Week 5 and 7 Flashcards
(22 cards)
Some Factors that control GHG emissions
Goods and services (e.g., car plants)
Canada is the worlds second largest producer of ______
hydroelectricity
GDP
Total value of goods produced by an economy
More factors that control emissions
Population
Affluence
What type of relationship does GDP have with population and afluence
Positive relationship
Energy intensity:
number of Joules of energy needed to generate one dollar of goods and services
Carbon intensity
the amount of GHG emitted per joule of energy generated
As population increases, demands ______
increase
pop is exponentially growing
more ______ countries are the most conspicuous consumers of resources
developed
What is a model in science?
simplified representations of real systems
used to explain complex data
Types of models:
conceptual or descriptive
physical
mathematical
Mathematical models:
deterministic: exact relationships
Parameterized: generalized relationships
Stochastic: contains a random component
Climate models have 2 main functions:
- Accurately represent the current climate and interaction between earth’s land, water and atmospheric systems
- help us understand what might happen in future climates
How do scientists validate climate model accuracy?
using observational data
AOGCM:
Atmosphere ocean global climate model (supercomputer simulation of the Earth’s climate system)
Global climate model (3-D)
represents how the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, and ice interact in three dimensions (height, width, and depth).
Basic characteristics of a three-dimensional climate model
illustrates the manner in which the atmosphere and ocean are modelled as a set of interacting columns distributed across the Earth’s
surface
the resolutions of the atmosphere and ocean models are usually different
transient experiments
increase the GHG each year, little by little - what is happening in reality (generally no equilibrium is reached)
When did the Anthropocene Start?
Industrial Revolution or great acceleration
What is the anthropocene
The Anthropocene is a proposed new geological era that marks the time when humans began having a major impact on Earth’s climate and ecosystems.
Evidence of the Anthropocene
Changing landscapes/geology
species extinction
invasive speciees
