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SNC2D7 - Gr. 10 IB Science > Unit 3 - Our Changing Climate > Flashcards

Unit 3 - Our Changing Climate Flashcards

1
Q

Factors of Weather

A
  • Temperature
  • Type and amount of precipitation
  • Wind speed
  • Relative humidity
  • Atmospheric
    pressure
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2
Q

Weather

A
  • Atmospheric conditions in a particular location over a short period of time
  • Caused by interactions between water and air with energy from the Sun
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3
Q

Methods for Prediction of Weather

A
  • Weather stations
  • Weather balloons
  • Aircraft
  • Satellites
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4
Q

Climate

A
  • Average of weather in region over long period of time
  • Determined over weather measurements made over 30+ years
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5
Q

Climate system

A

Components that interact with each other to produce Earth’s climate

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6
Q

Energy from the Sun

A
  • Almost all energy on Earth comes from sun
  • Ultraviolet radiation (shorter wavelength; higher energy)
  • Infrared (longer wavelength, lower energy)
  • Visible light
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7
Q

Energy Absorbed by Earth

A
  • 51% absorbed by land and oceans
  • 19% absorbed by atmosphere and clouds
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8
Q

Outgoing Solar Radiation (30%)

A
  • 6% reflected by atmosphere
  • 20% reflected by clouds
  • 4% reflected from Earth’s surface
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9
Q

Energy from the Sun (by location of the Earth)

A
  • More intense near Earth’s equator because it receives energy more directly
  • Less intense at the poles, since it hits Earth’s surface at an angle and spreads over a larger area
  • Earth’s global temperature remains fairly constant
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10
Q

Atmosphere

A
  • The layers of gases surrounding earth
  • Reaches +100 km above Earth’s surface
  • Part of atmosphere closest to Earth’s surface called the troposphere
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11
Q

Ozone in the Stratosphere

A

Ozone absorbs high energy UV radiation from Sun and prevents from reaching Earth’s surface

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12
Q

Hydrosphere

A
  • Climate system including all water on and around Earth
  • Solid water: Polar ice caps, icebergs
  • Liquid water: lakes, streams, rivers, oceans, underground reservoirs
  • Gaseous water: water vapour, clouds
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13
Q

Ozone in the Troposphere

A

Ozone doesn’t provide UV protection and can combine with car exhaust to produce photochemical smog

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14
Q

Photochemical Smog

A

Harmful to human health, buildings, plants and animals

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15
Q

After Evaporation

A

Transpiration

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16
Q

After Transpiration

A

Clouds Form

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17
Q

After Clouds Form

A

Precipitation

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18
Q

After Precipitation

A

Accumulation

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19
Q

Large Bodies of Water and Climate

A
  • Affect climate of nearby regions by absorbing and storing thermal energy
  • Regions near ocean or lake cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than inland locations
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20
Q

Ice and Climate

A
  • 2% of earth’s water frozen and can be found in Arctic sea ice, Glaciers, Permafrost and Mountaintops
  • Surfaces covered in ice and snow have more albedo
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21
Q

Albedo

A

The ability for a surface to reflect light

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22
Q

Lithosphere

A
  • Climate system made up of the rock, soil and minerals of Earth’s crust
  • Mountains or cliffs can affect how air moves over an area
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23
Q

Troposphere Gases

A

78% nitrogen; 21% oxygen; 1% argon, carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen and ozone traces

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24
Q

High Altitudes and Climate

A
  • Atmospheric pressure lower because of less air pushing down
  • Air rises and cools more easily, causing cooler temperatures
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25
Q

Photosynthesis

A

Plants take carbon dioxide and release oxygen

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26
Q

Cellular Respiration

A

Plants and animals take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide

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27
Q

Heat sink

A

Reservoir (ex: ocean) absorbing and storing thermal energy

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28
Q

Energy Transfer in Atmosphere

A
  • Air is warmer than ocean, ocean absorbs energy from the air
  • When the air is cooler than the ocean surface, the ocean releases energy back into the air
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29
Q

Convection currents

A

Created in air or other fluids when warm fluid (less dense) rises and cold fluid (more dense) sinks

30
Q

Creation of clouds

A
  • Air at the equator heats up and rises, which later cools and falls
  • When air rises, a low pressure area is created, forming clouds
31
Q

Thermohaline Circulation

A

Flow of water around world’s oceans by differences in water temperatures and salinity

32
Q

Energy Transfer in Hydrosphere

A
  • Water at poles cools and becomes more salty as ice forms
  • Saltier, colder water sinks, causing another convection
33
Q

Energy Transfer across Oceans

A

Ocean currents move water and heat carried around the world

34
Q

Outgoing Lower-Energy Infrared Radiation

A
  • 64% radiated to space from clouds, atmosphere and indirectly from Earth
  • 6% radiated directly to space from Earth
35
Q

Studying Clues to Past Climates

A
  • Data climate is currently being kept on temperature, rainfall, precipitation
  • Informal climate records kept through journals, paintings, farming records, oral histories
36
Q

Proxy record

A

Information in tree rings, ice cores and fossils that can be measured to what climate was like in past

37
Q

Ice Core Testing

A
  • Measure air bubbles trapped in Greenland and Antarctica for thousands of years
  • Ice at the bottom is 80 000+ years old
  • Thin slices of ice tested for gases (CO2, CH4, N2O)
  • Ice cores tested for oxygen isotopes (“lighter” oxygen found higher at lower temperatures)
38
Q

Ice Cores: Additional Info Provided

A

Provide information on precipitation and volcanic eruptions as layers of dust are preserved

39
Q

Tree Rings

A
  • Thick tree rings formed in good growing conditions
  • Warm, wet conditions = thick tree rings
  • Cold, dry conditions = thin tree rings
  • Can assemble data from living and dead trees to determine climate up to 10,000 years
40
Q

Coral Reefs

A

Coral reefs grow at different rates depending on temperature of water

41
Q

Rocks

A
  • Pollen preserved in rock is indicator of plants species present at the location
  • Can determine if there was warmer climate based on different species of plants
42
Q

Ocean Sediment Clues to Climate

A
  • Cores of sediment from ocean floor
  • Fossils of marine organisms that lived in a warmer climate than today
43
Q

Caves

A

Rock formations from stalactites (from the roof) and stalagmites (from the floor) are indirect evidence of precipitation patterns

44
Q

Feedback Loops

A
  • Positive feedback loop: Effect increases original cause
  • Negative feedback loop: Effect decreases original cause
45
Q

Low & High Clouds

A
  • Low clouds involved in positive feedback loop between Earth’s temperature and water vapour.
  • High clouds involved in negative feedback loop between temperature and water vapour.
46
Q

Natural Changes in Climate

A

The result of changes in Earth’s Energy Balance

47
Q

Plate Tectonics Basics

A
  • Plates in constant motion, few cm per year
  • Ocean floors continually moving, spreading from centre and sinking at edges
  • Caused by convection currents fuelled by radioactive decay in Earth’s core
48
Q

Continental Drift

A

Theory that parts of Earth’s crust slowly drift atop a liquid core (1912)

49
Q

Plate Tectonics and Climate

A
  • When continents move, ocean currents and wind patterns change, so heat transfer changes
  • Uplifting of mountain ranges affect local and regional climates
50
Q

Eccentricity Basics

A

From gravity of other planets, Earth’s orbit changes from circular to more elliptical over cycle of 100,000 years

51
Q

Eccentricity Effects

A
  • Doesn’t fully cause seasons (ex: Earth is furthest from sun in summer)
  • Variation in distance from sun causes solar radiation received by Earth to vary
52
Q

Eccentricity and Climate

A
  • When orbit more elliptical, Earth receives more solar radiation when near the sun
  • When orbit more circular, amount of radiation doesn’t vary much and seasons more equal in length
53
Q

Earth’s Tilt - Basics

A
  • Earth’s tilt on its axis changes 2.4˚ over 41,000 years
  • Greater tilt, greater temperature differences between summer and winter
54
Q

Earth’s Present Tilt

A

Currently tilt is 23.44˚ and decreasing (midway between extremes - 22.1 to 24.5˚)

55
Q

Wobble (Precession of Tilt)

A
  • Change in direction of axis of rotation or angle of tilt
  • Earth is not perfect sphere, so it wobbles a little as it rotates
  • Affects amount & intensity of solar energy received by Northern and Southern hemispheres at different times of year
56
Q

Wobble and Climate Effects

A
  • E.g. one hemisphere having contrasted seasons while other showing smaller temperature difference between seasons
  • Occurs every 26,000 years and caused by pull of sun and moon acting on non-spherical shape of Earth
  • Changes “North Star”
57
Q

Effects of Long Term Natural Climate Variation

A
  • Cause cycles of ice ages and interglacial periods
  • Cause of the 100 000 year climate cycle.
58
Q

Changes in Solar Energy

A

Amount of radiation produced
by sun varies

59
Q

Sunspot

A

Regular solar cycle that occurs every 11 years - if no. of sunspots is high, Sun is emitting more radiation

60
Q

Volcanic Eruptions

A
  • Aerosols (needed for cloud formation) spewed from volcanoes shade Earth’s surface - Earth cools for years up to decades
  • Particles settle out or washed away with precipitation
  • Volcanoes may cause temperature increase if lots of greenhouse gases emitted
61
Q

Ocean Currents and Climate

A
  • Changes to Earth’s thermohaline circulation can change climate
  • As ice sheets melt, vast fresh water dumped into oceans
  • Fresh water less dense than salty water, so it stays near surface, changing ocean currents
62
Q

El Nino & La Nina

A
  • Middle of South Pacific Ocean: periodic warming and cooling of seawater (El Nino and La Nina respectively)
  • Can impact weather and climate change across North America
  • Occurs every 3-8 years
63
Q

Intro. Climate Change

A

Changes are being observed that have not happened for thousands of years

64
Q

Rising Temperatures

A
  • Earth’s average temperature increased from 1880 to present - most of warming occurred in last 50 years
  • Average temperatures in Canada increased by 1.7°C in last 60 years - Yukon has even more increased temperatures
  • Small areas (over oceans) have seen temperature decreases
65
Q

Melting Glaciers, Ice Sheets and Sea Ice

A
  • Twice amount of ice in Greenland and Antarctica is melting in summer compared to 20 years ago
  • Glaciers supply water to most rivers and lakes
66
Q

Rising Sea Levels

A
  • From 1993 to present, sea levels have risen twice speed as in previous 30 years
  • Even small changes in sea level can devastate islands in the south pacific
  • Increase in sea levels due to melting of glaciers and thermal expansion
67
Q

Changes in Severe Weather

A
  • Intensity of heat waves and hurricanes increased
  • 2018 heat wave in Quebec killed 70 people
  • Increase in category 4 and 5 hurricanes in recent years lead to flooding
68
Q

Changes in Precipitation

A
  • Increase in precipitation as rain, less as snow
  • Increase in annual precipitation in N. Canada
  • W. North America experienced decrease in annual precipitation (resulting in drought and wildfires)
69
Q

Changing Seasons

A
  • Amt. of snow remaining on ground in winter decreases
  • Decrease in # of very cold days
  • Very cold days coming later in year and ending earlier in spring
70
Q

Changes in Ecosystems

A
  • Plants, trees, shrubs flowering earlier in the spring - results in longer allergy season
  • Animals (ex. squirrels) breeding earlier in year & more often
  • Animal and plant species migrating to higher altitudes and latitudes
71
Q

Anthropogenic Definition

A

Human caused

SNC2D7 - Gr. 10 IB Science (8 decks)

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