What is climate change?
The large scale, long-time shift in the planets weather pattern or average temperature.
What is global warming?
A gradual increase in the overall temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere. Generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide
What is the quaternary period?
The current geological period dating from 2.6 million years ago to the present day
How do volcanic eruptions affect climate change?
- When a volcano erupts it throws out large volumes of sulphur dioxide, water vapour, dust, and ash into the atmosphere.
- Large volumes of gas and ash can influence climatic patterns for years by increasing planetary reflectivity causing atmospheric cooling.
- volcanos also put out CO2
How does the Earths orbital change affect climate change?
- changes in the tilt of the Earth can lead to small but climatically important changes in the strength of the season
- more tilt on the Earth means warmer summers and cold winters
- less tilt means cooler summers and milder winters
How does solar variations affect climate change?
- although the suns energy output appears constant from an everyday point of view, small changes over extended period of time can lead to climate changes
- Some scientist suspect a proportion of the warming in the first half of the 20th century was due to an increase in output of solar energy
How has fossil fuels affected climate change ?
- fossil fuels account for over 50% of the majority of global greenhouse gas emissions
- burning fossil fuels release carbon dioxide which increases the greenhouse gas effect
How has agriculture affected climate change ?
- agriculture contributes to 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions
- it also produces large volumes of methane; cattle producer during digestion, and microbes produce it as they decay organic matter
- more people = more food = more cattle
How much deforestation affected climate change ?
- less trees to absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen
- when trees are burnt to clear an area, such as slash and burn, the carbon dioxide that has been stored in the trees is also released, which again contributes to climate change
What is evidence for climate change ?
- The earths average surface temperature has increased by approximately 1° over the last 100 years
- sea levels have risen by 19cm since 1900
- The worlds glacier and ice sheets are decreasing in size
- The ocean temperatures are the warmest they have been since 1850
How do ice cores show us what the climate was like in the beginning of the quaternary period ?
- scientists analyse the oxygen isotopes in the ice cores to measure what the climate was like
- when the ice cores melt, trapped carbon dioxide and methane are released which can be compare to present day levels to see the difference between climate then and now
How does ocean sediment show us what the climate was like in the beginning of the quaternary period ?
• organisms and remains of plankton in the sediment reveal information such as past surface water temperatures, and levels of oxygen and nutrients
What are the social effects of climate change ?
- Health in southern and eastern Africa may decline, as malaria would increase in hot humid regions that remain hotter for longer in the year
- fishing in the lower Mekong Delta would decline, affecting 40 million people due to reduced water flow and sea level rise, changing the quality of the water
- drought is likely to put pressure on food and water supplies in sub-Saharan Africa due to high temperatures and less rainfall
What are the environmental effects of climate change ?
- crop you out in Europe are expected to increase but require more irrigation
- 70% of Asia maybe at increased risk of flooding
- wildlife declines as polar bears and seals disappear with the loss of habitat as ice melts
- coral reefs such as the great barrier reef could see biodiversity loss, and warmer, more acidic water would cause coral bleaching
What are the economic effects of climate change ?
- fishing industry in East Asia is expected to decline due to higher temperatures and more acidic seas
- flood risk from heavy rainfall is one of the main threats to the UK. The estimated cost of damage from flooding could rise from £2.1 billion currently, to £12 billion by the 2080
- less ice in the Arctic Ocean would allow more shipping and extraction of gas and oil reserves
Name the 4 mitigations that manage climate change ?
- carbon capture
- planting trees
- alternative energy production
- International agreements
What is mitigation ?
To prevent or decrease the severity of something. In this case global warming/ climate change
How does carbon capture manage climate change ?
- Technology replicates the way the stores carbon dioxide
- it works by capturing CO2 from emission sources and safely storing it.
- it can also remove CO2 from the open atmosphere by converting it into liquid , Which is then injected into sedimentary rock. As impermeable rock prevents it from escaping
- expensive
- The carbon captured is then used for the U.K.’s electricity. And it does not promote renewable energy
How does planting trees manage climate change ?
- The trees absorb CO2
- The UK has a £24.9 million project to reduce deforestation and increase forest and land restoration in Brazil
- it aims to tackle climate change by reducing 10.71 million tonnes of CO2 omissions over 20 years by recovering 41,560 hectors of the grade for
How does alternate energy production reduce climate change ?
- renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, wave and tidal, and biomass, offer a solution to reduce the volume of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change
- solar power-no pollution, produces electricity quietly, expensive, only works during the day
- Wind-renewable, unreliable, expensive, maintenance costs
- relate to physics
How do international agreements reduce the effects of climate change?
- The climate change act (2008) made the UK the first country to have a legally binding long time frame to cut carbon emissions
- the UN negotiated a new international climate change agreement for all countries at the 2015 Paris climate conference. It will be implemented from 2020. It sets out to reduce global emissions by least 40% below 2010 levels by 2030, and by 60% by 2050
How does changes in agriculture help manage climate change ?
- farmers alter the species they farm to the climate of the future
- using genetically modified species that have the capacity to cope with dryer, wetter, hotter conditions
- altering the location of cropping activities e.g. South of Britain is becoming a greater vineyard
- improving pest, disease, and weed control as these might change location with climate change
How does managing watersupply manage climate change ?
- reservoirs can be used to store water and pipe lines can be used to transfer it
- Desalination can be used to recover fresh water from oceans
- tube wells can be sunk into regions to access ground water
How does reducing risk from rising sea levels manage climate change ?
- The Thames Barrier was built to stop tidal surges entering central London
- UK home owners can get £6000 for destroying their home if it is as risk of coastal erosion
- we can abandon areas most at risk of flooding
