APES 19, 20 Climate Change Essay Example

APES 19, 20 Climate Change Paper Aerosols Small particles or liquid droplets in the atmosphere that can absorb or reflect sunlight depending on their composition. Albedo The amount of solar radiation reflected from an object or surface, often expressed as a percentage. Anthropogenic Made by people or resulting from human activities. Usually used in the context of emissions that are produced as a result of human activities. Carbon Capture and Sequestration It is a three-step process that includes capture of carbon dioxide from power plants or industrial sources; transport of the captured and compressed carbon dioxide (usually in pipelines); and underground injection of that carbon dioxide in rock formations that contain tiny openings or pores that trap and hold the carbon dioxide. Carbon Dioxide a colorless, odorless gas that is released from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Carbon footprint the total amount of greenhouse gases released by a person, family, building, organization, or company each year. It includes the amount of greenhouse gases released from direct use (such as heating a home or driving a car) and from indirect use (such as the amount of fuel needed to produce a good or a service). Carbon Sequestration the process by which trees and plants absorb carbon dioxide, release the oxygen, and store the carbon. Chlorofluorocarbons Gases covered under the 1987 Montreal Protocol and used for refrigeration, air conditioning, packaging, insulation, solvents, or aerosol propellants. Hydrochlorofluorocarbons, an interim replacement for CFCs that are also covered under the Montreal Protocol, and hydrofluorocarbons, which are covered under the Kyoto Protocol. All these substances are also greenhouse gases. Climate Feedback A process that acts to amplify or reduce direct warming or cooling effects. Climate Lag The delay that occurs in climate change as a result of some factor that changes only very slowly. For example, the effects of releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere occur gradually over time because the ocean takes a long time to warm up in response to a change in radiation. Climate Model A quantitative way of representing the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, and ice. El Nio Southern Oscillation (ENSO) a warm water current that periodically flows along the coast of Ecuador and Peru, disrupting the local fishery. This oceanic event is associated with a fluctuation of the intertropical surface pressure pattern and circulation in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, called the Southern Oscillation. During this event, the prevailing trade winds weaken and the equatorial countercurrent strengthens, causing warm surface waters in the Indonesian area to flow eastward to overlie the cold waters of the Peru current. Feedback Mechanisms Factors which increase or amplify (positive) or decrease (negative) the rate of a process. An positive example is the ice-albedo feedback. Greenhouse Effect the process by which greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap heat from the sun and reflect it back to Earth rather than letting it leave the planet. Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Any gas that absorbs infrared radiation in the atmosphere. Infrared Radiation light whose wavelength is longer than the red color in the visible part of the spectrum, but shorter than microwave radiation and can be perceived as heat. Intergovernmental Panel on climate Change (IPCC) Established jointly by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization in 1988. The purpose is to assess information in the scientific and technical literature related to all significant components of the issue of climate change. Methane a colorless, odorless gas that is produced when plants, animals, and garbage decay. It is produced naturally and as a result of people’s activities. Mitigation A human intervention to reduce the human impact on the climate system; it includes strategies to reduce greenhouse gas sources and emissions and enhancing greenhouse gas sinks. Natural Variability Variations in the mean state and other statistics (such as standard deviations or statistics of extremes) of the climate on all time and space scales beyond that of individual weather events. Ocean Acidification Increased concentrations of carbon dioxide in sea water causing a measurable increase in acidity (i.e., a reduction in ocean pH). This may lead to reduced calcification rates of calcifying organisms such as corals, mollusks, algae and crustaceans. Ozone a gas made up of three atoms of oxygen bonded together. High in the atmosphere it protects the Earth’s surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Close to earth, it is a pollutant created from other pollutants that react with each other. It can cause health problems in humans and is an example of a greenhouse gas. Renewable Resource a natural resource that can be made or regrown as fast as it is being used. Some examples are wind power or solar energy, which are both used to make electricity. Sink Any process, activity or mechanism which removes a greenhouse gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas or aerosol from the atmosphere Stratosphere Region of the atmosphere between the troposphere and mesosphere, having a lower boundary of approximately 8 km at the poles to 15 km at the equator and an upper boundary of approximately 50 km. Troposphere The lowest part of the atmosphere from the surface to about 10 km in altitude in mid-latitudes (ranging from 9 km in high latitudes to 16 km in the tropics on average) where clouds and weather phenomena occur. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change. It recognizes that the climate system is a shared resource whose stability can be affected by industrial and other emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Near universal membership, with 189 countries having ratified. Weather Atmospheric condition at any given time or place. It is measured in terms of such things as wind, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, cloudiness, and precipitation.