SS BAI 1 Flashcards
What era did humans live in before the current climate?
Pleistocene era
How long ago did the last ice age end?
Around 11,700 years ago
What significant change has occurred in human societies since the last ice age?
Significant growth in number and capability
What is the main cause of the current climate change?
Human activities, particularly burning fossil fuels
What is the fundamental question regarding fossil fuel usage?
Will we stop burning fossil fuels in time to prevent further climate change?
What is Earth System Science (ESS)?
A scientific approach that studies the Earth as a single system
What are the four subsystems in Earth System Science?
- Geosphere
- Hydrosphere
- Atmosphere
- Biosphere
What is the geosphere?
All land, earth, and rock on the planet
What does the hydrosphere encompass?
All water on Earth, including oceans, rivers, lakes, and ice
What is the atmosphere composed of?
Various gases in defined layers
What is the greenhouse effect?
Gases trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere
What is the biosphere?
All living organisms on Earth
What are forcings in climate science?
Specific causes of climate change
How does solar energy affect the Earth’s climate?
It heats the Earth, influencing climatic conditions
What impact do volcanoes have on climate?
They can create cooler conditions by emitting dust and particles
What are greenhouse gases?
Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere
What are positive feedbacks in the context of climate change?
Reactions that amplify climate change effects
What are negative feedbacks in climate science?
Reactions that mitigate climate change effects
What is the Anthropocene?
A proposed geological era where humans are the primary drivers of climate change
What is the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to studying climate change?
It provides a more complete picture of climate history
What are Milankovitch cycles?
Cycles that influence Earth’s climate by varying solar energy receipt
What are reactions to climate change caused by forcings called?
Feedbacks
What is the difference between positive and negative feedbacks in the context of climate change?
Positive feedbacks push climate change in the same direction as the original forcing, while negative feedbacks moderate climate change.
Give an example of a positive feedback.
Melting ice sheets around the North Pole
What happens to solar energy when ice melts in the ocean?
More solar energy is absorbed by the water
What is an example of a negative feedback related to climate?
Increased cloud cover over the Great Lakes during warmer winters
What is a proxy in climate studies?
Natural features that show evidence of past climate conditions
Name three sources that provide evidence of past climate conditions.
- Ice
- Trees
- Soil
What technique is used to analyze ice cores?
Ice core sampling
What does dendrochronology study?
Tree rings to analyze past climatic conditions
How do sediment layers provide climate data?
They contain historical information about water composition and pollen levels
What are the archives of society?
Documents produced by humans that contain climate-related information
What are instrumental records?
Precise data recorded by scientific instruments
What kind of information do narrative records provide?
Clues about past climate conditions through human observations
What is a limitation of the archives of society compared to the archives of nature?
Human records only describe conditions over the past hundreds or thousands of years
What is the role of scholarly fields in studying climate history?
Different scholars specialize in analyzing specific types of sources
True or False: The oldest instrumental records date back to the invention of the thermometer around 1700.
True
Fill in the blank: A _______ is a record that provides clues about past climate conditions.
proxy
What are the main fields that offer complementary views of climate history?
Historical climatology, paleoclimatology, climate history, and the history of climate and society (HCS)
What is the primary focus of climatology?
The study of climate relying primarily on natural archives
What skills must historical climatologists learn?
Collecting samples, operating analysis machinery, data analysis, and communicating findings
How do climate historians differ from historical climatologists?
Climate historians analyze sources from society’s archives using historical methods
Who is considered a pioneer in the field of climate history?
Christian Pfister
What does the History of Climate and Society (HCS) focus on?
The relationship between past climate conditions and human societies
What is the importance of scale in HCS research?
Scale refers to the geographical and chronological scope of investigation
What term describes the current era of significant human impact on climate?
Anthropocene
What significant change is associated with the beginning of the Anthropocene?
The unprecedented release of greenhouse gases by humans
What is the current accepted geological epoch?
Holocene
What was the outcome of the 2024 proposal regarding the Anthropocene?
The International Union of Geological Sciences rejected the proposal
What narrative technique do historians use to integrate climate history?
Mapping climate onto existing historical narratives
What is climate determinism?
The theory that climate dictates the course of human history
True or False: All studies of climate and society today endorse climate determinism.
False
What is a potential weakness of overlaying climate history with existing historical narratives?
It may lead to biases and limit the understanding of climate history
What does the term ‘scale’ refer to in the context of climate history?
The area and time frame of the investigation
What is the significance of the mid-twentieth century in climate studies?
It is marked as the beginning of current warming trends
What is the focus of scholars in the field of climate and society?
Careful study and analysis of causal mechanisms between climatic conditions and human history
What is a major challenge in combining human climate history and human history?
The matter of scale between the chronological scales of human histories and Earth’s climate evolution
What term describes the current state of climate change caused by human behavior?
Anthropocene
What significant book did Rachel Carson write, and what was its impact?
Silent Spring; it raised awareness about the environmental impacts of commercial pesticides
Which two types of scholars study climate history?
Historical climatologists and paleoclimatologists
What are the Earth’s four subsystems?
- Earth
- Water
- Air
- Living organisms
What are forcings in the context of climate change?
Events such as volcanic eruptions, variations in solar energy, and rising greenhouse gas concentrations
What is the difference between positive and negative feedbacks in climate change?
- Positive feedbacks: Reactions in nature that drive climate change further
- Negative feedbacks: Reactions in nature that act against the initial drivers of climate change
What challenges does the novelty of the Anthropocene present to scholars?
Old methods and narratives in history must account for new discoveries in climatology
Fill in the blank: The _______ studies the relationship between climate history and human history.
history of climate and society
True or False: The changes in climate caused by humans today are part of the story of Earth’s climate that has developed over millions of years.
True
