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42 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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How is our global climate changing? |
Warming significantly- record high global surface temps and steadily rising sea-levels. Very likely due to a buildup of greenhouse gasses from human production of CO2. |
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What are the key factors producing warming of our atmosphere (primary greenhouse gases)? |
Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide (produced by industrial/ transportation/ agricultural/ waste/ land use/ etc. fuels from humans). Methane is released from the melting of permafrost in the arctic. As the earth warms, more and more permafrost melts, creating a positive feedback loop. |
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What were the findings in the most recent IPCC report? |
-each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the earth’s surface -ocean warming is largest near the surface -greenland and antarctic ice sheets have been losing mass |
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How has Earth’s carbon dioxide levels changed since the Industrial Revolution? |
Risen from 275 to 400 ppm |
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What impact could greenhouse warming have on temperature and precipitation patterns, disease, storm severity, and vegetation growth? |
more extreme weather events, change in growing seasons, increase in disease and death due to inability to adapt |
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What are the typical temperature and precipitation patterns across Colorado? |
Highest percip in Spring, significantly higher temps in the summer months, moderate winters |
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How is climate in Colorado changing? |
Eastern plain climates are seeping into the foothills, original foothill climate is moving vertically |
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What is the future of water resources regionally and globally? |
By 2050, 70% of basins will be seeing water scarcity in the U.S. |
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What do global climate models project for future climate? |
The planet will warm between 1.1F - 6.4F by 2100 |
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How can we determine climate prior to the instrumental record? |
Tree ring data and ice core samples |
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What is the current global population? |
Around 7.5 billion |
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How has urban versus rural population across the globe changed through time? |
Consistent migration to urban centers, home to more that 50% of population now |
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Know the human impact equation and anticipated change over time as a function of changing variables in this equation.
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I=(P)(A)(T) I= planetary impact P= population A= Affluence T= Technology |
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What is a carbon footprint? |
The impact an entity has on the environment measured in tons of CO2 |
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How can we reduce our impact? |
Renewable energy, attitude and lifestyle changes |
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Define ‘urban heat island’ |
an urban microclimate that is warmer on average than nearby rural areas because of interaction of solar radiation with urban surfaces |
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What causes an Urban Heat Island? |
materials used to construct cities retain heat, industrial activities release heat, tall buildings alter the flow of air |
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Do cities experience more or less warming and precipitation in comparison with their surroundings? |
increased warming and precipitation |
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What are some of the micro-climatic changes that occur across cities? |
warmer temperatures, higher precipitation, altered wind patterns |
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What is a dust dome? |
the atmosphere around a city that contains higher dust, ghg, and smog |
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How can people minimize heat island effects? |
public transportation, more green spaces, lighter colored buildings |
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What are some solutions to a growing population of people so we reduce our urban impact and improve sustainability? |
higher density cities |
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How does land use land cover change (LULCC) affect the local climate? |
can severely alter surface energy and water balance and set feedbacks in motion |
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What are some of the natural and anthropogenic sources and factors that contribute to pollution |
Anthropogenic - industry and fuel combustion Natural - wind, physical features like mountains, volcanoes |
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What is an inversion?
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A temperature inversion occurs when the normal temperature, which usually decreases with altitude, reverses trend and begins to increase at some point. This prevents the rise of cooler air and halts the mixing of pollutants with other atmospheric gasses, and pollutants get trapped underneath the inversion layer. |
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What are the primary and secondary pollutants of greatest concern to our health and environment? |
Carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides |
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What are the levels of concern in the EPA’s Air Quality Index (AQI)? |
0-50 Good 51-100 Moderate 101-150 Unhealthy for some 151- 200 Unhealthy 201-300 Very Unhealthy 301-500 Hazardous |
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What is acid precipitation and deposition and what are the greatest problems of concern associated with acid rain? |
Acid deposition is causally linked to serious problems: declining fish populations, widespread forest damage, widespread changes in soil chemistry; and damage to building, sculptures, and historic artifacts. |
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How does acid precipitation influence vegetation? |
Removes minerals and nutrients from the soil and leeches aluminum which can damage plants |
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What is the difference between stratospheric and tropospheric ozone? |
ozone in the troposphere is bad and harmful to humans, ozone in the stratosphere is good because it blocks harmful UV radiation. |
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What impact does air pollution have on solar radiation received at ground level? |
can scatter, absorb or reflect radiation |
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When was Clean Air Act legislation enacted? |
1970 |
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What is paleoclimatology? |
The study of past climates |
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What is the scientific consensus regarding the primary cause(s) of global climate change? |
Human activity |
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How have areas on the Greenland Ice Sheet responded to changes in our global temperatures? |
Melt ponds are forming and the snow line is retreating |
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What are melt lakes and how might they influence sea level? |
areas of melted ice on glaciers, absorb more sunlight and warm, causing melting to happen more quickly |
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How has permafrost been influenced by climate change? |
more melts which increases the thickness of the active ice layer, damaging infastructure |
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Define meteorology |
the branch of science concerned with events in the atmosphere, forecasting the weather |
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Define climatology |
the scientific study of climate |
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Define biome |
Large, stable vegetation structure dominated by a certain plant type, reflective of climate & soil characteristics |
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Define ecotone |
A boundary transition zone between different, but adjoining ecosystems at any scale.niche : animal’s role
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Define niches |
An organisms role in an ecosystem |
