IPCC and Observed Climate Change Flashcards
1
Q
What does the IPCC stand for/do?
A
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- scientific body tasked to evaluate the risk of climate change caused by human activity
- does not carry out research
- publishes special assessments of the state of knowledge of climate change every five to six years
2
Q
describe Working Group I
A
- concerned exclusively with the science of climate change
- is composed exclusively of natural scientists
3
Q
describe Working Group II
A
- focused on climate change adaptation
- efforts to help plants, animals, and humans cope with a changing climate
- composted of both natural and social scientists
4
Q
describe Working Group III
A
- concerned with mitigation of climate change
- efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- composed of social scientists, economists, technologists, and engineers
5
Q
each report is composed of:
A
- summary for policymakers
- technical summary
- main report
6
Q
describe the main report
A
- contains the details of the assessment
7
Q
describe the technical summary
A
- distillation of the most important points of the main report, presented in technical language
8
Q
describe the summary for policymakers
A
- further distillation of the technical summary for nonscientific audiences
- is examined line-by-line by representatives from every country
9
Q
define radiative forcing
A
- defined as the radiation change in W/m2 at the top of the troposphere due to the forcing agent
10
Q
positive radiative forcing produces a ____
A
warming response
11
Q
negative radiative forcing produces a ___
A
cooling response
12
Q
describe the radiative forcings of aerosols
A
- some have a positive RF because they absorb sunlight (black carbon/soot)
- some have a negative RF because they reflect sunlight (sulfate)
13
Q
describe aerosols’ effect on clouds
A
- increase albedo by creating more sites for water vapor condensation & increasing the numbers of water droplets in clouds
