Definitions

Question 1

Climate Justice

Answer 1

the framing of climate change as an ethical and political issue, rather than a purely environmental or physical issue.

Question 2

Environmental Justice

Answer 2

the equitable distribution of environmental risks and benefits, that is fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies

Question 3

Mitigation

Answer 3

actions aimed at limiting the magnitude of climate change

Question 4

Adaptation

Answer 4

actions that are aimed at minimizing the impact of climate change

Question 5

Geoengineering

Answer 5

the deliberate large-scale manipulation of environmental processes that affect the Earth’s climate in an attempt to counteract climate change

Question 6

Adaptive Capacity

Answer 6

a measure of the capacity and potential for humans in a particular region to adapt to changes in climate

Question 7

Climate Change
Vulnerability

Answer 7

a measure of the danger posed by the changing climate to a particular region

Question 8

Water Conveyance

Answer 8

canals, ditches, pipelines, or other means of moving water

Question 9

Groundwater Overdraft

Answer 9

Pumping more groundwater than the system can sustain

Question 10

Lifting Condensation Level (LCL)

Answer 10

The altitude at which the air hits the dew point temperature (100% relative humidity)

This is also the bottom (base) of the cloud. Because temperatures are fairly uniform horizontally, the cloud base tends to be flat

Question 11

Air Parcel

Answer 11

body of air which represents a collection of air particles. This is analogous to a balloon with an invisible boundary.

Question 12

Absolute Humidity

Answer 12

the mass of water vapor divided by the volume of air
(also known as the density of water vapor)

Question 13

Specific Humidity

Answer 13

the mass of water vapor in an air parcel divided by the total mass of air in the air parcel

Question 14

Vapor Pressure

Answer 14

a measure of the contribution of water vapor to the total pressure exerted at the boundary of the air parcel

Question 15

Saturation

Answer 15

the condition of air that cannot contain more water vapor. It occurs when the rate of evaporation equals the rate of condensation

100% humidity

Question 16

Dew Point Temperature

Answer 16

the temperature at which an air parcel becomes saturated, when cooled at constant specific humidity. If temperature drops further, then water vapor in the air will begin to condense

Question 17

Saturation Specific Humidity
(q * )

Answer 17

the maximum value of specific humidity that can be attained at a particular pressure and temperature before condensation occurs

Question 18

Relative Humidity

Answer 18

the ratio of specific humidity to the saturation specific humidity (often expressed as a percentage)

RH= q/q* x 100%

Question 19

Keeling Curve

Answer 19

named after Charles David Keeling, who started the CO2 monitoring program at Mauna Loa Observatory in 1958 and supervised it until his death in 2005.

Question 20

Representative Concentration Pathways
(RCPs)

Answer 20

estimates of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations that would be expected in response to
economic growth and policy scenarios

Question 21

Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs)

Answer 21

scenarios of projected socioeconimic global change up to 2100. They have been developed for the IPCC sixth assessment report, and incorporate both greenhouse gas emissions and different climate policies

Question 22

Aerosols

Answer 22

minute particles suspended in the atmosphere.

-have cooling effect on atmosphere

When these particles are sufficiently large, we notice their
presence as they scatter and absorb sunlight. Their scattering of sunlight can reduce visibility
(haze) and redden sunrises and sunsets

Question 23

Smog

Answer 23

fog or haze combined with smoke and other atmospheric pollutants or aerosols

Question 24

PM2.5

Answer 24

particles are able to penetrate into tissues and the blood stream after inhalation causing DNA damage (lung cancer), heart attacks and premature death

particulates below 2.5 micrometers are particularly deadly

Particulates are a Group 1 carcinogen (WHO)

Question 25

Scattering

Answer 25

the process by which a photon of light, on interacting with a molecule, changes direction

Question 26

Absorption

Answer 26

the process by which a photon of light, on interacting with a molecule, is absorbed by the molecule, increasing its internal energy | Each type of molecule can only absorb certain wavelengths of light

Question 27

Albedo

Answer 27

the ratio of reflected solar energy to incident solar energy

Question 28

Greenhouse Gases

Answer 28

Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect by absorbing terrestrial radiation ## Footnote -Water vapor, CO2, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, Flourinated Gases

Question 29

Planetary Albedo (ap)

Answer 29

the fraction of incoming solar radiation at the Earth reflected back to space averaged over the whole planet ## Footnote For the Earth ap=0.30

Question 30

Emission Temperature (of a planet)

Answer 30

the black body temperature required to achieve energy balance ## Footnote Emission Temperature of the Earth=-18 degree C or 0 degree F

Question 31

Greenhouse Effect

Answer 31

the “trapping” of terrestrial radiation by greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere namely, the frequent absorption and re-emission of outgoing terrestrial radiation by the atmosphere.

Question 32

Temperature

Answer 32

a measure of the average kinetic energy of molecules in a particular substance (such as a parcel of air)

Question 33

Conduction

Answer 33

Heat transfer due to contact ## Footnote Molecules of a warm object bang against molecules of a cold object, causing “cold” molecules to move faster and “warm” molecules to move slower.

Question 34

Convection

Answer 34

Heat transfer due to movement ## Footnote A balloon full of warm air can move into a region of cold air and increase the average air temperature

Question 35

Radiation

Answer 35

Heat transfer due to photons | small bundles of electromagnetic ## Footnote When these photons hit another molecule, kinetic energy is transferred

Question 36

Electromagnetic Spectrum

Answer 36

the range of all forms of electromagnetic radiation (light). ## Footnote any photon of light (gamma rays, visible light, or radio waves) is completely characterized by its wavelength (a single number)

Question 37

Black Body

Answer 37

an idealized physical body that absorbs all incident electromagnetic radiation in accordance with Planck’s law ## Footnote **-ideal emitter**: it emits as much or more energy at every frequency / wavelength than any other body at the same temperature **-diffuse emitter:** the energy is emitted isotropically, independent of direction

Question 38

Energy Balance

Answer 38

Energy recieved= Energy emitted | the total energy within the system must be unchanging

Question 39

Solar Constant

Answer 39

the rate at which solar energy is received by the Earth (per unit area)

Question 40

Insolation

Answer 40

a measure of the solar radiation energy received on a given surface area and recorded during a given time

Question 41

Temperature Proxy

Answer 41

a measurement that can be used to calculate the value of temperature (for example when direct measurements are not available) ## Footnote * Tree rings (dendroclimatology) * Ice cores (trapped air bubbles and ice layer thickness) * Geological evidence in ancient coal beds, sand dunes and fossils * Documents concerning droughts, floods, and crop yields * The chemistry of lake bottom sediment and soil deposits * Pollen in deep ice caves or the growth of of stalagmites Discovering Earth’s Temperature Record

Question 42

Dendroclimatology

Answer 42

studying the Earth’s climate through the study of tree rings ## Footnote Distance between rings can tell you something about temperature and moisture fluctuations related to climate variability

Question 43

δ18O

Answer 43

the difference in the [18O]/[16O] ratio between a sample and an associated standard, normalized by the ratio in the standard ## Footnote -closely correlated with temperature since 16O is preferentially evaporated from seawater. It can be measured in the calcium carbonate shells from the fossil record. -Earth’s temperature record over geological time scales has typically been measured using the δ18O record

Question 44

Milankovich Cycles

Answer 44

refer to oscillations in the Earth’s orbital parameters that affect its climate over thousands of years ## Footnote These include cycles in the Earth’s eccentricity, obliquity, precession, and other orbital parameters

Question 45

Thermosphere

Answer 45

Edge of Space. Highest Layer. Temperature is very high and variable. Short wavelength ultraviolet radiation is absorbed here by oxygen. Molecules are dissociated with high-energy ultraviolet radiation from the sun (λ < 0.1 μm). Temperatures can get very high (up to 1000K), even though air density is very low

Question 46

Mesopause

Answer 46

Layer in between Thermosphere and Mesosphere

Question 47

Mesosphere

Answer 47

2nd highest layer. Temperature increases towards the surface in this layer, driven by increased ozone concentration. | -3rd layer up

Question 48

Stratopause

Answer 48

Layer in between Mesosphere and Stratosphere.

Question 49

Stratosphere

Answer 49

Exhibits a temperature increase with altitude due to the presence of the ozone layer-second layer up. ## Footnote highly stratified and poorly mixed (the increase in temperature with altitude makes the atmosphere very stable)-has lots of ozone

Question 50

Troposphere

Answer 50

Below the tropopause (typically located between 10-18km depending on latitude and season), temperature increases strongly towards the surface -Contains about 85% of the atmosphere’s mass and essentially all the water vapor

Question 50

Climate

Answer 50

the pattern of variation in temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count, and other meteorological variables in a given region over long periods ## Footnote Climate also describes the variability of weather events, e.g. the probability of a major rainfall event occurring in July in San Francisco, or variations in temperature that typically occur in January in Chicago. What is Climate?

Question 51

Climate Experiments

Answer 51

Scientific procedures undertaken to test a hypothesis about the climate system Ex: Understanding the response of atmospheric gases to radiation in a laboratory -Investigating the effect of organic and inorganic fertilizer on carbon storage ## Footnote Intentional changes are made to the input variables and outputs observed and quantified

Question 52

Climate Models

Answer 52

Mathematical representations of the Earth system built using fundamental laws of physics (conservation of mass, conservation of energy, etc.) ## Footnote Goal: To understand interdependency and variation in the Earth system, and as a virtual laboratory for experimenting on the Earth

Question 53

Climate

Answer 53

the pattern of variation in temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological variables in a given region over long periods ## Footnote Climate also describes the variability of weather events, e.g. the probability of a major rainfall event occurring in July in San Francisco, or variations in temperature that typically occur in January in Chicago

Question 54

Weather

Answer 54

the state of the atmosphere at a place and time with regards to meteorological variables such as dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc. | the present condition of these variables over short periods