D4.3 - climate change (1a)

Question 1

anthropogenic

Answer 1

originating in human activity

Question 2

climate change

Answer 2

long-term changes in patterns of temperature and precipitation

Question 3

what correlation is associated with carbon dioxide concentration and temperature?

Answer 3

there is a correlation between rising atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane, since the start of the industrial revolution 200 years ago, and increased global average temperatures.

Question 4

what is the main cause of recent increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration?

Answer 4

combustion of fossilized organic matter

Question 5

how does deforestation contribute to climate change?

Answer 5

removes a carbon sink, as less carbon dioxide is absorbed via photosynthesis

Question 6

how does rice and cattle agriculture contribute to climate change?

Answer 6

releases methane into the atmosphere

Question 7

how does loss of polar ice contribute to climate change?

Answer 7

reduces reflection of surface light and increases re-radiation as heat

Question 8

what is the enhanced greenhouse gas effect?

Answer 8

1. UV light, with a short-wavelength, pass from the sun, through the atmosphere, and are absorbed by the Earth.
2. re-emitted energy is infrared and has a long-wavelength.
3. greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb the infrared waves, and re-radiate this, heating the Earth.
4. increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, increase the absorption and re-radiation of infrared waves, increasing the heating of the Earth.

Question 9

what is the correlational evidence for anthropogenic climate change?

Answer 9

antarctic ice core data shows a positive correlation between global temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration over hundreds of thousands of years

Question 10

how can we investigate for the causal links of climate change due to carbon dioxide?

Answer 10

setting up bottles with different carbon dioxide concentrations and measuring temperature change inside the bottles when a light is applied

Question 11

how is climate change impacting polar habitats?

Answer 11

• melting of sea ice for walruses in the arctic
• melting of landfast ice for emperor penguins in antarctica

Question 12

how is the melting of sea ice affecting walruses in the arctic?

Answer 12

• there is a potential loss of sea ice habitat due to the smaller area of ice, meaning that the young must be reared in other locations, so are left for longer while the mother hunts
• this makes them more vulnerable to predation from polar bears

Question 13

how is melting of landfast ice affecting emperor penguins in antarctica?

Answer 13

• emperor penguins use ice as breeding grounds in the winter
• the land-fast ice is not breaking out earlier before the chicks become independent and are able to find their own food, meaning it can no longer be used as breeding grounds

Question 14

how can coral reefs collapse due to climate change?

Answer 14

1. increased dissolved carbon dioxide leads to higher carbonic acid concentration, lowering pH and causing ocean acidification, and this reduces calcium carbonate levels, causing coral exoskeletons to dissolve.
2. global warming increases water temperature, causing coral bleaching where corals expel their mutualistic photosynthetic algae and both species die.
   - loss of corals reduces food sources and habitats for other species, and as a result, these species, and their predators, migrate or become extinct, causing the ecosystem to collapse.