Climate Topic 2 Flashcards
(34 cards)
What are some Natural Cause of Climate Change?
1) Long Term - Changes in Earth’s Orbit and Angle of tilt
2) Short Term - Sunspot Occurances
3) Short Term - Volcanic Eruptions
How does the Orbit Shape of Earth affect Climate Change?
Earth stretches from circular to an elliptic shape and back again. When most elliptic, Earth will travel in a more oval shape and more radiation reaches Earth at the planet’s closest approach to the sun than it does at the farthest departure from the sun.
How does the Angle of Tilt of Earth affect Climate Change?
Earth’s axis varies back and forth between 21.5 degrees and 24.5 degrees. When tilt is lower, hemispheres will lean away from the sun resulting in warmer winters and colder summers. It also causes build up of ice sheets in higher latitudes, cooling the Earth as well.
How does Sunspot Occurances affect Climate Change?
High sunspot activity is linked with high solar radiation emitted from sun. This leads to short-term temperature increases. Areas that surround sunspots radiate more energy to compensate for lower temperatures at sunspot areas.
What is a Sunspot?
a spot of dark patch that appears on the surface of the sun
How long is a cycle of a Sunspot?
11 years
How does Volcanic Eruption affect Climate Change?
- releases large volumes of carbon dioxide, water vapour, sulfur dioxide and ash
- the particles will absorb and reflect solar energy back into space
- this temporarily cools temperatures till particles become large enough and descend to the ground
What is the Greenhouse Effect?
process by which GHG in the atmosphere traps longwave radiation emitted from the Earth’s surface
What it the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect?
process in which additional heat is trapped by an increased amount of GHG in atmosphere
What are the impacts of Climate Change on Natural Systems?
1) Increase in atmospheric and ocean surface temperatures
2) Changes in ocean circulations
3) Changes in rainfall on land
How does Climate Change lead to Increase in Atmospheric and Ocean Surface temperatures?
heat is trapped by GHG and the oceans absorbs the heat from the surrounding air
How does Climate Change lead to Changes in Ocean Circulations?
Climate Change slows down the Global Ocean Circulation.
- Water at surface gains more heat due to the increase in temperature, becomes less dense
- sinking of water is reduced and thus there is less flow of water
What is the Global Ocean Circulation?
Warm surface water moves from equator to poles due to winds
Water cools, density increases.
Cold water sinks and spreads along bottom of ocean
Forms cool substance flows and soon rises back towards the ocean’s surface
What are the impacts of Climate Change on the Aquatic Ecosystems?
1) threat to coral reefs
2) ocean accidification
3) disrupts marine web
How does Climate Change become a threat to coral reefs?
Coral are vulnerable to coral bleaching, the higher temperatures cause algae that live in the corals to leave the coral causing the coral to bleach. Animals living in the corals will then be affected when the corals die.
How does Climate Change cause Ocean Accidification
Oceans are carbon sinks due to phytoplanktons that conduct photosynthesis. An increase in carbon dioxide leads to excessive carbon dioxide in oceans. The excess carbon dioxide will then react with water to form carbonic acid making oceans more acidic. Carbonic acid dissolves calcium carbonate which is a food source for some aquatic organisms.
How does Climate Change disrupt the Marine Web?
When ocean circulation decreases, there will be less mixing of deep and surface waters. Aquatic organisms will not get their supply of nutrients and decrease in populations and the bigger fish who prey on this organisms will have less food as well and thus will also decrease in population.
Furthermore, warming oceans causes Aquatic Animals to migrate to more favourable temps polewards to cooler waters. Equatorial regions will have less biodiversity while poleward regions will have an increase in biodiversity. The geographic distribution will change and each ecosystem will have mix of prey, predators and competitors which will affect the food web because some animals will have more food sources while some animals will have less food sources.
What are the impacts of Climate Change on Terrestrial Ecosystems?
1) Threats to flora and fauna
How does Climate Change become a threat to flora and fauna.
Animals migrating to higher latitudes and altitudes because the temperature is cooler in these areas. The geographic distribution thus changes and there will be a mix of prey, predators and competitors which will affect the food web because some animals will have more food and some will have less food.
Furthermore, for flora, drought can cause plants to wither and die since the plants cannot move to colder areas. Animals however, will migrate away to other places and have a chance of spreading diseases
What are the impacts of Climate Change on Humans DIRECTLY
1) Heat waves
2) Droughts
3) Wildfires
4) Floods
5) Tropical Cyclones
What are Heat Waves?
period of hot weather usually lasting several days or longer with temps as high as 40 degrees celcius
How does Heat Waves affect humans?
people suffer from heat stroke, difficulties in breathing and can lead to death as well.
Soil moisture also gets depleted leading to crop failure, less good and thus citizens will become malnourished
What is an example of the affects of Heat Waves on Humans?
2019 Europe,
broke many temperature records, 45 degrees recorded in france
What are Droughts?
area that experience a lack of precipitation for an extended period of time
