Lecture 10 Flashcards
(30 cards)
What have the temperature changes been during the Holocene?
+ - 1 degree
Is the Holocene more stable compared to other interglacial periods when it comes to temperature, sea level, and ice sheet extent?
Yes
How much warmer were the EEmian and Holstein interglacials compared to the Holocene?
4 and 3 degrees
How were the sea level during the Eemian and Holstein interglacial periods compared to the Holocene?
6-13 and 6-9 meters higher
What temperature variations do records show during the recent 1500 years, prior to the Anthropocene?
A maximum of 0.5 degrees temperature variation.
When was the industrial revolution?
1750-1820
What does the industrial revolution have to do with global warming?
Methods changed from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, steam power, and rise of factory system increased the CO2 emissions.
What happens when sunlight passes through the atmosphere and warms the Earth´s surface?
Heat is radiated back toward space.
What absorbs most of the heat that is radiated back toward space from the Earth’s surface?
Greenhouse gas molecules
What happens with the heat that is absorbed by greenhouse gas molecules?
It is re-emitted in all directions, warming the surface of the Earth and the lower atmosphere.
What are 4 major greenhouse gases?
Carbon dioxide
Methane
Nitrous Oxide
Water vapor
What is the residence time of carbon dioxide?
50-200 years
What is the residence time of methane?
12 years
How many times more effective in absorbing heat is methane than carbon dioxide?
84 times in a 20 years horizon
What is the residence time of Nitrous oxide?
110 years
How many times more heat does Nitrous oxide absorb than carbon dioxide?
300 times more
What does nitrous oxide do with ozone?
It depletes it, destroys the ozone layer
Which major greenhouse gas has the largest greenhouse effect?
Water vapor
What is water vapors residence time
9 days
What is the current concentration of CO2?
410ppm
How long will it take before the entire Greenland Ice Sheet will be melted, according to predictions?
3000 years
How much ice will be left on Greenland in 600 years according to some models?
65% of ice sheet volume
What does the predictions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet in 2500 years tell?
That there will be a significant loss of mass from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and in parts from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, this especially applies for the rcp 8,5 scenario.
When is it predicted that the fastest sea level rise from the Antarctic Ice Sheet will be triggered?
Between 2100 and 2200
