changing climate

Question 1

What is the Quaternary Period?

Answer 1

• The most recent geological time period
• 2.6 million years ago to the present day

Question 2

What was the climate like before the Quaternary Period?

Answer 2

• The Earth’s climate was warmer and quite stable

Question 3

What was the climate like during the Quaternary Period?

Answer 3

• Global temperatures shifted between cold glacial periods (100,000 years) and warmer interglacial periods (10,000 years)

Question 4

How has the climate changed since the Quaternary Period?

Answer 4

• The last glacial period ended around 15,000 years ago
• Since then the climate has been warming

Question 5

What is global warming?

Answer 5

• Term used to describe the sharp rise in global temperatures over the last century
• Type of climate change

Question 6

How do ice cores give evidence for climate change?

Answer 6

• Ice sheets are made up of layers of ice - one layer is formed each year
• Scientists drill into the ice sheets to get long cores of ice
• By analysing the gases trapped in the layers of ice, they can tell what the temperature was each year
• Data collected from ice cores is very detailed and reliable

Question 7

How does temperature data give evidence for climate change?

Answer 7

• Since the 1850s, global temps have been measured using thermometers
• Gives a reliable but short-term record of temperature change
• Weather stations are not evenly distributed - data is patchy

Question 8

How do diaries and paintings give evidence for climate change?

Answer 8

• Historical diaries can show what the climate was like in the past
  e.g. giving the number of days of rain, and the dates of harvest (early harvest suggests warm weather?
• Paintings of fairs and markets on frozen rivers show that winters in Europe were much colder
• Not very reliable, gives one person’s viewpoint

Question 9

How do sea ice positions give evidence for climate change?

Answer 9

• Sea ice forms around the poles in winter (when ocean temps fall below 1.8°C)
• Melts during the summer (when it’s warmer)
• By observing maximum and minimum extent of sea ice each year, can tell how ocean temps are changing
• Data is very reliable, however, accurate records don’t go far back

Question 10

What are some natural factors that possible cause climate change?

Answer 10

• The Milankovitch Cycle
• Sunspots
• Volcanic activity

Question 11

What is eccentricity and how does it cause climate change?

Answer 11

• The path of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun
• Earth’s orbit changes over time from being circular to mildly elliptical
• Complete cycle occurs about every 100,000 years
• Circular means colder periods
• Elliptical means warmer periods

Question 12

What is axial tilt and how does it cause climate change?

Answer 12

• The Earth spins on its axis causing night and day
• Over a period of 41,000 years axial tilt moves between 21.5° and 24.5°
• The greater the tilt the higher the temp

Question 13

What is precession and how does it cause climate change?

Answer 13

• The Earth’s wobble
• Complete cycle 26,000 years
• Accounts for long days and long nights

Question 14

What are sunspots?

Answer 14

• Sunspots are cooler areas of the Sun’s surface that are visible as dark patches
• They increase the Sun’s output of energy
• Cycles of about 11 years

Question 15

How do sunspots possibly cause climate change?

Answer 15

• Periods where there are very few sunspots, solar output is reduced
• Cause the Earth’s climate to become cooler in some areas
• Most scientists think that it doesn’t have a major effect on global climate change

Question 16

How does volcanic activity cause climate change?

Answer 16

• Eject large quantities of material into the atmosphere
• Sulphur dioxide reflects the Sun’s rays back out to space, so the Earth’s surface cools
• Ash blocks the Sun reducing surface temperatures (called volcanic winter)

Question 17

What is the greenhouse effect?*

Answer 17

• heat from the sun

Question 18

What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?

Answer 18

• Human activities are causing global warming by making the greenhouse effect stronger

Question 19

How does farming contribute to the greenhouse effect? *

Answer 19

• Farming of livestock produces ethane
• Flooded fields of rice paddies emit methane

Question 20

How does burning fossil fuels contribute to the greenhouse effect? *

Answer 20

• When fossil fuels like coal, oil, natural gas and petrol are burnt, CO2 is released into the atmosphere
  e.g. thermal power stations

Question 21

How does deforestation contribute to the greenhouse effect? *

Answer 21

• Plants

Question 22

How does cement production contribute to the greenhouse effect? *

Answer 22

• cement

Question 23

What the environmental impacts of climate change?

Answer 23

• Temps expected to rise by 0.3 - 4.8 °C between 2005 and 2100.
• Warmer temps causing glaciers to shrink and ice sheets like Greenland to melt.
• Melting of ice on land means that water stored on land as ice returns to the oceans, - causes sea level rise, lead to low-lying and coastal areas being flooded more regularly.
• Sea ice shrinking - loss of polar habitats.
• Other species declining due to warming, e.g. some coral reefs suffering from bleaching due to increasing sea water temperatures.
• Precipitation patterns changing - warming is affecting how much rain areas get.
• Distribution and quantity of some species could change and biodiversity could decrease:
• some species now found in higher latitudes due to warming temperatures.
• some habitats are being damaged or destroyed due to climate change
  species that are specially adapted to these areas nay become extinct

Question 24

What are the economic impacts of climate change?

Answer 24

• Weather is getting more extreme - more money spent on predicting extreme weather events (e.g. floods, droughts and tropical storms), reducing their impacts and rebuilding after them.
• Rising temps are causing areas of permafrost to melt - lead to the collapse of buildings. Pipelines etc. built on it.
• However, it’s easier to extract natural resources
• Globally some crops have suffered from climate change (e.g. maize crops have got smaller due to warming in recent years.
• But some farmers in high-latitude countries are finding that crops benefit from warmer conditions.
• Water shortages affect our ability to generate power
• hydroelectric power and thermal power stations require lots of water

Question 25

What are the social impacts of climate change?

Answer 25

• Increased threat from wildfires.
  These can damage homes and also put people’s lives at risk.
• Some areas could become so hot and dry that they’re difficult or impossible to inhabit
• Low-lying coastal areas could be lost to the sea or flood so often that they also become impossible to inhabit. This could lead to migration and overcrowding in other areas.
• Struggling to supply enough water for their residents due to problems with water availability caused by changing rainfall patterns. This can lead to political
  tensions. especially where rivers cross borders.
• Lower crop yields could increase malnutrition. ill health and death from starvation, particularly in lower latitudes

Question 26

Environmental Impacts
How does the changing climate affect the UK?

Answer 26

• Temps will increase. The increase is expected to be greatest in southern England, where the average summer temperature is projected to increase by 3.9 °C by 2080.
• Winter rainfall is expected to increase by 16% in parts of the western side of the UK.
• Summer rainfall is expected to decrease by 23% in parts of southern England.

Question 27

Environmental Impacts
How do extreme events affect the UK?

Answer 27

• Droughts are expected to be more frequent and intense, especially in southern England
• Flooding will become more common due to increased rainfall and sea level rise.

Question 28

Environmental Impacts
How does sea level rise affect the UK?

Answer 28

• Sea level is expected to rise by 12-76 cm by 2095.
• This will lead to the loss of habitats, e.g. saltmarsh.

Question 29

Environmental Impacts
How is wildlife affected by climate change in the UK?

Answer 29

• Climate change will change the UK’s habitats.
• Some species have already left their original habitats and moved north to areas with lower temperatures (e.g. the comma butterfly).
• This can upset the balance of natural ecosystems (see b 57 and lead to species extinction.

Question 30

Economic Impacts
How is tourism affected by climate change in the UK?

Answer 30

• Warmer weather in the UK could boost the tourist industry if more people decide to holiday at home
• However, in some areas, it could also lead to a decline, e.g. skiing in the Cairngorms.

Question 31

Economic Impacts
How is fishing affected by climate change in the UK?

Answer 31

• More extreme UK weather conditions could put fishing infrastructure (e.g. ports, boats) at risk from storm damage
• Fishermen’s livelihoods could be affected by changing fish populations and species found in UK waters

Question 32

Economic Impacts
How is agriculture affected by climate change in the UK?

Answer 32

• Temp increase and a longer growing season may increase productivity of some crops, e.g. asparagus, onions, courgettes, peas and beans.
• New crops adapted to warmer climates could be grown in southern England (e.g. soya and grapes), but reduced rainfall and droughts would increase the need for irrigation and water storage schemes.

Question 33

Social Impacts
How do water shortages affect the UK?

Answer 33

• Drier summers will affect water availability, particularly in areas of south east England where population density is increasing.

Question 34

Social Impacts
How do floods affect the UK?

Answer 34

• Flooding from increased rainfall and sea level rise might damage homes and businesses, especially those on estuaries (e.g. in cities such as Hull, Cardiff, Portsmouth and London) and low lying areas near the coast (e.g. large areas of Norfolk).

Question 35

Social Impacts
How does health affect the UK?

Answer 35

• Deaths from cold-related illnesses may decrease but health services may have to treat more heat-related illnesses, e.g. heat exhaustion