Unit 3: Climate & Climate Change

pollutants originating from human activity

gasses that absorb specific wavelengths but not other

gases in atmosphere that all are selective absorbers for infrared wavelengths

incoming solar radiation

transfer heat by touch

used to describe climate of location.

the variation over time of earth’s orbit, tilt, and wobble

carbon dioxide dissolving into the ocean and decreasing the water’s pH and making it acidic

how the sun transfers energy to earth

the transfer of heat by mass movement or circulation within a substance

the transfer of energy or heat by electromagnetic waves

how heat is trapped in the atmosphere

methane, water vapor, carbon dioxide

layers of organic carbon that were compressed by heat and pressure faster than they could decay (oil, coal, natural gas)

movement of carbon through different reservoirs of earth

burning of fossil fuels to carbon dioxide

creation of the rock limestone (CaCO3)

photosynthesis is carbon dioxide to oxygen

carbon dioxide dissolves in water

breathing in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide

the action of clearing a wide area of trees and taking away it’s ability to remove carbon from atmosphere

Legally binding international treaty on climate change created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

specifically re-radiation of sunlight that reflected to earth and bounced off (in ir)

thin layer of gas molecules that separates us from space

regions of earth occupied by leaving things

the parts of our planet that are solid

all the waters on the earth's surface,

short wavelengths we can see that the sun primary radiates

the breaking down or dissolving of rocks and minerals on Earths surface

the 30% of insolation that is reflected or scatters

radiation from sun and absorbed by earth

radiation re-radiated to sun

the overall weather patterns of an area over a long period of time

The state of the atmosphere at a given place in time with respect to variables

“Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get”

Large areas characterized by their wildlife, vegetation, and soil that have formed in response to a shared physical climate

specific features developed by organisms to survive and be well suited in their environment

warm ocean current from gulf of mexico that heats east coast and heads toward great britain

a process in the carbon cycle that are microscopic organisms that live in oceans and have carbonate shell that turn into limestone

any place that carbon is stored

the range of wavelengths or frequencies over which electromagnetic radiation extends (radio, micro, ir, vl, uv, x, gamma)

rainforest, grassland, tundra, desert, shrubland, temperate deciduous forest, coniferous forest

warm and frost free all year with a ton of rain (increases in summer and fall) and can be tropical or temperate but always moist

plants like cacao can survive under forest canopy with little sunlight

well defined seasons with long cold winters and warm summers that have not too much rain and 4 to 6 frost free months

pine trees can survive extreme weather

four seasons with cold winters and hot summers

white birch trees grow fast

Hot dry summers and cool wet winters with precipitation varying greatly due to wet and dry seasons

some sumacs are poisonous

Cool all the time as the coldest biome and gets almost as little rain as a desert

lichen can survive in barren cold regions and require little water but will still grow with it

hot summers and cold winter with normal amounts of rain that come in spring and fall

bluestem grasses tolerate harsh conditions and can go dormant in cold

gets least amount of rain of all biomes and the temperature gets really high during the day and plummets at night

creosote bush can conserve water and survive high temperatures and fluctuations in temperature

soil, organic matter, vegetation, coal, oil, gas, sediments, sedimentary rock, ocean surface, deep ocean

carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

carbonic acid is formed when ocean water meets carbon dioxide which then forms hydrogen ions which increase the acidity of water and increase ph

the acidification interferes with ability for coral to reproduce and carbonate is needed for coral and shelled organisms and lower ph means less carbonate

burning of fossil fuels

temperature increase works like a chain reaction for many things and the coral reefs cannot reproduce

they work as selective absorbers and do not let as much radiation leave

50%

20%

20%

5%

5%

coral reefs and arctic sea ice

energy, land use, cities, industries

global CO2 emissions down 45% from 2010 levels , renewable energy sources as 85% of global electricity by 2050, coal to reduce to almost zero, seven million square km less land used for agricultural purposes, global net zero emissions by 2050

shift from fossil fuels by mid century, phasing out coal sooner than past suggested, giving over land to forest