Current Issue: A1_Climate Change Projections Flashcards
(15 cards)
What is the Greenhouse Effect?
A natural process where certain gases in the atmosphere absorb energy, slowing or preventing the loss of heat to space, thus warming the planet.
What are Greenhouse Gases?
Gases in the atmosphere that absorb and emit infrared radiation, trapping heat. Examples include carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.
What is the Carbon Cycle?
The process by which carbon continually moves from the atmosphere to the earth and then back to the atmosphere, stored in various reservoirs.
What is Global Warming Potential (GWP)?
A measure of the climate impact of a greenhouse gas based on how long it remains in the atmosphere and how strongly it absorbs energy.
What are Aerosols?
Microscopic solid or liquid particles suspended in the air that can affect climate by either absorbing or reflecting sunlight.
What are Climate Feedbacks?
Natural processes that respond to global warming by either offsetting (negative feedback) or further increasing (positive feedback) changes in the climate system.
What is Weather?
The state of the atmosphere at any given time and place, including temperature, precipitation, clouds, and wind.
What is Climate?
The long-term average of the weather in a given place, defined by average temperature and precipitation, as well as the type, frequency, duration, and intensity of weather events.
What are Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs)?
A set of plausible future scenarios of human greenhouse gas emissions patterns used to study future climate change.
What are Global Climate Models (GCMs)?
Complex computer models that simulate the Earth’s climate system on a global scale using large grid cells.
What is Downscaling?
Methods used to obtain finer resolution climate data from larger-scale climate models, either dynamically (Regional Climate Models) or statistically.
What is a Multi-model Ensemble?
A collection of results from multiple climate models used to summarize the range of potential future climate conditions.
What is Climate Resilience?
The ability of systems and populations to cope with and recover from the impacts of climate change.
What is Mitigation?
Actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit climate change.
What is Adaptation?
Actions taken to adjust to actual or expected future climate change and its effects.
