Climate Change Flashcards
Adaptation
Actions taken to adjust to natural events such as climate change, to reduce potential damage, limit the impacts, take advantage of opportunities, or cope with the consequences.
Climate change
A long-term change in the Earth’s climate, especially a change due to an increase in the average atmospheric temperatures.
Mitigation
Actions taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property from natural hazards, such as building earthquake-proof buildings or making international agreements about carbon reduction targets.
Orbital Changes
Changes in the pathway of the earth around the sun.
Quaternary Period
The period of geological time from about 2.6 million years ago to the present. It is characterized by the appearance and development of humans and includes the Pleistocene and Holocene Epochs.
What was the weather like in the quaternary period?
Global temperatures shifted between cold glacial periods and warmer interglacial periods that last around 10,000 years.
What is global warming?
Term used to describe the sharp rise on global temperatures over the last century.
What is the evidence for global warming?
1) Analysing ice sheets to see what temperature it was in each year a later was formed.
2) Tree rings are thicker in warm wet conditions.
3) Pollen Analysis is preserved in sediment; scientists identify the type of pollen to see what plants they were from.
4) Temperature records since 185os.
What are the natural causes of climate change?
1) Orbital changes - closeness to sun changes every 96,000 years. Closer means more energy and warmer weather.
2) Volcanic activity - particles emitted reflect the sun’s rays so the earth cools.
3) Solar output - suns output changes every 11 years. When energy is reduced then the temperatures drop.
What are the human causes of climate change?
Greenhouse effect is where gases absorb outgoing heat so less is lost to space.
Humans produce more greenhouse gases by 1) Burning fossil fuels. 2) Farming - cows and rice paddies emit methane. 3) Cement production - CO2 produced from limestone used to make cement. 4) Deforestation - Plants remove CO2 so less trees mean more CO2.
How does climate change affect the environment?
Temperatures are expected to rise by 0.3 to 4.8 degrees by year 2100.
1) Glaciers shrink. causing sea levels to rise 2) Sea ice loss impacts polar habitats. 3) More floods at the coast, e.g.the Maldives. 4) Some species dying, e.g. coral reefs due to bleaching. 5) Impacts the rain patterns. 6) Changes biodiversity as species move to follow the weather.
How does climate change affect people?
1) Death in extreme heat. 2) Areas become difficult to inhabit. 3) Water availability. 4) Farming impact due to water and temperature. 5) Lower crops leadeing to malnutrition and death. 6) More extreme weather costs money to predict.
Examples of climate change mitigation
1) Carbon capture and storage. 2) Planting trees. 3) Alternative energy production. 4) International agreements on emission levels.
How do people adapt to climate change?
1) Change agricultural systems (different crops, new crops, drought resistant crops). 2) Manage water supply (more efficient use, install water meters, collect rain water). 3) Physical defences for flooding, e.g. Thames Barrier. 2) In poorer countries, build on a hill.
