Chapter 1

Question 1

Nature extreme events (4)

Answer 1

Extreme weather (e.g. heat, drought, wildfires, flooding)

Question 2

Weaher def

Answer 2

Exact state of the atmosphere at a particular location and time (e.g. result from a single toss of a die)

Question 3

Climate def

Answer 3

Long-term patterns or statistics of the weather (e.g. average daily temperature in August in a particular city)

Question 4

6 quantitative measures of climate

Answer 4

Temperature
Precipitation
Humidity
Cloudiness
Visibility
Wind

Question 5

How long is the stat period for climate estimation

Answer 5

Several decades, typically 30 years or more

Question 6

Which % of the heat trapped by the GHG goes into heating the ocean?

Answer 6

90%

Question 7

Two contributors into raising sea level

Answer 7

Melting of GROUNDED ice (melting of floating ice does not raise sea level)

2nd - water expands when it warms

Question 8

How do scientists collect climate information from before 170 ago period by tree rings?

Answer 8

By looking at the trees rings (lighter ring - spring season, darker small riing - autumn season). By measuring ring size, they assess local climate around the tree. Then combine the rings of yong trees, with the rings of older trees -> can measure climate from about a millenium ago

Question 9

5 Ways to collect climate data from more than 170 years ago

Answer 9

1. Tree rings - 1 thousand yrs
2. Skeletons of Corals analysis (for ocean climate) - millions of yrs
3. Speleothems (stalactites, stalagmites) - few hundred thousands yrs
4. Measuring chemical composition of Ice cores - over million years
5. Analys. composition of the mud at the bottom of the ocean - tens of millions of years

Question 10

interglacials

Answer 10

warmer periods of the temperature cycle of the planet

Question 11

ice age

Answer 11

Cooler period of the temperature cycle of the planet

Question 12

How long does it take for one temperature cycle of the planet to complete?

Answer 12

100,000 years

Question 13

Holocene

Answer 13

The last ice age period

Question 14

Difference btw ice age average temperature and interglacial avg temperature

Answer 14

About 6 degrees Celsius

Question 15

How many degrees С the Earch has warmed since 19th century?

Answer 15

1.2 deg С

Question 16

How quick is the warming? (deg per century)

Answer 16

1 deg С per century

Question 17

How much energy (W / m^2) is provided by the Sun?

Answer 17

340 W / m2

Question 18

Energy balance

Answer 18

The amount of energy reaching Earth from the Sun must equal to the energy radiated by earth Back to space

(in a steady state. Otherwise Earth would be constantly heating, or constantly cooling to 0, both don’t happen)

Question 19

Greenhouse effect

Answer 19

Planet with more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are warmer than the ones without (because they absorb inrared radiation)

Question 20

Which chemicals are the majority of the Earth’s atmosphere?

Answer 20

Nitrogen N2, Oxygen O2, Argon Ar

Question 21

The most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere

Answer 21

Water vapor (traps most heat), then CO2

Question 22

% of CO2 in the atmosphere

Answer 22

0.042%

Question 23

Main reason of CO2 increase in the atmosphere

Answer 23

Combustion of fossil fuels

Question 24

CO2 - out of 100% released, where is it absorbed and in which proportions?

Answer 24

44% - stays in the atmosphere
28% - absorbed by the ocean (ocean acidification)
28% - absorbed by plants

Question 25

What is ppm?

Answer 25

0.042% (420 ppm, parts per million - in a 1 mln of molecules, 420 are CO2 molecules)

Question 26

Keeling curve

Answer 26

Plot with CO2 ppm VS year on the x axis, measured since 1957

Question 27

Important GHG (6)

Answer 27

CO2 Water Wapor CH4 (methane) N2O (nitrous oxide) Halocarbons Ozone

Question 28

GWP, GWP of methane

Answer 28

Global Warming potential - 1 kg of methange traps as much heat as 28kg of CO2 -> GWP of methane is 28

Question 29

Aerosol def

Answer 29

particle so small that buoyant force is similar to gravity and they suspend in the atmosphere for days or weeks

Question 30

radiative forcing

Answer 30

quantifies the diff btw the incoming energy (sunlight) absorbed by Earth and infrared radiation, emitted by the Earth back to space

Question 31

water vapor feedback

Answer 31

Initial warming caused by CO2 -> planet warms -> more water vapor in the atmosphere -> adds up to the warming -> humidity increases -> even more water vapor in the atmosphere. Can double / triple the warming from CO2 alone

Question 32

SSP, how many

Answer 32

Shared Socioeconomic Pathways. 5 SSPs, 1 - most optimistic, 5 - most pessimistic

Question 33

What is % increase of total global precipitation for every degree Celsius of global average warming?

Answer 33

3% increase

Question 34

Main driver of rising sea level

Answer 34

melting of grounded ice

Question 35

IPCC

Answer 35

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Question 36

How much (cm) is the sea level rise under SSP 2?

Answer 36

44 - 76 cm

Question 37

How much roughly of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean?

Answer 37

About a quarter

Question 38

Ocean acidification

Answer 38

In the ocean water, CO2 is converted to Carbonic Acid -> acidic ocean

Question 39

Polar amplification

Answer 39

Ice is more reflective (higher Albedo) -> ice melts -> no more ice on the land -> absorbs more heat -> atmosphere temperature increases -> ice melts even more

Question 40

2 kinds of climate feedback loop (called positive, but actually negative)

Answer 40

Water vapor loop Polar amplification

Question 41

GCM

Answer 41

Global Climate Model

Question 42

Climate Tipping Point

Answer 42

Low proba, high impact event when a climate system undergoes a large and rapid shift to an entirely new climate state (e.g. when we add enough greenhouse gases)

Question 43

4 possible climate tipping points

Answer 43

Shutdown of Gulf Stream Rapid disintegration of West Antarctic or Greenland ice sheets Thawing of permafrost Shift in timing / magnitude of Indian Monsoon

Question 44

3 categories of response to climate change

Answer 44

Adaptation to CC (e.g. building dykes) mitigation, prevention of CC (e.g. green energy policies, GHG reduction) Geoengineering (improving artificially reflective ability of the Earth)

Question 45

Maladaptation

Answer 45

adaptation action that actually increases climate vulnerability (river levee will raise water level in another community)

Question 46

Carbon intensity

Answer 46

Amount of CO2 produced per unit of energy generated (coal, oil, natural gas - highest intensity)

Question 47

8 Climate safe energy sources

Answer 47

Solar energy Wind energy Hydroelectric power (16% of world electr) Nuclear energy (10% of w.e.) Geothermal (water, heated by the earth, turns a turbine) Biomass energy (burning a tree, that absorbed CO2 during growth -> net 0 CO2 emissions) CCUS (Carbon capture, utilization, storage) - burn fossils but capture CO2) Battery energy storage systems

Question 48

Geoengineering

Answer 48

Actively manipulating the climate system to prevent climate change despite GHG emissions

Question 49

3 categories of geoengineering

Answer 49

1. Radiation management (reduce absorbed solar energy) (sulfur release into stratosphere) 2. CO2 removal (planting trees)

Question 50

Carbon sequestration

Answer 50

Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Question 51

What is prescribed by Paris Agreement?

Answer 51

Limit warming to well below 2C above pre-industrial temperatures, with an aspirational goal of limiting warming to 1.5C

Question 52

def negative emissions

Answer 52

when humans pull more CO2 from the atmosphere than they emit