Flashcards in Lecture 39 - Life in the Anthropocene Deck (15)
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1
human population increased ____ fold
4
2
economic output has increased ___ fold
20
3
energy uses has increased ___ fold
16
4
What is a direct effect of the increase in energy use? (2)
-atmospheric CO2 hit 400 ppm
-earth will warm anywhere between 1.4-6 degrees celsius in the next 100 years
5
What are 5 reasons humans have been so successful?
1. science
2. technology
3. ingenuity
4. hard work
5. good luck
6
What is some historical and scientific evidence we won't be able to handle dramatic temp changes?
Little Ice Age
7
What was the Little Ice Age
-increase in severity of winters + advance of glaciers etc.
-worldwide human populations declined due to famine, disease + freezing
8
What are 4 major events that are occurring that indicate climate change?
1. West Antarctic ice sheet irreversibly melting
2. Greenland's ice cap melting
3. Oceans becoming more acidic
4. Ocean circulation system shutting down
9
What technologies have increased our oil + natural gas reserves by 2-10 times?
-fracking
-tar sand mining
10
What are 2 ideas to increase CO2 uptake and storage in the earth?
1. reforestation (not going to happen)
2. increasing phytoplankton blooms
11
What would be the effect of phytoplankton blooms?
put CO2 into deep reserves of the ocean (increase by limiting increasing limiting nutrients for phytoplankton blooms)
12
What is John Martin's Iron Limitation Theory?
-iron is limiting nutrient that prevents phytoplankton from growing and using up nutrients in high nutrient low chlorophyll areas
13
What is the Mesoscale Open Ocean Iron Rich Experiments?
-add iron sulfate to area of acidified ocean area
-use SF6 to determine
-high level of diatoms in this area, more photosynthetic action
14
3 pros of commercial fertilization
1. mimics natural iron inputs
2. already changing biogeochemistry of ocean
3. cheaper + safer than other options to reduce CO2
15
