Extreme Ice Survey Flashcards
In the last 20 years, ….. of those years have been the hottest on record
16 years out of 20 years
In the past, atmospheric CO2 was never beyond ……… parts per million
never more than 280 ppm
now CO2 concentrations are………..ppm, a ….% increase
390 ppm
40% increase
species are becoming extinct ……….. faster than they were ……….years ago
100 times faster than 1000 years ago
at current rates of CO2 emissions, we are headed for a mass extinction in ……..-……. years’ time, where ….% if not …….% of all species on Earth will be wiped out
200-300 years’ time
50% to 75% of species will be lost
glaciers not only retreated by ….. miles, but also thinned by ……….. m
11 mile retreat
450m thinning in height
some regions of the North Pole contain……………., a mixture of…………… and………………. which has a very low albedo and absorbs heat energy due to its…………..colour
- cryoconite
- mixture of algae and and soot (carbon)
- black, so absorbs light energy from the sun
if irreversible ice retreat occurs, sea levels will rise by …………feet minimum from just Arctic ice melt, affecting …………. people
3 feet rise
150 million affected
moulins are
deep ice canyons where melt-water has eroded
the ………… Glacier in Greenland moves ………feet per day
Ilulissat Glacier
moves 130 feet a day
the ……….. Glacier in Alaska moved ………….miles in just ….. years
Columbia Glacier
2.5 miles in 3 years
in the Yukon Territory, ………. out of ………… have disappeared in just ……. years while ……..% have retreated
300 out of 1400 glaciers disappeared
in just 60 years
99.6% of the remaining glaciers retreated
James Balog presented his research to the …………Summit in 2009 as NASA’s delegate
Copenhagen Summit for the UN Climate Change Conference
the Copenhagen Summit of 20… was a failure because:
2009
no firm goals on emissions were agreed on
very low targets were made
only China and the USA had any proper say in setting targets at 2 degrees Celcius
many high-risk African countries were disappointed because no meaningful promises were made to lower emissions
