Climate Change

Question 1

What is climate change

Answer 1

A long-term change in the Earth’s climate, causing it to become either warmer or colder

Question 2

What is greenhouse effect

Answer 2

The retention of heat in the atmosphere caused by the build up of greenhouse gases (e.g. carbon dioxide [CO2], water vapour [H2O] and methane [CH4])

Question 3

What is enhanced greenhouse effect

Answer 3

Accelerated warming of the planet caused by burning fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases (e.g. CO2 and CH4) into the atmosphere, “enhancing” the natural greenhouse effect.

Question 4

What is anthropogenic warming/ global warming

Answer 4

Global warming caused by human action (i.e. burning fossil fuels).

Question 5

What is climate emergency

Answer 5

A situation in which urgent action is required to reduce or halt climate change and avoid potentially irreversible environmental damage resulting from it.

Question 6

What is the Quaternary Period

Answer 6

The most recent geological time period and spans
from 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present

It is divided into two Epochs: the Pleistocene (2.588 million years ago to 11.7 thousand years ago) and the Holocene (11.7
thousand years ago to today).

Question 7

Give year unit conversions in the Quaternary Period

Answer 7

Giga annum (Ga) = one billion years (1,000,000,000)

Mega annum (Ma) = one million years (1,000,000)

Kilo annum (ka) = one thousand years (1,000)

Question 8

What are glacial periods

Answer 8

Colder periods with extensive glaciation (ice cover)

Question 9

What are interglacial periods

Answer 9

Warmer times, with limited ice cover between glacial periods

Question 10

What are the global effects of climate change

Answer 10

1. Melting of glaciers and ice sheets
2. Loss of sea ice cover
3. Low lying islands at risk of being flooded
4. Rising global sea levels
5. Seasonal change in migration patterns of birds
6. Unpredictable weather patterns

Question 11

What natural factors affect the Earth’s climate

Answer 11

Volcanic activity
Changes in the Earth’s orbit
Variations in the heat output from the Sun

Question 12

What is eccentricity

Answer 12

Change in the Earth’s orbit around the sun

Question 13

How often does orbit change occur

Answer 13

An 100000 year cycle

Question 14

What is obliquity

Answer 14

Tilt of the Earth’s axis

Question 15

What is precession

Answer 15

Wobble on the Earth’s axis

Question 16

What is insolation

Answer 16

Variations in the output of solar energy from the Sun

Question 17

Why does the Earth’s climate change

Answer 17

1. The tilt of the axis varies between 22.2 degrees and 24.5 degrees. The greater the tilt angle, the more solar energy the pole receives
2. The gradual change in the orientation of the Earth’s axis affects the relationship between the tilt and the eccentricity
3. Earth encounters more variation in energy and receives from the sun when the Earth’s orbit is elongated than it does when Earth’s orbit is more circular

Question 18

How long does it take to complete a wobble cycle

Answer 18

A 26000 year cycle

Question 19

What is the sunspot cycle and how long does it last

Answer 19

The number of sunspots increases from minimum to a maximum and repeats over an 11 year cycle

Question 20

What is a sunspot in solar activity

Answer 20

A dark patch that appears from time to time on the Sun’s surface

Question 21

What happens when sunspot activity is kept to a maximum

Answer 21

When sunspot activity is at it’s maximum, incoming solar insolation from the Sun increases, which can increase temperatures on Earth.

Only has a very small impact on Earth’s temperature.

Question 22

What happens when sunspot activity is kept to a minimum

Answer 22

When sunspot activity is at it’s minimum, incoming solar insolation from the Sun decreases, which can decrease temperatures on Earth.

Question 23

What do violent volcanic eruptions produce into the atmosphere

Answer 23

Ash, gases and suspended aerosols (liquid), for example sulphur
dioxide, which rapidly transforms into a weak sulphuric acid.

Question 24

What are the primary impacts of ash

Answer 24

Ash can block out the Sun, as it is suspended in
the atmosphere.

This changes the reflectivity of the Earth
(albedo), reflecting some of the incoming solar insolation back
into space, reducing the Earth’s temperature.

Question 25

What are the secondary impacts of ash

Answer 25

Planes grounded, as seen in 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull
in Iceland.

Crop failures, during winter of discontent during the 1780s,
as a consequence of the Laci eruption in Iceland in 1783-84.

Question 26

What is the long term impact of sulphur dioxide

Answer 26

Acid rain (caused by sulphur dioxide converting to sulphuric acid, remaining suspended in the atmosphere)

These reflect incoming solar radiation away from the Earth and increase temperatures

Question 27

What greenhouse gases cause climate change

Answer 27

Carbon dioxide
Nitrous oxides
Methane

Question 28

What is the effect of carbon dioxide on the atmosphere

Answer 28

Contributes to an estimated 60% of greenhouse effect

Global concentration of carbon dioxide has had a 30% increase since 1860

Question 29

What are the causes of carbon dioxide

Answer 29

Deforestation (cutting trees to release CO2)

Burning fossil fuels (non renewable energy releases harmful C02 into the atmosphere)

Car exhausts

Question 30

What is the effect of methane on the atmosphere

Answer 30

Effective in heat absorption

Accounts for 20% of enhanced greenhouse effect

Question 31

What are the causes of methane

Answer 31

Heating
Burning biomass for energy
Farm livestock
Rice farming
Decaying organic matter

Question 32

What is the effect of nitrous oxides in the atmosphere

Answer 32

Very small concentrations in the atmosphere are up to 300 times more effective in capturing heat than carbon dioxide

Question 33

What are the causes of nitrous oxides

Answer 33

Sewage treatment
Power stations: electricity production
Car exhausts
Agricultural fertilisers

Question 34

What is mitigation

Answer 34

Action taken to reduce the long term risk from a hazard, or something with negative consequences

Question 35

What are the negative impacts of climate change

Answer 35

Extreme tropical storms
Higher global temperatures
Desertification
Wildlife at risk
Habitat risks
Lower crop yields
Infrastructure damage
Increased hazard risk
Health related diseases

Question 36

How does mitigation help reduce climate change

Answer 36

They can operate at a wide variety of scales

They also have up front costs: involving a large amount of up front investment.

HICs are more likely to do this than LICs

Question 37

What are four types of mitigation scales

Answer 37

Individual: consumption choices

Local: local government strategies

National: government policies and tax frameworks

Global: international agreements

Question 38

What are the impacts of adapting changes via agricultural systems to climate change

Answer 38

Rainfall and temperature patterns are changed

Distribution of pests and diseases will change

Extreme weather hazards (floods, droughts, heatwaves) become more common

Question 39

How can farmers adapt to increased climate change

Answer 39

Farmers will need to cope with extreme weather (floods or droughts)

Manage water supply by storing water, using efficient irrigation systems, growing drought resistant crops and adapt to seasonal changes.

Crops and livestock may also need to be changed to suit the new climate conditions

Question 40

What is the effect of rising sea levels on coastal communities

Answer 40

Communities are threatened

Seawater affects farmland and fresh water supplies

Increased costal erosion may affect beaches and tourism

Coastal ecosystems such as mangrove forests may be destroyed or harmed by waves or storm surges