Pearson Environmental Science Ch 16 Flashcards

7468871694	greenhouse effect	A natural process in which certain gases in the atmosphere keep heat near Earth and prevent it from radiat-ing into space	0
7468871695	greenhouse gas	Gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and ozone in the atmosphere which are involved in the greenhouse effect.	1
7468871696	thermohaline circulation	Cool water generally has a greater density than warm water. Saltier water is denser than water with a lower salinity. Therefore, warmer, less salty water moves along the surface of the ocean, and colder, saltier water moves deep beneath the ocean's surface.	2
7468871698	topography	Describes the surface character-istics of the area, including its elevation and features such as mountains, rivers, and lakes	3
7468871699	global climate change	A change in global weather patterns; includes changes in temperature, rainfall, wind patterns, and storm frequency.	4
7468871700	global warming	Refers specifically to an increase in Earth's average surface temperature	5
7468871701	proxy indicator	Types of indirect evidence that serve as substitutes for direct measurement and shed light on past climate (examples: ice core samples, sediments from under bodies of water, tree rings)	6
7468871702	climate model	Programs that combine what is known about the atmosphere and oceans to simulate, or imitate, climate processes	7
7482585956	Evidence of a warming earth	1. Rising surface temperatures 2. Changes in precipitation 3. Melting ice 4. Rising Sea Levels	8
7482613976	Causes of climate change	1. Burning Fossil fuels 2. Changes in land use - deforestation - raising livestock	9
7482625972	Shifting habitats	Effect of climate change - habitats of some plants and animals shift to where the climate is cooler- toward the north or south poles - or further up a mountain	10
7482633423	Effects of climate change	Shifting habitats, changing migration times, problems with food availability, warm & acidic oceans	11
7482606772	Charles Keeling	Scientist who collected samples of carbon dioxide from Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii starting in 1958	12
7468871703	fossil fuel	The main source of extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the burning of carbon-containing fuels, such as oil, natural gas, and coal, for energy.	13
7468871704	coral bleaching	Occurs when a coral becomes stressed and expels most of its colorful algae, leaving an underlying ghostly white skeleton of calcium carbonate	14
7468871705	carbon footprint	The amount of carbon dioxide emissions for which an individual or group is responsible	15
7468871706	carbon tax	A fee that a government charges polluters for each unit of greenhouse gases they emit	16
7468871707	carbon offset	A voluntary payment made when one industry or person, instead of reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions, pays another group or person to do so	17
7468871708	carbon sequestration	Consists of ways of storing this captured carbon. For example, the carbon might be stored underground.	18
7468871709	Kyoto Protocol	An international agreement that seeks to limit green-house gas emissions. The US did not sign this agreement - thought that emission reduction requirements were not fair - 2005	19
7482780500	Paris climate accord	An agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020 - signed in April 2016	20
7468902094	carbon dioxide	Major greenhouse gas put into the atmosphere during fossil fuel combustion (burning) and deforestation	21
7468910355	methane	powerful greenhouse gas that enters the atmosphere when cows digest food	22
7468924859	latitude	measurement of a place's distance from the equator	23
7468935807	tropical	climate regions that receive the most direct sun on the planet	24
7468941683	polar	climate regions that receive the least direct sun on the planet	25
7468944878	temperate	climate regions that are cool during some parts of the year and warm in others	26
7468976796	seasons	The result of the earth having a 23.5 degree tilt	27
7468985182	rain shadow effect	Precipitation falls on one side of a mountain, and as the now drier air mass moves across the mountain, the other receives relatively less precipitation	28