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39 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is an air mass? What is climate change? |
An air mass is a large body of air that form over polar or tropical source regions Climate change is long term changes in temperature and precipitation |
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What Era are we in? When did it begin? What period are we currently in? What epoch are we currently in? What period was it when dinosaurs went extinct? |
Cenozoic - 65 million years ago Quartenary Holocene Cretaceous |
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Name six ways to find evidence of past climate change.
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Tree Rings Fossils Ice Cores Paintings Records Written Accounts |
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How do fossil records show past climate change?
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Show the animals and plants which shows whether they were adapted and preferred to live in warmer or cooler conditions
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How do ice cores show past climate change?
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Each layer is a years worth of snowfall, so the thicker the layer the more snow which means it was colder that year. Bubbles in the ice show that there was a high level of CO2 in the air
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How do records provide evidence of past climate change?
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They log the arrival of migratory birds and blossoming of trees
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How do tree rings provide evidence of past climate change?
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Trees are sensitive to light, temperature and precipitation so in cold years the ring is thinner due to a lack of growth because there is less of those things
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Name 2 places in the world that were covered in ice 10-30,000 years ago but aren't now.
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United Kingdom Iceland |
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What 3 types of evidence collection are the most accurate?
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Tree Rings Fossil Records Ice Cores |
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What are the 4 natural causes of climate change? |
Sun Spot Theory Orbital Theory Asteroid Collisions Volcanic Eruptions |
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What is Sun Spot Theory?
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The black areas on the sun are areas where more solar radiation is being exerted towards Earth. The more sunspots, the higher the temperature |
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What is eruption theory? Can you name an example OR two? |
When major volcanic eruptions lead to a period of global cooling due to the dust and ash being high in the atmosphere which blankets the earth. Krakatoa 1883 - temps down by 1.2 c Pinatubo 1991 - sunlight reduced by 10% temps reduced by 0.5 C
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What is orbital theory?
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Every 100,000 years the orbit of earth changes from circular to elliptical- circular orbit is cooler and elliptical will either be hotter or colder than the circular
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How do asteroid collisions change the climate of the planet?
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If a large asteroid collision was to hit then the Earth would cool for a short period of time. A large cloud of dust would form and would block out the sunlight, resulting in us cooling down
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What 3 ways did Vikings destroy their environment?
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1. cut down trees2. overgrazing livestock which led to soil erosion3.
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Name 5 impacts of the Little Ice age for the European people in 1315
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1. wheat and oats didn't ripen so harvest failed 2. famine lasted for 8 years 3. 10-20% of people died of hunger 4. glaciers destroyed town and farmland 5. hard to commute to get to jobs |
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Name 2 ways that European people adapted to the cold conditions of the Mini Ice Age in 1315.
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1. Potatoes were the crop of choice as they could thrive in cold and wet conditions 2. abandoned farms on hills to avoid glaciers which would've destroyed their harvest |
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What are megafauna? Name an example? |
Large animals of a particular region, eg CANADA = MOOSE
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What type of climate des the UK have? What causes this climate? |
Temperate Maritime The Gulf Stream |
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What is the Gulf Stream?
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a warm ocean current which keeps the UK much warmer in winter
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What are the 5 air masses in the UK?
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Arctic Maritime Polar Maritime Polar Continental Tropical Maritime Tropical Continental |
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What creates the seasons in the UK?
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The tilt of the Earths axis which also affects the what air mass is hanging over the UK at the time
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Why are the wettest areas of the UK in the west or in mountains?
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WEST- warm moist air from the Atlantic blows onto the land forcing clouds to rain AKA FRONTAL RAIN MOUNTAINS- Condensation increases so precipitation increases due to low pressure |
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What type of weather does low pressure cause? What type of weather does high pressure cause? |
Low pressure causes wet and unsettled weather High pressure causes dry and stable weather |
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What percentage of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide make up the air?
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21% 78% 0.035%
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In the enhanced greenhouse effect.... what type of radiation enters the atmosphere? What type of radiation is reflected back? Why does the enhanced greenhouse effect occur? |
short wavelength solar radiation long wavelength solar radiation greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere and causes long wavelength radiation to stay trapped in the atmosphere so the world heats but some escapes back to space |
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Name 3 Greenhouse Gases
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Carbon Dioxide Methane Nitrous Oxide |
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How much has methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide increased since 1850?
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Methane- +250% Carbon Dioxide- +30% Nitrous Oxide- +16% |
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Name 2 ways in which the 3 Green House Gases have increased in the last 150 years
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Carbon Dioxide- increased car emissions, deforestation Methane- gas pipe leaks, cattle farming to meet demand Nitrous Oxide- jet engines, car emissions |
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Name and explain a carbon store |
Trees Absorb CO2 and release O2 . Release CO2 when burnt from the stored carbon and also because its combusting |
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What is thermal expansion? How much could sea levels rise by by 2100? |
a rise in temperature means the seas become warmer, meaning that they expand, causing sea levels to rise. 40cm |
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Name 2 ways that we have seen evidence of climate change in the UK.
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Heatwaves of Summer 2003 Flooding in the Midlands 2007 |
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What is the predicted best and worse case scenario for temperature change?
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Best: 1.1 c by 2100 Worst: 6.4 c by 2100 |
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What is the predicted best and worst case scenario for sea levels rising?
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Best: 30cm rise by 2100 Worst: 1m rise by 2100 |
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What's the main industry in Egypt? Average Rainfall per year? |
farming 88mm |
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What percentage of people live along the Nile in Egypt? Why do they live there? |
99% of people live on 5% on the land Because farming needs the water from the river in order for crops to grow and people to generate an income |
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If the Nile were to dry up, what social and economic implications could there be?
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desertification of farmland which would destroy industry and lower income. shortages of water more disease falling crop yields |
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If the Nile were to dry up, what environmental implications could there be?
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rise in temperature by 8c by 2080less and unreliable rainfallheatwavesdrought
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