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BIO II: Exam 2
Carbon Cycle Feedbacks
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| What happens when sources are GREATER than sinks? | Atmospheric CO2 rises |
| The concentration of CO2 is a snapshot of of the fluxes at any time (T/F?) | FALSE It is a product of what came before |
| What is the concentration of CO2? | 425.48 (OR 422, 423) ppm |
| Feedbacks | Agents of stability or rapid change |
| Negative Feedbacks | - Promote changes that lead BACK toward EQUILIBRIUM - “overshoot, undershoot, overshoot, undershoot” - Ex: Predator/ Prey Dynamics |
| Positive Feedbacks | - Systems that promote further change toward an EXTREME - “build, build, build, CRASH” - Ex: Labor , Avalanche |
| The Physics of Gases | Warm air holds MORE water vapor (a GHG) |
| 4 CC Feedback Cycles | 1) Albedo Feedback 2) Permafrost Feedback 3) Water Vapor Feedback 4) Ocean CO2 Feedback |
| What are the effects of climate change on the water cycle? | Changes precipitation distribution (WHERE and WHEN precip will fall) - More episodic precip (less frequent) - More intense (more precip in heavy rain events) - Increasing Drought and Flooding - Shifting weather patterns and stronger storms/LESS snow |
| What does warm air and warm water mean? | Warm air = holds MORE water vapor Warm Water = holds LESS dissolved gas (CO2) |
| Rate vs. amount of GHG's | - Speed of change stresses ecosystems more than absolute CO₂ - Plants and animals will have trouble keeping up |
| How do we know about what happened in the past with climate change? | Proxy data |
| Proxy Data | - Data we can collect to infer something else (that we can’t measure) based on an established relationship - Ex: Ice cores, tree rings, otoliths, etc. |
| What is highly correlated in history? | Climate and Carbon |
| What is the relationship between each of the 4 CC Feedback Cycles? | They're all POSITIVE feedback cycles, they each AMPLIFY warming |
| Water Vapor Feedback | Warmer air holds more water vapor (a GHG) → amplifies warming |
| Ocean CO2 Feedback | Warm water holds less CO₂ → oceans release CO₂ → amplifies warming |
| Albedo Feedback | Ice melts → darker surface absorbs more heat → more ice melt |
| Permafrost Feedback | Thawing soil releases CO₂ + methane → methane is ~25× stronger than CO₂ |
| Models | - Simplified representations of reality that help us understand system behavior - Used to make predictions |
| Future Climate Change (range) | Average Global Temperature INCREASES by between 1 and 4℃ by 2100 |
| Ice Cores What are they and why are they unique? | - Direct CO₂ & CH₄ levels + temp history - Offer continuous direct records of past atmospheric composition and temperature, preserve a vast array of climate-forcing information |
| Why is current CC isn’t natural? | - Rate is too FAST - GHG levels far above natural cycles. |
| Climate envelope | - Range of conditions where a species can live - Shifts poleward/upward with warming |
| Assisted migration | Humans help species move |
| Phenologic mismatch | - Timing mismatches - Ex: Flowers bloom before pollinators arrive |
| Higher Emissions | Continued rate of CO2 increase through the end of the century |
| Lower Emissions | Reduced rates of CO2 input into the atmosphere beginning now |
| Is poleward or upward easier for animals to migrate to w/ CC? | Upward |
| What kinds of organisms are most susceptible to being “left behind” by their climate envelopes | Plants |
| Options if organisms cannot keep up with CC? | 1) Adapt/evolve (possible, but can be slow and requires large genetic diversity) 2) Extinction (some organisms are more susceptible to this than others) |
| Phenology | - The timing of seasonal changes in plants and animals - The result of earlier spring / longer growing season - Ex: Flowering, migration, calving, molting, etc |
| How is human behavior different if we follow the high vs low emissions scenarios? | HIGH = human behavior shaped by escalating negative impacts of climate change, which leads to greater distress, conflict & risk-taking LOW = widespread pro-environmental behaviors, social cooperation |
| How will climate envelopes change with climate change? | They will shift (don't rlly know exactly how) |
| High vs Low RCP (Representative Concentration Pathways) | High (RCP 8.5) = Business as usual - current trajectory Low (RCP 2.6) = Immediate reductions in emissions |
| Which pool has the LOWEST albedo? | WATER - Oceans hold the most heat |
Created by:
emily.zegarra
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