Unit 6 Lecture 32 Flashcards
What is the difference between climate and weather?
Weather: Short term conditions of atmosphere (temperature, precipitation, etc.)
Climate: Long term average weather for a certain place (climate can change over long periods of time)
What has been shown in a global surface temp since the 1980s graph
- prior to 1950 temps were on average cooler than the average temp
- Since 1980, temperatures have been increasing and on average higher than average temp
How do we calculate global average temperature
We calculate the ‘anomaly’
- calculate the average temp for that period of time for any of these points that have data
- For each year you calculate the average temperature for that year and then calculate the deviation from the average for that specific weather station
___ degree farenheit increase per year over the past 40 years
0.3
What were the 11 warmest years on record?
2007 to 2015
Climate change is _______
heterogeneous
- some areas are hotter, some areas are colder, but overall definitely hotter
What cause there to be a deviation difference from the 80s to the 00s
The passing of the clean air act
- Pollution has the effect of reflecting radiation from the sun; less energy of the sun gets through and has a global cooling effect
What used to be the hottest year on record for the 00s
1932
Why is climate change important?
We are seeing changes in natural disaster; California fires
What is that one quote Lyons said about climate change
Cannot say climate change is causing these storms, but we can see its affecting the intensity
- hurricanes
- fire
- hot days
- snow storms
Temperature increasing overtime is strongly correlated with atmospheric concentrations of what two elements?
CO2 and Methane (CH4)
Does carbon dioxide and methane levels have a direct relationship with temperature of indirect relationship with temperature?
Direct positive
- As CO2 and CH4 levels go up, temperature goes up
CO2 levels have not been as high as they are in how long?
25 million
What are the two major effects increasing atmospheric carbon
- Greenhouse effect
- Ocean acidification
How did scientists measure the CO2 levels
Recorded daily average of CO2 level on a mountain top (Mauna Loa)in Hawaii that proved its been increasing
Explain the greenhouse effect
Essentially we have our sun that gives us energy, some is absorbed by atmosphere, some reflected by clouds, some reflected by surface, and most is absorbed by the earth
- Radiation is then emitted by the surface and a lot goes our a long-wave radiation
- Problem comes when we have greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere
- This energy that’s emitted, instead of escaping, it gets radiation back to the earth and reabsorbed (this is what warms the planet)
Is the greenhouse effect new?
No it naturally happens to some extent, it makes the earth habitable, BUT increased atmospheric carbon exacerbates the effect
There is an increase/decrease in arctic sea ice
Decrease
What could POTENTIALLY happen with the melting of the arctic?
- There are a lot of minerals buried in the ice from years and years ago
- Right now Russia and Canada claim the arctic, and Russia has plenty of ice breaker machines
- The concern is that in 2040 (predicted year of arctic melting), tensions will rise with getting access to these minerals with Canada and the US
- To play devils advocate, the ice melting could open up the NW passage helping shipping
When does sea levels rise?
Not when the arctic melts, or any ice in the water because thats already factored for
Sea levels rise when land ice melts like Greenland because that water is not counted for
How is the ocean acidifying?
- The ocean absorbs a lot of the excess carbon that we are putting into the atmosphere increasing ocean temperatures
- This absorption of carbon lowers the pH of the ocean making carbonic acid, acidifying the ocean
What percent of excess carbon is absorbed by the ocean?
25%
Why is the acidification of the ocean bead for marine life?
- Corals and shells are made with calcium carbonate (CaCO3), BUT the acid in the ocean is dissolving this
- If organisms cannot make CaCO3 they cannot make their shells
- The energy from the sun is becoming too much for the coral and is bleeding and dying.
- If coral die they stop providing ecospace for other species
Where is the coral experiencing the most bleaching?
Northern sector
Central sector
Southern sector
Northern Sector
What is the target ocean temp for the Paris Agreement?
2 degrees celsius which is still too much and corals would die
How did we study the potential effects of acidification?
- Areas where there are vents in the ocean where magma seeps out
- These have higher CO2 at these areas, and therefore lower pH and higher acidity
- Study the diversity as you get closer and closer to the areas of increase acidity
What did they see when studying the effects of acidification
As you move away from higher pH population size goes down rapidly to 0 as does species diversity, leading to ocean mass extinction
The effects of current climate change are most like which mass extinction?
End permian
