Practice Flashcards
What is the IPCC?
Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change
What is the approximate global average surface temperature?
15 degrees celcius
What is the definition of albedo?
The fraction of incoming sunlight that is reflected
What is global warming potential?
A measure of the relative potency of different gases
Sea level is currently…
rising globally at 3-4mm per year
What is the largest single source of uncertainty in predictions of global mean temperature change for the end of the 21st century?
Variations in future anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions
What is a climate change scenario?
A description of a feasible future climate
What is a Complex Climate Model?
A mathematical representation of all the physical processes and feedbacks which affect the Earth’s climate
According to the IPCC AR6 model projections, what is the maximum likely sea level rise by 2100?
1m
Which of the following emissions are not part of an emission scenario?
Emissions of soot by cars
What is a regional climate model?
A model which covers a part of the world in more detail than a global climate model
Approximately, by how much is temperature likely to increase in Reading by 2050?
2-3 degrees celcius
How is average rainfall likely to change in southern England?
Less in the summer, more in the winter
The most recent decade has been approximately how much warmer than pre-industrial times?
1.5 degrees celcius
What is the long term temperature goal in the Paris Agreement?
To hold the increase in temperature to well below 2 degrees above
pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the increase to
1.5 degrees.
What is meant by the term CO2 equivalent?
It expresses the effect of a greenhouse gas in terms of the
amount of CO2 which would have the same effect
What is climate feedback?
A response to a climate process that either intensifies or minimizes the initial effect of a climate forcing (often either warming or cooling)
What is an example of a positive climate feedback?
The melting of polar ice, a drop in albedo with the melting of polar ice - particularly sea ice, the release of carbon as a result of melting permafrost, the amount of water in the atmosphere, this increases as the world gets warmer, and puts even more water into the atmosphere
What is an example of a negative climate feedback?
Excess cloud formation from ocean evaporation, increasing temperature radiates more heat into space, this is called Planck feedback and comes from the Stefan-Boltzmann law
What is climate forcing?
Climate forcing is the physical process of affecting the climate on the Earth through a number of forcing factors.
What is an example of climate forcing?
Variations in solar radiation levels, volcanic eruptions, changing albedo, and changing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
From what does the natural greenhouse effect occur?
Absorption of infrared radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface by water vapour and carbon dioxide
Globally averaged surface temperatures in this decade have been…?
About 1.2 degrees Centigrade warmer the 1850-1900 average
What is radiative forcing?
Radiative forcing is what happens when the amount of energy that enters the Earth’s atmosphere is different from the amount of energy that leaves it.
Radiative forcing is the imbalance in the planetary radiation balance caused by a climate change mechanism, and can be caused by both natural changes (e.g., changes in total solar irradiance) and human-induced effects (e.g., increased concentrations of greenhouse gases). When it is positive, the climate system tends to warm; when it is negative, the climate system tends to cool.
