GC 170A1: EXAM 1
47 Cards in this Set
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What is weather?
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The state of the atmosphere at any given place or time
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What is climate?
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Long-term average of weather in any given place
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What is a drought?
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Prolonged period of dry weather
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How are droughts defined?
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1. Severity
2. Length
3. Spatial
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How does the jet stream pattern contribute to current drought in CA?
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Prevents storms from reaching Cali for several months and decreases rainfall for years
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What is a global change type drought?
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Drought episode with warmer temperature, leads to more evaporation and drier soils
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What are the consequences of prolonged and severe drought
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Loss of crops, forest mortality, wildfires, less water for communities
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What is a heat wave? What are the consequences?
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Period of warm temperatures for a few days to weeks, damage to crops and livestock
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What happened with wildfire activity in 2002 and 2011?
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2002: Severe regional drought across Texas
2011: Severe drought across the four corners region
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In Texas in 2011, what were the key factors that influenced Bastrop county complex?
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1. exceptional drought
2. sparks from a power line started the fire
3. huge winds because of a nearby tropical storm
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How are the number of wildfires changing with warmer temperatures of the past 40 years?
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Warmer temperatures lead to earlier snow melt and longer summers
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What is an extreme precipitation event and what are the consequences?
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When rainfall exceeds normal amounts, flooding and crop damage
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What are two examples of extreme rainfall events?
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Colorado (September 2013)
Tucson (July 2006)
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Are extreme precipitation events changing in recent decades?
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Yes
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Related to sea surface temperatures, why are extreme precipitation events increasing?
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Warmer sea surface temperatures increase evaporation, warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, clouds move over land and more rainfall occurs
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Is hurricane activity increasing with warming sea surface temperatures?
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Yes, causes it to be more intense
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What influences the strength or intensity of a hurricane?
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Warmer surface temperatures
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What is the biggest concern with hurricanes in the future?
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More intense and higher rainfall
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How does sea-level rise influence the damage during hurricanes?
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Longer storm surges
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Where do greenhouse gases come from?
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Burning of fossil fuels
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What are fossil fuels?
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Coal, oil and natural gas
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Why does our economy rely so much on fossil fuels?
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Very cheap and increase in demand
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What is a global climate model (GCM)? How does it work?
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1. Stimulates future temperatures based on CO2 emissions
2. Can reproduce the influence of human and natural forces
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What do GCM's predict for the future?
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the temperature
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What are the influences on different storylines of economic and environmental policies in the future?
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1. Political boundaries
2. Technological advances
3. Economic growth
4. Population growth
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What factors does the A1 storyline include?
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Global economy (political cooperation) with focus on economy, one global economy
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Why is the A1B scenario the most likely?
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1. Global economy with some focus on the environment
2. Mix of fossil fuel and renewable energies
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Which scenario will keep future temperature (by 2100) below 2 Celsius
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B1
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Where will future warming be most severe?
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at the poles
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What are stakeholders?
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Person or group that has financial or political interest in climate change.
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Who are the two major stakeholders in the US right now?
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Energy Industry and Environmental Organization Policy.
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What are their positions on climate change policy (i.e. government regulation of CO2 emissions)
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Severe consequences:
1. Cost of disasters such as storms/floods/fires
2. Droughts, heat-wave cause economic losses
3. People will need to migrate
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What do they agree on?
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WILL DAMAGE THE ECONOMY
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What is the Social Cost of Carbon?
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The cost to society of emissions from fossil fuels sources, based on the cost of climate change impacts.
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What do scientists conclude with 99% certainty?
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More warm days and nights in the future
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When was the IPCC established and what does it stand for?
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1988, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
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What is the Kyoto protocol and when was it signed?
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An agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to below 1990 levels, signed in 1997
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Why has the US never signed the Kyoto protocol?
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lack of participation in the developing world. The United States is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases but developing countries, which are quickly increasing their burning of fossil fuels for energy, are predicted to surpass the amount of greenhouse emissions released by the United S…
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Why has the agreement among world governments (particularly in the US and developing nations) to reduce CO2 emissions been so problematic and contentious over the years?
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1. Negative impact on the economy of the US/Canada
2. Division between developing and developed nations
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What is mitigation?
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strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
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What is adaptation?
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adjustments made to reduce the impact of climate change, to lessen the harm associated with climate change impacts
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What are the problems/fears associated with nuclear energy?
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1. Creates toxic nuclear waste, difficult to dispose of nuclear waste
2. The fear and risk of major radiation leaks
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What are three major sources of renewable energy?
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Hydropower energy, solar energy and wind energy
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How does wind power work?
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Wind turbines spin and this produces energy
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How does solar PV cell/panel work?
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PV cells directly convert incoming solar radiation to electricity
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What is concentrated solar power?
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movable mirrors, reflect the sun's energy on receivers that store heat energy, heat energy drives a steam turbine that creates electricity
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Examples of energy conservation
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change to compact fluorescent light bulbs, never appliances with energy-star rating.
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GC 170A1: EXAM 1