Weather and climate (KQ2) Flashcards
(61 cards)
1
Q
What are some natural causes of global warming?
A
- variations in solar output
- volcanic eruptions
2
Q
How do variations in solar output cause global warming?
A
- sun emits varying amounts of solar radiation due to changes in its magnetic field
- sunspots are cooler regions on the sun’s surface
- they appear as dark spots
- during periods of intense solar magnetic activity, amounts of sunspots increases
- this results in higher solar radiation as the areas surrounding the sunspot emit more energy
- this is to compensate for the lower termperatures at sunspots
3
Q
What is released into the atmosphere when a volcano erupts?
A
- water vapour
- sulfur dioxide
- dust
- ash
- carbon dioxide
4
Q
How do volcanic eruptions cause global warming?
A
- sulfur dioxide reacts with water to form sulfur-based particles in the atmosphere
- the sulfur-based particles, ash and dust reflect solar energy back into space
- this causes global dimming to occur
- global dimming is a gradual reduction of sunlight reaching the earth’s surface
- this results in temporary cooling for months, or even years
5
Q
What is an example of a volcanic eruption that caused global warming
A
- eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991
- released 17 million tonnes of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere
- caused temperature in the northern hemisphere to be lowered by 0.6 degrees celsius for 2 years
6
Q
What is the greenhouse effect?
A
- a natural process in which the gases in the atmosphere trap longwave radiation emitted by the earth’s surface and warm the atmosphere
7
Q
What is emitted by the sun?
A
- shortwave radiation
- in the form of visible light
8
Q
What is emitted by the earth’s surface
A
- longwave radiation
- after shortwave radiation is absorbed by the surface of the earth
9
Q
What are some examples of greenhouse gases?
A
- carbon dioxide
- methane
- nitrous oxide
- water vapour
- chlorofluorcarbons (CFCs)
10
Q
What is the process of the greenhouse effect?
A
- incoming shortwave radiation from the sun enters the atmosphere
- it reaches the earth’s surface (it heats up)
- the earth’s surface emits it as longwave radiation
- the longwave radiation is then absorbed by greenhouse gases
- warms the atmosphere
11
Q
What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?
A
- refers to an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
12
Q
What does the enhanced greenhouse effect lead to?
A
- rise in global temperatures
13
Q
How does the enhanced greenhouse effect occur?
A
- when human activity causes greenhouse gases to be released at a far greater rate than that of natural emissions of greenhouse gases
14
Q
What are some anthropogenic causes of climate change?
A
- deforestation
- changing land use (agriculture, industries, urbanization)
15
Q
What is deforestation?
A
- the loss of forests due to the removal of trees in forested areas
16
Q
Why is deforestation carried out?
A
- obtain wood to make products such as paper and building materials
- carry out mining activities
- agricultural activities such as grazing and growing crops
- developing infrastructure
17
Q
How does deforestation lead to an increasing carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere? (1 of 2 ways)
A
- forests have trees
- trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis
- thus, when deforestation occurs
- there are less trees to absorb the carbon dioxide in the air to photosynthesize
- as such, there is more carbon dioxide in the air
(not from textbook)
18
Q
How does deforestation lead to an increasing carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere? (2 of 2 ways)
A
- soil contains a high amount of carbon
- due to the accumulation of carbon through the decay of organic matter
- such as dead leaves and animals
- deforestation causes the soil to be exposed to the sun
- this increases soil temperature
- increases the rate of carbon oxidation in the soil
- carbon oxidation is when carbon in the soil and oxygen in the atmosphere react to produce carbon dioxide
- thus, deforestation increases the rate of carbon dioxide emission from the soil into the atmosphere
19
Q
What are some examples of deforestation?
A
- South America experiences the greatest overall loss
- followed by Southeast Asia
- Australia and Africa also suffer losses in forests
- deforestation in these places in carried out for agricultural and commercial purposes
- cattle ranching, soybean production, commercial logging, mining
20
Q
What does changing land use refer to?
A
- the demand for agricultural and industrial land imcreases as population increases
21
Q
How does changing land use contribute to climate change?
A
- more fossil fuels are burnt to meet energy demands
22
Q
What are some examples of changing land use?
A
- agriculture
- industries
- urbanization
23
Q
How does agriculture contribute to climate change?
A
- tractors used run on fossil fuels which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
- use of inorganic fertilizers increases the amount of nitrous oxide
- nitrous oxide is released when soil is ploughed or when water (rain) flows through the soil
- decomposition of organic matter such as dead leaves and manure release methane
-decomposition is rapid due to the presence of moisture in soil - cattle waste gas contains methane
24
Q
What do industries refer to?
A
- the production of goods and services within a country
25
How do industries contribute to climate change?
- economic activities, such as manufacturing involve the burning of fossil fuels
- they release greenhouse gases
- some processes produce more carbon dioxide than others (refer to tb pg 179)
26
What does urbanization refer to?
- process in which an increasing number of people live in urban areas such as cities and towns
27
How does urbanization contribute to climate change?
- large amounts of fossil fuels are burnt for household activities
- activities such as heating, cooling, cooking and lighting
- high concentration of cars, buses and other forms of transportation also contribute to the high amount of carbon dioxide produced
28
What are some impacts of climate change?
- sea level rising
- more frequent extreme weather events
- spread of infectious diseases
- lengthens growing seasons in certain regions
29
How does climate change lead to sea level rising?
- higher temperatures cause the melting of glaciers in greenland and antarctica
- meltwater causes a rise in sea level
- high temperatures also cause water in seas to expand, increasing sea level
30
What are the impacts of rising sea levels?
- over 600 million people live in areas less than 10 metres above sea level
- rising sea levels threaten low-lying areas and islands
- coastal cities such as Miami and Venice are in danger of losing land due to rising sea level
31
What is an example of rising sea level?
- Majuro Atoll in the Pacific Coean is in danger of losing 80% of its land if sea levels rise by half a metre
32
Why is the increasing incidence of extreme weather events a serious impact of climate change?
- it can result in loss of life
- significant economic losses
33
Why are heatwaves known as "silent killers"?
- they are neither visibly destructive nor violent
34
Why do heatwaves result in loss of life?
- when people are subjected to extreme heat
- vital organs are at risk
- death results when the body cant cool itself down sufficiently
- young children and the elderly are especially at risk
35
Why does climate change cause the spread of infectious insect-borne diseases?
- climate change results in increased temperature and rainfall
- these are favourable conditions for insects to thrive in
36
What are some examples of insect-borne diseases?
- malaria
- spread by a mosquito parasite
- causes high fever, chills anf flu-like symptoms
- dengue
- transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito
- causes fever, headaches and sever bleeding
37
How does climate change lengthen the growing season in certain regions?
- higher temperatures result in longer growing seasons
- growing seasons refer to the period during which crops can be grown
38
What are the advantages of longer growing seasons?
- an increase in the types of crops that can be grown in the UK
- new crops such as blackberries and maize can be grown
- the production of fruit, soya beans, potatoes are projected to increase in Canada
39
What are the disadvantages of longer growing seasons?
- In the Yunnan province, China, the production of fruits such as apples and cherries and nuts, such as almonds and walnuts is reduced as they require cool weather conditions
- in Canada, the average wheat grain yield has decreased
40
What are international agreements?
- they are contracts signed by two or more countries
41
What are national responses?
- when individual countries implement policies to achieve international goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions
42
What is an example of an international agreement?
- Kyoto Protocol
43
What is the Kyoto Protocol?
- an agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change (UNFCC)
- to reduce levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by anthropogenic causes
44
How did the Kyoto Protocol intend to reduce carbon emissions?
- countries were required to monitor and report their greenhouse gas emissions
45
What were key dates in the Kyoto Protocol?
- drawn up on 11 dec 1997
- came into action on 16 feb 2005
46
What were the successes of the Kyoto Protocol?
- many countries met/exceeded the target set
- included countries such as Finland, Greece and Ireland
47
What were the successes of the Kyoto Protocol?
- many countries met/exceeded the target set
- included countries such as Finland, Greece and Ireland
48
What were the successes of the Kyoto Protocol?
- many countries met/exceeded the target set
- included countries such as Finland, Greece and Ireland
49
What were the limitations of the Kyoto Protocol?
- countries such as Denmark, Austria and Spain did not meet their targets
- it was not made compulsory for countries with low greenhouse gas emissions to provide support to countries with high greenhouse gas emissions
- thus, countries with high greenhouse gas emissions may not be able to meet their targets as easily
- it had limited impacts on global greenhouse gas emissions
- countries that did not sign continued to contribute significantly to global emissions
50
What are some national responses created in Singapore?
- Singapore green plan 2012
- Green mark scheme
- Plant-a-tree programme
51
How did the Singapore green plan aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
- use natural gas rather than coal
- its a cleaner form of energy as compared to coal as it does not produce as much smoke
52
What are some key details about the Singapore green plan?
- launched by ministry of environment in 2002
- plan aimed to generate 60% of Singapore's energy needs using natural gas by 2012
53
What were some successes of the Singapore green plan?
- as early as 2010, 79% of Singapore's electricity was generated by natural gas
- exceeded the ministry's target ahead of time
54
What were some limitations to the Singapore green plan?
- natural gas requires complex treatment plants to process and pipelines to transport
- high maintenance cost as they need to be laid underground and have to be regularly checked for leakage
55
How did the green mark scheme aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
- encourages more energy-efficient buildings
- they use less energy to provide the same services, thus promoting energy conservation
(please check tb idk im summarising)
56
What were some successes of the green mark scheme?
- existing green buildings such as Plaza By The Parl, Standard Chartered @ Changi etc reported energy savings of 15 to 35% compared to convectional buildings
- it cuts down greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity
57
What were some limitations in the green mark scheme?
- construction companies tend to be conservative about adopting new ideas
- green buildings use green materials that are more expensive
58
What was the purpose of the Plant-A-Tree programme?
- started in 1971 as tree planting day
- aimed to maintain Singapore's status as a garden city
59
How did the Plant-A-Tree programme aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
- residents were encouraged to donate money to buy a tree or take part in tree planting events monthly throughout Singapore
60
What were some successes of the Plant-A-Tree programme?
- programme has contributed an estimated 60000 trees planted yearly by NParks
- trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (green lungs of the environment)
61
What were some limitations of the Plant-A-Tree programme?
- trees take many years to mature
- the positive effects of tree planting will take time to materialise
- even fast growing trees, such as angsanas, raintrees and yellow flames that were planted by NParks took 25 years to reach their full height
