ENVO CH9

Albedo

a description of a surface's reflective properties

Climate

a description of the long term weather in a particular area

Ozone (03)

a highly reactive molecule containing three oxygen atoms; a dangerous pollutant in ambient air. in the stratosphere, however, ozone forms an ultraviolet absorbing shield that protects us from mutagenic radiation

Wedge-anaylsis

breaking down a problem into smaller, bite size pieces (impact shows in 50 years)

Stratosphere

extremely stable; warms slightly with elevation as ozone absorbs solar energy

Troposphere

layer closest to the earth's surface, usually temperature and pressure decrease with increasing altitude; turbulent

Mesosphere

located roughly 50-85 km of elevation; cools dramatically with elevation

What natural gas is a very effective absorber of energy in the atmosphere? (produced by the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen)

methane

The 2 most abundant gases in the earth's atmosphere are..

nitrogen and oxygen

Milankovitch cycles

periodic variations in tilt, eccentricity, and wobble in the earth's orbit; responsibly for earth's cyclic weather changes

The thermohaline circulation system in the ocean is driven by differences in ocean _____ and _____

salinity, temperature

Rank the following surfaces in order of decreasing albedo: Green forest, white sand, fresh snow, black soil

fresh snow, white sand, green forest, black soil

Latent heat

stored energy in a form that is not sensible (ex: water vapor in the air holds 580 calories of energy per gram). usually powers thunder storms, hurricanes and tornados

Weather

the physical conditions of the atmosphere (moisture, temperature, pressure, and wind)

Order the layers of atmosphere with farthest away from Earth's surface being first

thermosphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, troposphere

Thermosphere

warms dramatically with height due to ionizing radiation

What does it mean to be carbon neutral?

you reduce your green house gas emissions to zero

The second most abundant human-caused green house gas is..

CH4

The most abundant human-caused green house gas is...

CO2

The most abundant green house gas, but little affected by human activity is...

H2O

IPCC

International Panel on Climate Change: collaboration among governments, with scientists and government representatives from 130 countries. goal is to collect and analyze scientific evidence on climate change