Climate Change ☀️🔥♻️

Question 1

What is the definition of climate change?

Answer 1

Any significant change in the Earth’s climate over a long period of time

Question 2

What is the quaternary period?

Answer 2

Most recent geological time period, spanning about 2.6 million years ago to the present day

Question 3

What was the period before quaternary like?

Answer 3

Warmer and quite stable

Question 4

What happened during the Quaternary?

Answer 4

Global temp shifted between cold glacial periods (lasting 100,000 years)
And warmer interglacial periods (lasting 10,000 years)

Question 5

What is global warming?

Answer 5

Term used to describe the sharp rise in global temperatures over last century (type of climate change)

Question 6

Where can we find evidence for climate change?

Answer 6

• ice and sediment cores 🧊
• temperature records 🌡️
• pollen analysis 🐝
• tree rings 🌳

Question 7

How are ice and sediment cores evidence for climate change?

Answer 7

• ice sheets are made of layers of ice - one per year
• scientists drill into ice sheets to get long cores of ice
• by analysing the gases trapped in layers of ice, they can tell what temp each year was
• remains of organisms found in cores taken from ocean sediments can also be analysed (temps back from 5 million years!)

Question 8

How are temperature records evidence for climate change?

Answer 8

• since 1850s, global temps have been accurately measured using thermometers (reliable but short-term)
• historical records can extend the record of climate change further back

Question 9

How is pollen analysis evidence for climate change?

Answer 9

• pollen is preserved in sediment
• scientists date and identify the pollen to show which species were living at the time
• scientists now know the conditions needed for plants to live, so this shows climate was similar

Question 10

How do tree rings show climate change?

Answer 10

• as a tree grows it forms a new ring each year - they are thicker in warm, wet conditions
• scientists take cores and count the rings to find the age of a tree (thickness shows the climate)
• reliable source of climate change for the last 10,000 years

Question 11

What are the natural causes for climate change?

Answer 11

• orbital changes
• volcanic activity
• solar output

Question 12

How do orbital changes show causes of climate change?

Answer 12

• affect solar radiation (energy) Earth receives — more energy means more warming
• variations in the way the Earth orbits the sun:
  
  • Stretch: earth’s orbit varies from circular to elliptical (eccentricity)
  • Tilt: earth’s axis is tilted at an angle as it orbits the sun
  • Wobble: axis wobbles like a spinning top
    May have caused glacial and interglacial cycles of the Quaternary period

Question 13

How is volcanic activity a cause of climate change?

Answer 13

• major eruptions eject large amounts of material into atmosphere
• particles reflect Sun’s rays back out to space, so Earth’s surface cools
• causes short-term changes in climate

Question 14

How is solar output a cause of climate change?

Answer 14

• sun’s energy output isn’t constant - changes in short cycles every 11 years
• reduced solar output means that the Earth’s climate may become cooler in some places
• solar output isn’t enough to have a MAJOR effect on global climate change

Question 15

Define ‘global warming’

Answer 15

Global temperatures rising sharply over the yea

Question 16

What is the greenhouse effect?

Answer 16

Takes place when greenhouse gases, such as CO2, absorb outgoing heat from Earth, so less is lost to space. It’s essential for keeping the planet warm
But, as greenhouse gas levels increase, more energy is trapped and the planet warms up even more

Question 17

How do levels of greenhouse gases increase?

Answer 17

• burning fossil fuels
• cement production
• farming
• deforestation

Question 18

How does burning fossil fuels cause increase in greenhouse gas concentrations?

Answer 18

CO2 is released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burnt e.g. from cars

Question 19

How does cement production cause increase in greenhouse gas concentrations?

Answer 19

Made from limestone, contains carbon. When cement is produced, lots of CO2 is released into atmosphere

Question 20

How does farming cause increase in greenhouse gas concentrations?

Answer 20

• farming in livestock produces methane
• rice paddies contribute to global warming, flooded fuels emit methane

Question 21

How does deforestation cause increase in greenhouse gas concentrations?

Answer 21

• plants remove CO2 from atmosphere and convert it into organic matter using photosynthesis
• when trees are cut down, they stop absorbing CO2
• CO2 is also released into the atmosphere when trees are burnt as fuel / agricultural

Question 22

What are temperatures expected to rise by?

Answer 22

0.3 to 4.8 °C between 2005 and 2100!

Question 23

What effects does climate change have on the environment?

Answer 23

• warmer temperatures cause glaciers to shrink and ice sheets to melt ➡️ which means water stored on land returns to oceans and causes sea levels to rise
• sea ice shrinking, loss of polar habitats
• rising sea levels mean low-lying, coastal areas, e.g. Miami, flood more ➡️ coastal erosion will increase ➡️ some areas may become submerged (lost habitats)
• species are declining due to warming
• precipitation patterns are changing
• distribution and quantity of some species could change and biodiversity could decrease

Question 24

What effect does climate change have on people?

Answer 24

• deaths due to heat will increase
• some areas may because difficult to live in
• low-lying areas may be lost due to rising sea levels (e.g. Maldives 🏝️)
• problems with water availability (caused by changing rainfall patterns) ➡️ areas cannot provide
• effects farmers crops
• lower crop yields could increase malnutrition, I’ll health and death
• weather is more extreme (e.g. UK)

Question 25

What are the mitigation strategies to reduce the causes of climate change?

Answer 25

• carbon capture
• planting trees
• alternative energy production
• international agreements

Question 26

How does Carbon Capture reduce the causes of climate change?

Answer 26

• reduces emissions from burning fossil fuels in power stations
• captures CO2, and transports it to a safe place where it’s stored (underground)

Question 27

How does planting trees reduce the causes of climate change?

Answer 27

Increases amount of CO2 that is absorbed from the atmosphere through photosynthesis

Question 28

How does alternative energy production reduce the causes of climate change?

Answer 28

• replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions
• more offshore wind farms are being build

Question 29

What are the strategies for responding to the effects of climate change?

Answer 29

• changing agricultural systems
• managing water supply
• coping with rising sea levels

Question 30

How can changing agricultural systems respond to the effects of climate change?

Answer 30

• changing rainfall patterns and higher temperatures affect productivity of existing systems
• plant new crop types that are more suited to new climate conditions in an area
• biotechnology can be used to create crops that are resistant to extreme weather e.g. drought-resistant millet in Kenya

Question 31

How can managing water supplies respond to the effects of climate change?

Answer 31

Dry areas are predicted to get even drier, leading to water shortages
- water meters can be used to discourage excessive water use
- rainwater and waste water can be recycled

Question 32

How can coping with rising sea levels respond to the effects of climate change?

Answer 32

Sea levels are predicted to rise about 65cm by 2100 - cause major flooding
- better warning systems are being put in place, physical defences
- in LICs people are building houses on embankments