Topic 1 -Hazardous Earth: EQ1 (The world's Climate System)

Question 1

Why do the poles receive less solar radiation?

Answer 1

The radiation has to travel through more atmosphere to hit a larger distribution area, resulting in a less concentrated amount of solar radiation.

Question 2

Why does the equator receive more solar radiation?

Answer 2

The radiation has to travel through less atmosphere to hit a smaller distribution area, resulting in a more concentrated amount of solar radiation.

Question 3

What do the terms high and low pressure describe?

Answer 3

The surface

Question 4

Describe what happens in a high pressure belt

Answer 4

Air sinks leaving clear skies and dry weather

Question 5

Describe what happens in a low pressure belt

Answer 5

Air rises leaving clouds and wet weather

Question 6

Explain what happens in a high pressure belt

Answer 6

As air cools, it becomes more dense, so it sinks, transferring heat to the ground.

Question 7

Explain what happens in a low pressure belt

Answer 7

Air is heated, it becomes less dense, so it rises, transferring heat to the atmosphere

Question 8

Why don’t clouds form in a high pressure belt?

Answer 8

Cool air sinks, warms up, holds more moisture to prevent condensation, preventing clouds from forming

Question 9

Why do clouds form in a low pressure belt?

Answer 9

Warm air rises, cools down, and condenses, clouds form

Question 10

What is the Coriolis Effect?

Answer 10

The effect of the Earth’s rotation on wind movements.

Question 11

Which way does Earth spin?

Answer 11

West to east

Question 12

What are surface winds blowing towards the poles called?

Answer 12

Westerlies

Question 13

What direction do westerlies go?

Answer 13

They blow from west to east, towards the poles

Question 14

What are surface winds blowing towards the equator called?

Answer 14

Trade winds (easterlies)

Question 15

What direction do trade winds go?

Answer 15

They blow from east to the west, towards the equator

Question 16

What type of belt is the equator?

Answer 16

A low pressure belt

Question 17

What happens in a global atmospheric circulation loop (cell)?

Answer 17

Warm rising air which creates a low pressure belt and cool falling air which creates a high pressure belt

Question 18

What happens at the equator in the global atmospheric circulation diagram?

Answer 18

Cool dry air moves out to 30° north and south

Question 19

What happens at 30° north and south of the equator in the global atmospheric circulation diagram?

Answer 19

Cool air sinks, creating a high pressure belt. The cool air reaches the ground and moves back as surface winds either back to the equator (trade winds) or towards the poles (westerlies)

Question 20

What happens at 60° north and south of the equator in the global atmospheric circulation diagram?

Answer 20

Warmer surface winds meet cooler air from the poles, the warmer air rises as it is less dense, creating a low pressure belt. The rising air cools and moves back as surface winds either back to the equator (joining the trade winds) or towards the poles (polar westerlies)

Question 21

What happens at the poles in the global atmospheric circulation diagram?

Answer 21

Cool air sinks creating a high pressure belt. The cool high pressure air is drawn back towards the equator as surface winds (polar easterlies)

Question 22

What are ocean currents?

Answer 22

Large scale movements of water that transfer heat energy from warmer to cooler regions.

Question 23

What are surface currents driven by?

Answer 23

Winds 🌬️

Question 24

What do surface currents do?

Answer 24

Help transfer heat away from the equator

Question 25

What are deep ocean currents caused by?

Answer 25

Thermohaline circulation (changes in water density)

Question 26

What are the 4 natural causes of climate change?

Answer 26

1. Orbital Change 2. Asteroid collisions 3. Volcanic activity 4. Solar output variation

Question 27

# Natural causes of climate change Orbital change can be split into 3 parts...

Answer 27

1. eccentricity (stretch) 2. tilt 3. precession (wobble)

Question 28

# Natural causes of climate change Explain eccentricity (stretch)

Answer 28

nearly every 100,000 years, the Earth's orbit around the sun changes from almost a perfect circle to an ellipse (oval)

Question 29

# Natural causes of climate change Explain tilt

Answer 29

the earth's axis is tilted at an angle as it orbits the Sun. This angle tilts cover a cycle of about 40,000 years

Question 30

# Natural causes of climate change Explain precession (wobble)

Answer 30

the axis of the Earth wobbles like a spinning top on a cycle of about 20,000 years

Question 31

How do orbital changes cause climate change?

Answer 31

They affect the amount of solar radiation the earth recieves

Question 32

How do asteroid collisions cause climate change?

Answer 32

When asteroids collide with Earth's surface, they throe large amounts of dust into the atmosphere, preventing the suns energy from reaching the Earth so global temperatures fall

Question 33

How does volcanic activity cause climate change?

Answer 33

Volcanic eruptions eject large quantities of material (like ash) into the atmosphere. This blocks out the Sun's rays back out the space so so global temperatures fall

Question 34

How does solar output variation cause climate change?

Answer 34

The suns output energy changes in short cycles of about 11 years. This variation leads to differences in climate over time

Question 35

Give 3 ways of how we can give evidence for natural climate change

Answer 35

* tree rings * ice cores * historical records

Question 36

Explain how tree rings can give us evidence for natural climate change

Answer 36

in most trees, 1 ring = 1 year * Thicker rings = warmer climate * Thinner rings = colder climate * Scientists can date each ring by counting them back from when the core was taken

Question 37

Explain how ice cores can give us evidence for natural climate change

Answer 37

sheets of ice are made up of layers, 1 layer = 1 year * scientists analyse the gases (eg CO2) to tell what the temperature was like each year

Question 38

Explain how historical records can give us evidence for natural climate change

Answer 38

paintings of fairs and markets on frozen rivers show that winters in Europe were regularly much colder 500 years ago then they are now

Question 39

Give evidence for the medival warm period

Answer 39

* harvest records- grapes * tree ring data

Question 40

Give evidence for the little ice age

Answer 40

* paintings of a London frost fair, on a frozen thames * historical records talk about Artic ice reaching up to Scotland

Question 41

What is the greenhouse effect?

Answer 41

process where gases in the atmosphere trap heat from the Sun, keeping the Earth warm

Question 42

What 4 human activities enhance the greenhouse effect?

Answer 42

1. Farming 2. Energy 3. Transport 4. Industry

Question 43

How does farming enhance the greenhouse effect?

Answer 43

As the population increases, the demand of food increases so more trees are cut down to clear land for cattle farming and rice paddies. As trees absorb and store CO2, this lets more CO2 in the atmosphere. Livestock also produce methane via flatulence

Question 44

How does energy enhance the greenhouse effect?

Answer 44

As the population increases and new technologies are mare, the demand for electricity increases which means that greenhouse gasses would be released as most of our energy come from fossil fuels

Question 45

How does transport enhance the greenhouse effect?

Answer 45

With cars becoming more affordable and people taking more long flights, large quantities of fuel are needed, and as most of our transport relies of fossil fuels, they release greenhouse gases

Question 46

How does the industry enhance the greenhouse effect?

Answer 46

As levels of disposable income rise, the demand for consumer goods rises, leading to factories needing more energy, thus more fossil fuels are burnt to produce greenhouse gases

Question 47

What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?

Answer 47

the consensus that human activities are causing the greenhouse effect to be stronger, by adding more gases into the atmosphere

Question 48

Give 3 pieces of evidence to show that climate change is happening

Answer 48

* global tempratures drastically increased since the 1950's * the extent of Artic sea ice (in winter) has decreaed by more than 3% each decade for the past 35 years * sea levels rose by 210mm from 1870 to 2010

Question 49

What is thermal expansion?

Answer 49

When the sea warms up, it causes the sea level to rise as it expands

Question 50

Give 4 things climate change can cause

Answer 50

* droughts * low crop yeilds * migration * floods * extreme events

Question 51

What is a climate change projection?

Answer 51

a prediction of how the climate might change in the future, based on different levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

Question 52

Give 2 human and physical reasons why climate change projections can change so much

Answer 52

Human: * policy changes, technology advances, population, econmoic changes Physical: * orbital changes, asteroids, volcanoes, solar output variation