Soc Sci S1 Facts Flashcards
The first set of key concepts
the field of Earth System Science (ESS) ; pg. 5
Views the Earth’s land, oceans, and atmosphere as a single system
Earth System Science (ESS) ; pg. 5
ESS looks at the interactions between
air, water, land, and living organisms ; pg. 5
The second set of key concepts
How scholars create and organize the knowledge of past climate ; pg. 5
The third and final set of key concepts
The idea of Anthropocene ; pg. 5
What can the basics of ESS provide
am easy-to-understand way for non-specialists to obtain an accurate picture of how climate works ; pg. 6
What can alter the balance of the subsystems
External forces called forcings pg. 6
Notable events in climate history
The shifting of the Earth’s plates and the release and recapture of minerals and particles from within the Earth ; pg. 7
Where is most of the interactions between the geosphere and other subsystems occur
The Earth’s crust ; pg. 7
The most well-publicized aspects of current climate change focuses on which subsystem
hydrosphere ; pg. 7
The atmospheric zones from lowest to highest altitude
troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere ; pg. 7
Why do certain gases in the atmosphere cause the greenhouse effect
The gases are transparent to the Sun’s rays which allows them to reach the surface ; pg. 7
What happens to the Sun rays that are re-radiated by the Earth back into space
The rays lose energy and drop to the infrared levels. At that level, they are absorbed by the greenhouse gases and are trapped in the heat ; pg. 7
Influences the chemical and thermal constitution of the Earth’s subsystems
Life on Earth ; pg. 7
Radically accelerated the Earth’s natural carbon cycle which increased the amount of carbon in the atmosphere above natural levels
Human use of fossil fuels ; pg. 7
What does it mean by the Earth’s climate system is an open system
The Earth’s climate system is not entirely self-contained ; pg. 7
Earth’s vital source of external energy
Solar energy radiated from the Sun ; pg. 7
What mixes to shape climate conditions
Solar energy and the Earth’s climate ; pg. 7
The 3 particularly influential forcings
solar energy, volcanoes, and greenhouse gases ; pg. 7
Isn’t completely consistent over time and space
the amount of energy transferred from the Sun to the Earth ; pg. 7
What happens when large volcanoes erupt and how can it create cooler conditions over vast regions
they emit a layer of dust and particles that can offer shade cover to large areas of the globe ; pg. 8
How can the cooling impact from volcanic eruptions be a great enough to influence large regions of the world and bring the average global temperatures down
Multiple volcanoes erupt ; pg. 8
Some of the gases that produce a greenhouse effect
water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane ; pg. 8