Week 8

Question 1

When did anthropogenic effects on climate become reconized

Answer 1

Around 1980, before then most of the worlds climate varied due to only natural forcings

Question 2

Define the instrumental Era

Answer 2

A time where obervations were being taken based off of proven instrumentation. These instruments are kept in stations or other locations and monitor parameters frequently to ensure accurate data.

Question 3

Define the surface Air Temperature (SAT)

Answer 3

Land sudface air temp + sea surface air temp.

Question 4

Why is it important to have many climate stations?

Answer 4

It allows us to catch even small extremes such as urban heat island effect, so that we can correct our understanding of the climate and account for it

Question 5

What is the take home message from land a sea temperature observations?

Answer 5

All sources of data should provide similiar and consistant climate information to ensure proper tracking of the earths climate

Question 6

What Can increase the confidence that climate data is correct?

Answer 6

Correlation with nearby climate stations.

Question 7

Discuss precipiation means and how it relates to confidence

Answer 7

Confidence in data comes from correlation between stations, precipitation varies greatly, therefore it is much more unreliable than temperature

Question 8

What effect does the ocean have on the earths temperature?

Answer 8

The ocean influences climate by storing and transporting large amounts of heat, freshwater, and carbon and by exchanging these properties with the atmosphere. Most of this occurs in the upper ocean

Question 9

Discuss observed ocean temperature increaseand potential impacts it may have on the climate

Answer 9

0. 25 degrees since 1971
   - melt sea ice, or floating glacial ice
   - change ice sheet dynamics
   - increase sea level

Question 10

What can cause a change in ocean salinity?

Answer 10

Rise : - Evaporation of ocean water
- Formation of sea Ice
Drop: -Precipitation
-melting of ice

Question 11

What techniques are used in mordern time to collect data on ocean salinity?

Answer 11

Autosampling moorings -
these have bottle programmed to record conductivity at different water depths, fluctuate up and down in water column.

Aquarius - NASA’s first satelite to study salt concentations, studies microwave emissivity of the top 2 cm of ocean water, physical properties depend on temp. and salinity.

Question 12

What determines salinity distrobutions in the upper oceans?

Answer 12

They are directly correlated with the freshwater cycle, i.e. high surface salinity regions have E>P
Low salinity regions have P>E
E=Evap.
P=Prep.

Question 13

What has been the trend in the oceans salitnity over time? 1960-2000

Answer 13

90-100% likely The atlantic has increased in salinity, and the pacific has decreased.

Question 14

What conclusions can be drawn about the condition of ocean salinity? list 3

Answer 14

contrast between high and low salinity regions have increased
Saline (Evap dominated) becomes more saline,
Fresh (Precp. dominated) becomes more fresh.

Question 15

What is the correlation between the CO2 concetration in the atmosphere and the oceans?

Answer 15

An increased CO2 concentration in the atomsphere results in an increase in CO2 concentration in the oceans, this CO2 can then react with water to for carbonic acid, causing ocean acidification.

Question 16

How much acidification has occured?

Answer 16

Roughly a drop in 0.08 pH units, most in north atlantic and less in sourth pacific

Question 17

What can be the effects of ocean acidification on the ocean ecosystem

Answer 17

Many animals rely on the delicate balance of ocean acidity in order to create calcifying shells. Many people and animals rely on these calcifying species as food sources which can be effected.

Question 18

How do we measure the sea level? Where are these records recorded the most?

Answer 18

Tide gauges, 
Can be used to determine 
-Tide influence 
-large storm influences
Eastern N America, and NW Europe (the first to be impacted)

Question 19

What is the problem faced when recontructing long term sea levels?

Answer 19

bedrock rebound,

In ages of glaciation, rocks were compressed, now the bedrocks are rebounding, pushing the ocean floor up.

Question 20

Where is bedrock rebounding occuring?

Answer 20

Mostly over canada, greenland, and northern parts of russia

Question 21

Whar has been the calculated sea level rise

Answer 21

sea level has risen by 17cm since 1901, could mean 17m advance in coastal plain regions

Question 22

What are the three factors that contribute to sea level rise?

Answer 22

1. Ocean thermal expansions
2. Melting of green land and Antarctic ice
3. Melting mountain Glacier and ice Caps.

Question 23

List some conclusion about sea level rise

Answer 23

• increase at a rate of 1.7mm/yr 1900-2010
• increase at a rate of 3.2 mm/yr 1993-2010
• 0.6mm/yr caused by thermal epansion

Question 24

Why is glacier mass balance important?

Answer 24

it allows us to understand the state of the ice on earth, giving us information about temperature and rising tides

Question 25

How is Glacial mass balance measured?

Answer 25

Annual terminus position measurements
albation stakes,
Snow pits and snow probing
Aerial photgraphy to observe ice changes

Question 26

What is the significance of art in the cryogenic studies?

Answer 26

Old artist paintings tell us the state of the glacier at the time period

Question 27

Discuss climate change effect on the alps?

Answer 27

Greater than 2X increase of global mean T (double the Temp increase at the alps) large loss of glacial covering

Question 28

What are known facts about glaciers?

Answer 28

Nearly all are shrinking,

Increase in sea level, will continue to shrink even without future temp increase

Question 29

list some known facts about sea icesome known facts

Answer 29

• The artic sea ice has decrease at a rate of 4% per decade ,
• Thickess has deceases 1.3-2.3 meters from 1980 - 2008
• Antarti sea ice increased over a period at a rate of 1.4% per decade

Question 30

What is the main concern about sea ice melting

Answer 30

We are observing sea ice is melting at an alarmingly quick rate. This inturn could cause a very big increase in sea level rise.