221 study this and cheat sheet

Question 1

surface station

Answer 1

• a weather observing location that reports weather conditions
• show temperature, pressure, wind, radiation, turbidity

Question 2

IPCC SROC

Answer 2

• special report on the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate
• 2019
• Observed changes and impacts, projected changes and risks, and implementing responses to ocean and cryosphere change

Question 3

temperature

Answer 3

• the sensible heat at a given location

Question 4

marine observations

Answer 4

• provide current information on the Ocean water
• info on sea surface temperature, surface winds, marine weather

Question 5

moisture

Answer 5

• the precipitation and humidity
• the precipitation is water, in liquid or solid form, that falls from the atmosphere and reaches the earth
• humidity is the amount of water vapor in an air mass at a given time

Question 6

pressure

Answer 6

• the weight exerted by an air mass

Question 7

solar energy

Answer 7

• energy from the sun that is transformed into heat at or near the earth’s surface

Question 8

radiation

Answer 8

• Can be absorbed or emitted by all matter, depending on temperature and “emissivity” of the material
• All objects warmer than 0 Kelvin emit radiation

Question 9

Insolation

Answer 9

• The amount of incoming solar radiation
• not equal everywhere on Earth
• Amount depends on the intensity and duration of radiation from the sun
• these depend on the number of daylight hours and angle of the sun’s ray

Question 10

three ways that precipitation can occur

Answer 10

1. orographical- warm moist air rises over hills
2. convectional- rising moist air that cools down
3. cyclonic- cool and warm air masses meet

Question 11

jet streams

Answer 11

• flow from west to east
• guide movement of weather systems

Question 12

shortwave vs longwave radiation

Answer 12

• Shortwave radiation refers to high-energy radiation with shorter wavelengths (sun)
• Longwave radiation refers to lower-energy radiation with longer wavelengths (Earth)
• only shortwave is visable

Question 13

high emission scenario vs low emission scenario

Answer 13

• high emission scenarios project continued, rapid increase in greenhouse gas emissions
  
  • Ex: RCP8.5
• low emission scenarios look at substantial and substained reduction in greenhouse gas emission
  
  • RCP2.6

Question 14

why are Temperatures heavily moderated by large bodies of water?

Answer 14

• Some earth surface materials (like water) store solar energy more effectively than others

Question 15

is cold or warm water more dense?

Answer 15

• cold water

Question 16

energy balance

Answer 16

• the equilibrium between the amount of solar energy that Earth receives from the sun (incoming radiation) and the amount of energy it radiates back into space (outgoing radiation)

Question 17

outgoing longwave radiation

Answer 17

• the heat that Earth radiates back into space
• differences in surface temperature makes OLR different across world
• determined by cloud amount and height, and surface temperature

Question 18

heat transfer

Answer 18

• Heat transfers in air and ocean, which balances the surplus of energy in the tropics and the deficit of energy at the poles

Question 19

greenhouse effect

Answer 19

• Natural process
• Certain gases in the Earth’s atmosphere trap heat from the sun, warming the planet’s surface

Question 20

keeling curve

Answer 20

• A graph that shows us the concentration of carbon dioxide in parts per million
• Observed in Mauna Loa, Hawaii, where the Earth’s air is sampled
• concentration rises throughout the year, but then decreased in September
• This is because in the fall, plants decay and decompose, releasing CO2
• the entire curve has been increasing exponentially

Question 21

albedo

Answer 21

• how reflective a surface is
• Earth’s albedo is reflected by clouds, aerosols, and the surface
• Ex: snow and ice have a high albedo and water has a lower one, absorbs more of the sun’s energy
• High allbedo surfaces bounce sunlight back
• about .30 for Earth as a whole

Question 22

what temperature water holds more gas?

Answer 22

• cold water

Question 23

ocean acidification

Answer 23

• A decrease in ocean pH over decades or more that is caused primarily by uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere (CO2 reacts with seawater to form carbonic acid)
• Because human activities are releasing CO2 into the atmosphere very quickly, the ocean is taking up CO2 faster today than it has in the past

Question 24

plate tectonic theory

Answer 24

• Theory that Earth is composed of numerous plates that
  move independently of one another at varying speeds, over the earth’s surface

Question 25

ice albedo positive feedback

Answer 25

- Cooling produces more ice and snow cover, which further cools the Earth - Warming reduces the ice and snow cover, which further enhances the warming

Question 26

last glacial maximum

Answer 26

- A period in Earth's climate history when ice sheets were at their maximum extension, between about 26,500 and 18,000 years ago - Vast ice sheets covered much of North America, northern Europe and Asia

Question 27

holocene

Answer 27

- A period from about 11,500 years ago to present, characterized by relatively stable warm climate

Question 28

6 land biomes

Answer 28

- Rainforests, deserts, grasslands, deciduous forests, boreal forests, tundra

Question 29

2 water biomes

Answer 29

- marine (saltwater) and freshwater

Question 30

phytoplankton

Answer 30

- absorb CO2 through the atmosphere through photosynthesis - when they die, the CO2 sinks to the ocean floor and reenters the atmosphere - this is called the biological pump

Question 31

zooplankton

Answer 31

- eat phytoplankton and add more carbon to the ocean - make the ocean a carbon sink

Question 32

sunspot activity

Answer 32

- more sunspots deliver more energy to the atmosphere, so that global temperatures should rise - A spot or patch appearing from time to time on the sun's surface - Can fluctuate year to year, and change all the time

Question 33

Global Dimming

Answer 33

- A gradual decrease in the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface - Anthropogenic aerosols are major cause for this anomaly

Question 34

global brightening

Answer 34

- As air pollution has decreased in many areas, more sunlight is now reaching the planet, causing a "brightening" effect - considered better than global dimming because brighening is associated with a reduction is atmospheric aerosols

Question 35

kelvin boiling of water, freezing of water , and absolute 0

Answer 35

- boiling: 373.15 - freezing: 273.15 - absolute 0:0

Question 36

Celcius boiling of water, freezing of water , and absolute 0

Answer 36

- boiling: 100 - freezing: 0 - absolute 0: -273

Question 37

Fahrenheit boiling of water, freezing of water , and absolute 0

Answer 37

- boiling: 212 - freezing: 32 - absolute 0: -460

Question 38

CO2 emission by source and from fossil fuel

Answer 38

- from source: land use and coal - from fossil fuel: electricity generation and heating