topic 9- continued Flashcards
what is water vapour and what does it change depending on
- variable
- depends on the temperature
what are water vapour, carbon dioxide and methane all an example of
greenhouse gases
1) how does energy travel from the sun to the earth
as short wavelength radiation e.g. ultraviolet
2)what happens to some short wavelength radiation
it reflects back into space but most of it passes through the atmosphere
2) how does most short wavelength radiation not pass through the earth
because the the short wave length radiation does not interact strongly with the gas molecules in the atmosphere
When is the energy of the radiation absorbed
When it reaches the surface of the earth
How does the surface of the earth radiate the energy
As long wavelength radiation such as infra-red
What does some long wavelength radiation do with molecules in the atmosphere and what happens to the energy
It interacts with the greenhouse gas molecules in the atmosphere
-the energy in the long wavelength radiation is absorbed
What causes the temperature of the atmosphere to increase
Because the long wavelength energy is trapped in atmosphere
what causes the temperature of the atmosphere to increase
because the energy is trapped in the atmosphere
what does the greenhouse effect do
it keeps the temperature of the earth warm enough to support life
what is the effect of burning fossil fuels
carbon dioxide is increasing
what is carbon dioxide being absorbed by
trees
what are rain forests being destroyed by
deforestation
what is released by agriculture
methane
what 2 human activities releases carbon dioxide
- burning forests
- burning fossil fuels
how is the temperature of the atmosphere rising (2)
- as carbon dioxide levels are increasing
- more of the energy from the sun is trapped
what will lead to increased sea levels
rising temperatures increasing= melting of the polar ices sheets
what could increased sea levels lead to
flooding
effects of climate change (2)
- severe weather changes
- increased sea levels
the work on climate change is … …. by other scientists
peer-reviewed
why do scientists peer-review each others work
to help prevent false claims
why is there a problem with understanding climate change
because climate change is complex and difficult to model
what is speculation
where some stories are bias or only some info is given out
