the atmosphere

Question 1

what is uv light blocked by in the stratosphere

Answer 1

ozone

Question 2

what happens to most of the visible light in the atmosphere

Answer 2

is absorbed, converted to heat and re-emitted as infrared energy.Naturally occurring gases gases absorb this,converting it to heat.

Question 3

how is the temperature raised on earth (two ways)

Answer 3

infra red energy which is absorbed by the earths surface.
-atmosphere reduces heat loss by conduction from land and oceans.

Question 4

how do ocean currents distribute heat

Answer 4

winds blowing over them carry warm water from tropical areas to higher latitudes e.g the north Atlantic conveyor.

Question 5

in the atmosphere what area the 4 layers staring with the bottom

Answer 5

troposphere
stratosphere
mesosphere
thermosphere

Question 6

what type pf radiation does the earth emit

Answer 6

Infra red-this cannot pass through the atmosphere as easily as visible light and is absorbed by gases in the atmosphere.

Question 7

what human activities cause the release of methane

Answer 7

anaerobic digestion of microbes in padi fields, landfill sites and leaks from natural gas fields.
relative effect of 25

Question 8

how do humans release CFCs

Answer 8

aerosol propellants,fire extinguishers and refrigerants.
2500 relative effects.

Question 9

how is tropospheric ozone formed

Answer 9

produced by the photo chemical breakdown of NO2 and subsequent reactions with oxygen.
2000 relative effect.

Question 10

why might species migration not be possible

Answer 10

could colonise new areas more slowly than they disappear from their old range e.g trees.
-suitable areas may not be available.
-human land use may block movement.
-not all species in interdependent communities move at the same speed.

Question 11

what are positive effects of climate change on bats-UK

Answer 11

increased survival in hibernation.
-could increase population of food species.

Question 12

what are the negative effects of climate change on bats

Answer 12

wetter weather could reduce time of feeding which may reduce survival.

Question 13

what is needed for plant migration-climate change

Answer 13

biological corridor.

Question 14

one of the impacts of climate change is isolation of species what are the impacts of this.

Answer 14

gene pool is divided into smaller ones making inbreeding more likely.
-individual smaller populations may not be viable.

Question 15

what is a jet stream

Answer 15

strong winds that blow west to east in the upper troposphere. they are caused by the difference in temperature and density between two air masses such as the warm air in the mid latitudes and old air in polar regions.

Question 16

why is the temperature differences that create jet streams getting smaller?

Answer 16

polar regions are warming faster than areas near the equator- the jet streams int he Northern hemisphere are moving nearer to the pole in a meandering path.

Question 17

what are the waves created by the meandering path of jet streams?

Answer 17

rossby waves-can carry unsually cold air southwards and vise versa.

Question 18

what does the slower movement of jet streams cause?

Answer 18

cause weather systems to remain in one area creating longer more intense weather.g prolonged droughts.

Question 19

how does climate change change rainfall patterns?

Answer 19

increased temps-increased evaporation.
-air may have to move further north before water vapor condenses.
-changes in wind velocity and direction carries humid areas to one place or another -one plays is dry and other is wet.

Question 20

what is the impact of warmer temperatures on a glacier.

Answer 20

cause the front end of the glacier to melt faster than it is moving forward so the ice front retreats up the valley.

Question 21

what is the effect of meltwater on glaciers

Answer 21

can flow into cracks and lubricate the bottom of the glacier causing it to move more quickly.

Question 22

what is an ice sheet?

Answer 22

ice covering an area over 50000km -Greenland and Antarctica.

Question 23

why might ice coverage increase as temperatures rise?

Answer 23

increased freshwater flowing off the land, floating on the denser sea water the freezing.

Question 24

why is rainfall more hazradous than snowfall

Answer 24

rainfall rapidly flows into rivers whereas melt water has more even flow but may cause an increase river flow in sudden warms such as a spring thaw.

Question 25

what are the two ways of sea level rise.

Answer 25

-thermal expansion of seawater-takes a long time as water has a high specific heat capacity
-melting land ice that sits below surface level.

Question 26

what process in the atmosphere drive ocean currents

Answer 26

-winds
-evaporation -water flows in to replace this water.
-density effects ease at which surface water sinks.
-salinity and freshwater effects density.

Question 27

how is heat distributed in the North atlantic conveyor-

Answer 27

friction with the prevailing winds blowing over ocean surface from the SW to NE causes surface water to flow in the same direction.
-water in the NE Atlantic sinks as it cools and becomes denser bringing in water to replace it.

Question 28

what are the changes of the north Atlantic conveyor caused by climate change.

Answer 28

land ice on greenland melt and flow into sea and is less likely to sink than seawater (less dense). this reduces flow rate of the water current which could cause NW Europe to become colder.

Question 29

what is El nino

Answer 29

changes in wind patterns which distribute heat and nutrients .This effects ocean currents and rainfall patterns e.g if the current is cold meaning water vapour cools and condenses before it reaches land.

Question 30

what is the effect of reversing or slowing ocean currents

Answer 30

stops nutrients up welling in south America -food webs collapse. western and east pacific temperatures alter and changes rainfall e.g altering Australia’s rainfall.

Question 31

what are case study examples of El Nino

Answer 31

droughts in NE Africa, S Africa and China.
-fewer hurricanes in North Atlantic.
-fewer tropical cyclones in Japan.

Question 32

what is La nina.

Answer 32

winds blow more strongly causing speed up of currents and temperature differences between eastern and western pacific are increased.

Question 33

what are the impacts on human society

Answer 33

health-“heat island effect”
-water supplies.
-food supplies.
-impacts on infrastructure-road heat stress track buckling.
-drainage-higher rainfall periods.
-landslides.
-bridge damage.

Question 34

what are the problems monitoring and prediction climate change.

Answer 34

-time scales
-spatial scales e.g hard to predict when different effects occur.
-interconnected systems not fully understood e.g natural processes.
-natural fluctuations .
-tie delay between cause and effect.

Question 35

what are some data collection methods-

Answer 35

historical records.
-proxy data- dendocrinology, coral growth, pollen analysis.
-ice core data.
-satellite data.
-monitoring ocean currents.g Argo floats .
-computer models.

Question 36

what is geoengineering to control natural processes

Answer 36

technologies such as painting roofs white to increase albedo.
-adding nutrients to the sea to encourage algal growth
-solar shades in orbit.

Question 37

ways to adapt to climate change

Answer 37

flood control
-coastal erosion control
-managed retreat.
-urban drainage control e.g permeable surfaces and river flow management.
-raised buildings and floating houses.

Question 38

what type of UV is completely absorbed by ozone

Answer 38

UV C

Question 39

why is UV B so dangerous

Answer 39

is absorbed, converted to chemical energy and breaks up biological molecules casing skin damage and skin cancers.

Question 40

what hypothesis found the impacts of CFCs

Answer 40

Rowland Molina hypothesis.

Question 41

what convention was laid out in the Montreal protocol?

Answer 41

The vienna convention for the protection o the ozone layer 1985. -included no legally binding goals.

Question 42

what were the main aspects of the Rowland Molina hypothesis.

Answer 42

banning CFCs
-some ODSs permitted still e.g fire extinguishers.
-a fund provided to countries.
-use of alternative processes.
-use of alternative materials e.g HCFCs, HFCs
-safe disposal of CFCs