earth’s spin
14
Q
What are the primary effects of typhoon Haiyan?
A
- Around 6k people killed (mainly drowned from storm surge)
- 600k people displaced + 40k homes destroyed
- 400mm of rain caused widespread flooding
- 30k fishing boats destroyed
15
Q
What are the secondary effects of typhoon Haiyan?
A
- 6 million lost their source of income
- Flooding caused landslides blocking roads and access to remote communities
- Ferry services and airline flights disrupted for weeks, slowing down aid efforts
- Shortages of water, food and shelter affected many people leading to disease
16
Q
What were the immediate responses to typhoon Haiyan?
A
- US aircraft + helicopters assisted in search and rescue + delivering aid
- Over 1,200 evacuation centres were set up to help the homeless
- French, Belgian and Israeli field hospitals were set up
- The Filipino red cross delivered basic food aid
17
Q
What were the long-term responses to typhoon Haiyan?
A
- The UN and other nations donated financial aid, supplies and support
- ‘Cash for work’ programmes set up to pay people if they helped clear debris + rebuild the city
- Aid agencies supported the replacement of fishing boats
- More typhoon shelters built for future storms
18
Q
How do we know climate change has happened in the past and is happening now?
A
- We have areas with glacial features but no ice
- Rapidly melting ice all around the world
- Sea level rise
- Increased flooding + drought
- Decline in some species
- Temperature increase
19
Q
What are two techniques of finding evidence for long-term climate change and how do they work?
A
- Ice cores: Taking cores of ice from ice sheets which reveal different layers of snow and carbon dioxide levels
- Pollen analysis: Taking pollen samples extracted from sediment cores in peat bogs and lake beds which show that ecosystems have changed in the past
20
Q
What are two techniques of finding evidence for medium- term climate change and how do they work?
A
- Historical records: Looking at pieces of history such as books and art to identify any changes in climate
- Tree rings: The thickness of a tree ring is a useful indicator as in higher temperatures with more sunlight and abundant precipitation trees grow well increasing tree size
21
Q
What are two techniques of finding evidence for short-term climate change and how do they work?
A
- The instrumental record: Looking at changes in temperature throughout the years
- Sea level rise: Identifying how much or little the sea level has risen
22
Q
What are the three natural causes for climate change?
A
- Orbital changes
- Volcanic activity
- Solar output
23
Q
How does solar output affect the climate?
A
Storms on the sun send superheated flares of gas, called sun spots, and when there are lots of sun spots the climate on Earth is warmer
24
Q
What are the three orbital causes of climate change called?
A
- Axial tilt
- Precession
- Eccentricity
25
How does axial tilt affect the climate?
Th Earth spins on an axis and over a long period the angle changes, when the angle increases the summers become warmer and winters colder
26
How does precession affect the climate?
Precession is the 'wobble' of the Earth, which can give places like Norway long days and nights at certain times of the year. Overall it makes seasonal contrasts more extreme in one hemisphere and less extreme in the other
27
How does eccentricity affect the climate?
This describes the Earth's path around the sun and it changes how close we are to the sun, the closer the hotter
28
How does volcanic activity affect the climate?
- Volcanic ash can block out the sun, reducing the temperature on Earth ~ short term impact
- Fine droplets form as a result of the conversion of sulphur dioxide to sulphuric acid. This acid acts like tiny mirrors reflecting radiation from the sun.
29
What are the three human causes for climate change?
- Burning fossil fuels
- Deforestation
- Agriculture (methane)
30
How does burning fossil fuels affect the climate?
Burning fossil fuels releases CO₂ into the atmosphere and produces 50% of greenhouse gases which leads to the enhanced greenhouse gas effect, trapping in more heat.
31
How does agriculture affect the climate?
Cattle produce methane which adds to the enhanced greenhouse effect, trapping heat in the atmosphere.
32
How does deforestation affect the climate?
Clearing forests on a wide scale destroys one of the main ways to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere as they're unable to sequester the CO₂.
33
What are the effects of climate change on people and the environment?
- Crop yields could increase by up to 20% in East and South East Asia, but in central and South Asia the yields may decrease by 30%
- In Southern Europe there will be increased pressure on water resources for drinking and farming
- Due to increases in drought and fires it is estimated that agriculture will decline in Australia
- As the climate gets warmer, diseases such as malaria will spread, putting up to 60% of Africa at risk
34
Where are the wind cells in relation to the equator (closest to furthest) in the Global Atmospheric Circulation Model?
- Hadley
- Ferrel
- Polar
35
What are the features of a tropical storm?
- Storm eye which is a circle in the middle with no wind or rain
- Heavy rain and wind near the eye
- Weaker rain and wind near the edge
36
How might climate change affect the distribution of tropical storms?
Storms may occur outside the tropics because more ocean will be above 27C
37
How might climate change affect the intensity of tropical storms?
Storms may be stronger on the Saffir-Simpson scale as there is more heat and therefore more accumulated energy over time
38
How might climate change affect the frequency of tropical storms?
Overall, storms may stay the same but will be stronger and last longer as more heat is in the water so more energy is available.
39
How can monitoring reduce the risks of tropical storms?
- Some satellites monitor weather patterns which provide a wide-area view, not always visible on land
- Radar systems provide detailed information on the location, intensity and movement of storms which pinpoint the exact location
- Specially equipped aircraft are used to record wind speed, pressure and humidity
40
How can predicting reduce the risks of tropical storms?
Same as monitoring
41
How can protecting reduce the risks of tropical storms?
- Reinforce roofs and doors
- Build on stilts which elevates from floodwater
- Build sea walls to prevent flooding
- Evacuation
- Stock up on essentials
42
How can planning reduce the risks of tropical storms?
- Evacuation plans
- Educating the public about risks
- Having disaster survival kits
- Emergency means of communication
43
What are some of the weather hazards experienced in the UK?
- Storms
- Flooding
- Droughts
- Extreme temperatures
44
What is an example of a recent extreme weather event in the UK?
The Beast from the East, 2018
45
What caused the beast from the east?
- The typical jet stream of cold air in the north Atlantic weakened due to sudden stratospheric warming
- As it slowed, the air sank and warmed which made it spin the opposite way (West)
- This reversed the UK's normal westerly winds with easterly winds of extremely cold air
46
What were the impacts of the beast from the east?
- 4 people died including one man from a frozen lake in London
- Up to 50cm of snow in parts of Dartmoor and Exmoor accompanied by gales in exposed areas
- The AA estimated around 8k collisions on Britain's roads from the snow chaos in just three days, with the insurance cost over £10m
- Hospitals in Glasgow and other areas cancelled all outpatient appointments
47
How did management strategies reduce the risk?
- Drivers of a Greggs delivery van stuck on the A1 gave out free food to stranded drivers
- Public Health England (PHE) urged people to plan ahead to ensure they had enough food + medicine
- Army and RAF were called in to ferry health workers through blocked roads in Scotland. 10 RAF 4x4 vehicles with 20 airmen began transporting health staff after an urgent request
48
How can we manage climate change with mitigation?
- Alternative energy production: produce renewables which reduce CO2 emissions. A typical UK home that uses solar saves 1 tonne of CO2 per year
- Carbon Capture: Capturing CO2 and storing it deep in rock structures. IPCC says this could provide 55% of our mitigation needs, but expensive and may not hold permanently
- Planting Trees: UN environmental programme have spent $40b investing in reforestation. UK project £25m to reduce deforestation in Brazil + reduce CO2 emissions there by 10m tonnes
- International Agreements: 2015 Paris climate conference the UN negotiated an international agreement to reduce global emissions by 40% below 2010 by 2030
49
How can we manage climate change with adaptation?
- Change in Agriculture Systems: moving to a new location reduces CO2 emissions as it minimises energy use, irrigating more to avoid drought and changing variety of crops as they can adapt to differing weather patterns
- Managing Water Supply: Thames water opened a desalination plant in Beckton in 2010 which uses Thames water at low tide to provide water for 400k homes
- Protection from Sea Levels: The Thames barrier was built to stop tidal surges
