MARN 1001E Chapter 3 Study Guide

Describe two positive feedback loops

A (This Term) is a loop that causes an increase in effect of something. For example, since white ice reflects light, as the temperature of the Earth increases, the less white ice there will be to reflect light off of the Earth, thus perpetually increasing the Earth's temperature. Another example is that increasing temperature increases the amount of water vapor (a greenhouse gas) in the air, which this causes light to be reflected back to Earth's surface and thus increasing the temperature of the Earth even more.

Define the locations of islands and coasts sensitive to coastal flooding

Some vulnerable island regions are the Pacific Ocean small islands, the Caribbean islands, and the Indian Ocean small islands. Some vulnerable coasts are the coasts of Africa, Indonesia, India, and China.

Define and describe the five components adding to sea-level-rise, including their comparative sizes. (No need to know exact numbers)

Thermal Expansion, Glaciers and ice caps melting, Greenland ice sheets melting, Antarctic ice sheets melting, and water shortages.

Describe the so-called Keeling curve: present trend, reason for zig-zag pattern, where measurements are collected.

(This Term) is a measure of the concentration of CO2 in the air. Currently, the keeling curve is increasing at an exponential rate. The zig-zag pattern is a result of the seasonal variation in CO2 (Concentration is higher in the summer/productive season and lower in the winter). The measurements are measured a Mauna Loa Hawaii.

Explain the Greenhouse effect: earth's heat budget, carbon-dioxide-concentration effect.

(This Term) is a result of solar energy entering the atmosphere, and when it gets reflected off of the Earth's surface, some of it goes back into space while some of it gets reflected back down to Earth from the greenhouse gases, such as CO2, CH4, H2O, and NO. Because of an increase in greenhouse gases, more energy is reflected into the atmosphere than energy that leaves the atmosphere.

Define and describe the terms eustasy

(This Term) is the absolute change in sea-level, which does not include isostatic adjustment.

Define and describe the terms isostasy

(This Term) is the absolute change in the elevation of land due to isostatic adjustment.

Define the term coastal squeeze

(This Term) is what happens when the sea level rise causes the ecosystem to move inwards towards land, however, sometimes there are human structures that prevent this, or coastal formations that cannot be moved. As a result, the ecosystem gets squeezed between the land and sea.

Briefly describe Earth's heat budget

(This Term) refers to the amount of heat entering the atmosphere versus the amount of energy leaving the atmosphere. It is necessary to have some heat stay in the atmosphere, otherwise the Earth's temperature would be a constant -18oC. However, currently there is not enough heat leaving the atmosphere because of a recent increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which is causing an increase in global temperatures.

Name and define six effects of sea-level rise on coasts

- Coasts will experience a coastal squeeze - Coasts will need to prepare for the sea level to rise (retreat, accommodate, and protect) - Coasts will become more eroded

Name and describe six climate drivers and their effects

- Melting of white ice - Increases the earth's temperature and melts more white ice. - Increase in CO2 - Increases the earth's temperature and causes ocean acidification which also causes more erosion and effects ocean wildlife - Sea level rise - Causes increased erosion, flooding, etc. (caused by thermal expansion of water, which causes water to take up more space). - Increase in storm frequency and intensity - increase in erosion, flooding, etc. - Increase in sea-surface temperature - more water vapor in the air, causes sea wildlife to migrate and/or die. - Increase in global temperature - more water vapor in the air and increased rainfall in some regions.

Name and define three potential societal responses to sea-level rise

- Retreat (move more inland) - Accommodate (make the community work with the sea level rise, such as building houses on stilts, or making the sea level rise part of the community (such as how they travel with boats in Venice) - Protect (build structures that prevent the sea level rise from progressing further.

Name and describe four large-scale processes that affect earth's climate

- Thermal expansion - increases sea level - Glaciers/ice caps melting - causes an increase in sea level - White ice melting - causes less light to be reflected into the atmosphere which also causes the atmosphere to heat up - Increase in water vapor in the air - increases earth's temperature.

Describe and contrast current and projected changes in ice cover in the Arctic and Antarctic

Currently, changes in Arctic and Antarctic ice have caused the sea level to rise about 0.8-2 mm/year (i.e. the ice is melting), however it is projected that arctic ice will cause the sea to rise about 0.7-5.9 mm/year, which the Antarctic ice is expected to decrease the sea level by -2.7 - -0.3 mm/year.

Describe which parts of the North American continent are currently rising and sinking

Currently, most of Canada is rising and the USA (including Alaska) is sinking.

Which three countries release the most CO2 per capita?

Currently, the countries that release the most Carbon Dioxide per capita are Canada, Australia, and the USA.

Describe the correlation between carbon dioxide concentrations and temperature during the past 160,000 years. What is remarkable about the current concentration range and trend?

Data shows that whenever there is an increase in the amount of Carbon Dioxide in the air, there is also an increase in global temperature. What is so remarkable about the current concentration range is that it has increases so fast in so little time that the temperature of the Earth has been rapidly increasing.

Name the four major greenhouse gases, and know which one currently has the greatest effect.

Four greenhouse gases are Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Water Vapor (H2O), Nitrous Oxide (NO), and Methane (CH4). Although Methane causes more heating than Carbon Dioxide, there is a lot more Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere, so it causes the most heating.

Define costs of sea-level rise in terms of GDP

GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is about 1% for developed countries and about 5% for developing countries. For the USA, this 1% is about 7 billion dollars per year.

Describe three reasons why current global warming cannot be caused by variations in solar radiation

Global radiation cannot be caused by variations in solar radiation because there has been no change in activity on the sun, no increase in the amount of sunspots, and the amount of solar radiation has remained fairly consistent over the time that global warming has become a large issue.

What causes gravitational variations in sea-surface level and what is the range?

Gravitational variations in sea-surface level are mainly caused by local bedrock-density. The range of this is approximately -75m (South India) to +75 (North Australia)

Describe ocean acidification: why does it occur, the current trend, and effects on marine ecosystems

Ocean acidification is a rise in the pH of the sea level. It is caused by the increasing concentration of CO2 in the air combining with chemicals in the ocean to create carbonic acid (H2CO3) and dissociate into HCO3- and H+ ions. The more the concentration of CO2 increases, the more the concentration of H+ will increase, thus further lowering the pH of the ocean. The effects that this has on the marine ecosystem is that it can make it difficult for some primary producers to make their calcium carbonate shells, thus effecting the whole ecosystem foodweb. Additionally, it also destroys coral reefs because the increase in acidity causes the corals to erode.

Describe how sea-level rise would affect the coastline and which coastal hazards may increase with climate change

Sea-level rise can affect the coastline by causing more erosion and coastal squeeze from ecosystems and species needing to migrate.

Which two countries release the most total CO2?

The two countries that release the most total Carbon Dioxide are China and the USA.

Describe projected sea-level rise for the next century: including projected range of sea-level rise until 2100.

The sea level is expected to rise a total of between 0.19m to 0.83m by 2100.

Name two countries with advanced technology to control sea-level rise

Two countries are England and the Netherlands

Differentiate between weather and climate

Weather is the short term conditions of the atmosphere, while climate is the long term average of weather in an area over an extended period of time.