Climate Change Flashcards
Describe the green house effect
Solar energy from the sun passes through the atmosphere
Some energy is reflected back out to space
Earth’s surface is heated by the sun and radiates the heat back out towards space
Green house gases in the atmosphere trap some of the heat
Define climate change
Change in global climate temperature and precipitation over time
How has deforestation affected climate change?
The removal of vegetation for other land uses such as farming, logging, mining, development
20% global emissions come from forest destruction// biggest emitters Indonesia and Brazil
How has industry affected climate change?
Oil, natural gas, coal
Carbon based// When combusted release CO2
What is global warming?
A gradual increase of the Earth’s atmosphere due to effect of greenhouse gases
Without the atmosphere, how much colder would Earth be?
30 degrees Celsius
What causes an increase in greenhouse gases?
CO2- Burning fossil fuels, deforestation (78%)
CFCs- Refrigerators, aerosols and production plastics (13%)
Methane- Paddi fields, waste material (10%)
Nitrous Oxide- Power stations, fertilisers, car exhaust (5%)
Define short term and long term evidence of climate change
Short term- 5000 years
Long term- Thousands and millions of years
How do historical records give evidence for climate change?
Weather diaries and records have been kept by amateur meteorologists and books, paintings and engravings can also give a flavour of past climates
How do glaciers give evidence for climate change?
The ‘Mer de Glace’, a glacier in the Alps has been charted for hundreds of years. It has shown a general retreat of around 1500 m in the past 200 to 250 years
How does dendrochronology give evidence for climate change?
The study of annual growth rings of trees
The size of the growth rings (the thicker they are the warmer and wetter the summer has been) can give important information about climate since the temperature, the length of the growing season and frosts are key elements controlling the growth of trees
What does TRE stand for?
Trend- Describe what is happening in the graph, eg increase/decrease
Rate- Describe how quick or slow the trend is eg rapid, steadily etc
Examples- Use accurate figures from the graph to reinforce the trend and rate
Give a positive impact of climate change in an MEDC
Increased temperatures- Grow crops
Sussex Vineyards
Grow grapes to produce wine // Sell the product // Provide jobs // Get more money // Better economy
