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Chapter 14 Review Questions

Maldives - Canary low-lying island nation in Indian Ocean. Population 370,000. Average elevation 1m (highest point is 8m) 370,000 potential refugees
Know terms shown in bold in chapter, & additional terms from lecture/videos: Albedo measure of reflectivity of a surface Climate vs. weather Climate describes patterns of atmospheric conditions within large geographic areas over seasons, years, or millennia. Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get Climate change vs. global warming Climate change describes changes in Earths climate such as temperature and precipitation but global warming refers to an increase in Earths average temperature. Greenhouse Effect / Greenhouse Gases Delay in the loss of heat from Earth to space. GHGs absorb and radiate thermal infrared radiation. H20, CO2, Methane CH4, and N20 are most common and CFCs. aerosols (global dimming) Can have a warming effect through soot or major volcanic eruptions can cool Earths climate for several years. Milankovitch cycles (tilt, wobble, orbit) Our planet wobbles on its axis, varies in the tilt of the axis, and experiences change in the shape of its orbit. solar output The sun varies in the amount of radiation it emits. Estimates place the radiative forcing of natural changes in solar output at about 0.12 watts/m2 ocean absorption Oceans absorb CO2 from the atmosphere when this gas dissolves directly in water and when plankton use it for photosynthesis. ocean (thermohaline) circulation, NADW, ENSO Moves warm tropical water northward toward Europe, providing the continent a far milder climate than it would otherwise have. Rob Dunbar (oceanographer) Ted.com video proxy indicators have coral cores (temp/chem) hundreds or thousands of years in sed or ice caps IPCC consists of scientists and gov reps that review information and reports on climate change Mitigation Pursue actions that would reduce greenhouse gas and to lessen the severity of climate change. adaptation Adapting to change from the impacts of climate change. Kyoto Protocol Mandated nations to reduce emissions of 6 greenhouse gases to levels below 1990. Can you explain/diagram the Greenhouse Effect? What are the Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)? From whence do they come? What is their relative effectiveness at doing their job? - Greenhouse effect is the delay in the loss of heat from Earth to space. GHGs absorb and radiate thermal infrared radiation. After absorbing radiation emitted from the surface, greenhouse gases subsequently re-emit infrared radiation in all directions. Atmospheric gases with three or more atoms in their molecules tend to absorb infrared radiation very effectively. What is the effect of aerosols on climate? - Have a warming effect through soot or major volcanic eruptions can cool Earths climate for several years. Natural influences on climate: What are they? How do they work? - By cyclic changes in Earths rotation and orbit, variation in energy released by the sun, absorption of carbon dioxide by the oceans, and ocean circulation patterns Cyclic changes in Earths rotation & orbit (Milankovitch) - Planet wobbles on its axis, varies the tilt of the axis, and experiences change in the shape of its orbit. Absorption of CO2 by oceans - The ocean holds 50 times more carbon than the atmosphere holds

Ocean circulation patterns (El Nino-Southern Oscillation, Walker Circulation, upwelling) - El Nino-Southern Oscillation involves systematic shifts in atmospheric pressure, sea surface temperature, and ocean circulation in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Walker Circulation parcels of

air follow a closed circulation in the zonal and vertical directions. This circulation, which is roughly consistent with observations, is caused by differences in heat distribution between ocean and land. Upwelling that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water towards the ocean surface, replacing the warmer, usually nutrient-depleted surface water.
How do scientists infer and measure climate change? Direct sampling (Charles Keeling) His resulting discovery, of the increasing level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, transformed the scientific understanding of humanitys relationship with the earth. became the first person in the world to develop an accurate technique for measuring carbon dioxide in the air, the amount he discovered was 310 parts per million Current CO2 concentration from 315 ppm in 1958 to 392 ppm to 2011.

Ice & sediment cores (confirm that temperature swings in the past were tightly correlated with greenhouse concentrations) pack rat middens (preserved plant parts for centuries), coral (reveal aspects of ocean chemistry), dendrochronology glacial & interglacial periods - Times with large ice-sheets are known as glacial periods (or ice ages) and times without large ice-sheets are interglacial period modeling programs that combine what is known about atmospheric circulation, ocean circulation, atmosphere-ocean interactions, and feedback cycles to simulate climate processes. IPCC 2007 Reports conclusions on role in climate change summarized thousands of scientific studies, record trends in surface temperature, rain patterns, snow and ice, storm intensity, and other factors. Greatest CO2 contributions from what US activities? Electricity generation 40% and
transportation Kyoto Protocol mandated signatory nations to reduce emissions of six greenhouse gases below 1990. Russia, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan, United States, Canada US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement UU.S mayors commit their cities to pursue policies to meat or beat Kyoto Protocol guidelines. CA 2006 AB32 Global Warming Solutions Act Swarzenegger aims to cut Californias greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by the year of 2020. Cap-and-trade governments charge polluters a fee for each unit of greenhouse gasses they emit. Carbon offsets voluntary payments intended to enable another entity to reduce emissions that one is unable to reduce itself

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