U2L6 Climate Systems Flashcards
What is the atmosphere?
Layers of gases
What is the hydrosphere?
Solid, liquid, and gaseous water
What is the geosphere?
Rock and soil
What is the biosphere?
Living things
Earth is often described as a complex system composed of four smaller systems, called _______.
Spheres
What are the 4 spheres?
- Geosphere
- Hydrosphere
- Atmosphere
- Biosphere
How do Earth’s systems interact?
By exchanging energy and matter
The ______ of one system becomes the ______ of another.
Output; input
Could also be visa versa but this is just a sentence from the lesson
The flow of energy and matter between systems produce changes in Earth’s ________.
climate
What type of change is a large volcanic eruption?
short-term
occurs within a relatively short period of time
What spheres does a large volcanic eruption interact with?
the geosphere and the atmosphere
How does a large volcanic eruption affect Earth’s climate?
The eruption releases large amounts of gases and dust into the atmosphere. Wind particles around the globe where the gases reflect sunlight back into space and dust cools Earth by blocking sunlight.
What type of change is ocean currents?
short term
What spheres do ocean currents interact with?
Hydrosphere and the atmosphere
How do ocean currents interact with the hydrosphere and atmosphere?
Surface currents and deep currents transfer heat to different areas. The warmer water produces warmer temperatures in a region and increases evaporation of surface water. This warming alters the temperature and precipitation patterns in land areas on both sides of the Pacific.
How does the El Niño affect climate?
The El Niño cycle of changing the location of warm surface waters in the tropical regions of the Pacific Ocean.
(do more research by yourself (you’re probably not gonna do that ;-;))
What is a long term change in climate (meaning it takes a long time for it to build up and effect the climate) cause by humans?
The increase of fossil fuels
What do fossil fuels negatively interact with?
These changes alter climate by increasing the retention of thermal energy in the atmosphere. Both natural events and human actions produce long-term changes in ocean currents. These changes have dramatic effects on climate by altering regional temperature and precipitation patterns.
What type of change is solar energy?
Long term
How does solar energy affect earth’s climate?
Scientists have recorded an 11-year pattern of increasing and decreasing solar output. The number of sunspots is an indication of this solar output. This cycle causes atmospheric changes that alter Earth’s global winds and ocean currents. Climate effects include variations in storms, winds, and temperatures on Earth’s surface.
What are the three cycles that make up the Milankovitch cycles?
Cycles in eccentricity, obliquity, and precession
You probably don’t know what those words mean so… I made flash cards about them ;-;
What is the definition of eccentricity?
How circular an orbit is. Eccentricity closer to 0 is more circular and an orbit closer to 1 is move oval. Eccentricity = e
What is the definition of obliquity?
How tilted the axis is
What is the definition of precession?
the slow movement of the axis of a spinning body around another axis due to a torque (such as gravitational influence) acting to change the direction of the first axis. It is seen in the circle slowly traced out by the pole of a spinning gyroscope.
What happened to Earth’s eccentricity over time?
Over time, the eccentricity of Earth’s orbit cycles from almost circular to slightly elliptical
What is Earth’s obliquity?
Earth’s obliquity cycles between a tilt of about 24.5° to 22.5°
Where does earth experiences a precession?
Around its axis
What does measurements of ice core samples from the Antarctic reveal?
That these cycles correlate with cycles of temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels extending tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand years. These cycles affect climate by altering the duration of seasons and temperature extremes between summer and winter
What type of change is energy flowing into and out of Earth’s systems?
VERY long term change in climate
as in “VERY long” I mean millions of years long
True of False.
The slow changes in positions and sizes of land masses on Earth surface dramatically alter ocean currents and weather patterns
True
What is an example for tectonic plates changing climate?
Antarctica, for example, once had a mild climate and was covered by forests. Its movement south caused a large decrease in temperature and the formation of ice sheets. As the Indian subcontinent slowly moved northward, collisions with Eurasia produced the Himalayan Mountains, which altered the climate of the subcontinent by blocking cold air from the north.
Which is a way the hydrosphere transfers energy to the atmosphere?
evaporation
El Niño is primarily the interaction of which two systems?
Atmosphere and hydrosphere
How are rising sea levels and rising ocean temperatures connected?
At higher temperatures, the ocean melts ice caps faster.
The reflection of light off a glacier is the interaction of which two systems?
hydrosphere and atmosphere
What change happens when ocean currents cause warmer water to enter a region?
Evaporation of surface water increases.
How have rising ocean temperatures affected coral communities?
Corals become bleached as they expel algae with increased temperatures.
Ocean currents have a direct effect on climate primarily by an interaction of which systems?
hydrosphere and atmosphere
