Greenhouse Effect & Gasses
This gas is the primary driver of human-induced climate change.
Carbon Dioxide
As the Earth's average temperature rises, these giant bodies of frozen freshwater melt, significantly contributing to sea-level rise.
Glaciers
This historic period, which began in the late 18th century, saw a rapid increase in the burning of fossil fuels and marked the beginning of large-scale greenhouse gas emissions.
The Industrial Revolution
This term describes the global goal of balancing the amount of greenhouse gases produced with the amount removed from the atmosphere.
Net-Zero
The gradual disappearance of an entire species is a major risk for animals like the polar bear or coral reefs as habitats change too rapidly to adapt.
Extinction
Which greenhouse gas, often released by livestock and decomposing waste in landfills, traps more heat than carbon dioxide does?
Methane
The global ocean is rising due to the melting of ice sheets and this physical property of water as it warms.
Thermal Expansion
Scientists drill into deep layers of ice in places like Antarctica and Greenland to extract these cylindrical samples, which contain trapped air bubbles revealing ancient atmospheric conditions.
Ice Cores
This landmark international treaty, adopted in 2015, aims to limit global warming to well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels.
Paris Agreement
Large-scale removal of forests exacerbates climate change by removing the planet's natural carbon sinks and releasing stored greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Deforestation
Water vapor acts as this type of climate feedback, meaning it amplifies the initial warming of the Earth.
A positive feedback loop
Because the ocean absorbs about a quarter of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions, the water is undergoing this dangerous chemical change, making it difficult for coral and shellfish to survive.
Ocean Acidification
Other than ice cores, these natural biological archives use varying ring widths to help scientists determine previous climate conditions.
Tree Rings
Photovoltaic cells are the primary technology used to harness this major source of renewable energy.
Solar energy
This term measures the total amount of greenhouse gases generated by our actions, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide.
Carbon Footprint
The process by which atmospheric gases trap heat radiating from Earth's surface is known as this.
Greenhouse Effect
A warming climate is linked to the increased intensity and frequency of these prolonged periods of abnormally dry weather.
A Drought
This is the acronym for the leading international body for the assessment of climate change, which publishes comprehensive scientific reports on the state of the climate.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
This term describes taking action to reduce the severity or impacts of climate change, such as investing in renewable energy or building seawalls.
Mitigation
The variety of all living things on Earth is threatened by climate change, which is referred to by this scientific term.
Biodiversity
This major greenhouse gas is primarily released by microbial activity on synthetic agricultural fertilizers.
Nitrous Oxide
Ocean warming can cause this symbiotic marine organism to expel the algae living in its tissues, turning bone-white and leaving it highly vulnerable to starvation.
Coral Bleaching
This term refers to how the Earth system's temperature changes in response to a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
Climate Sensitivity
This method of combating climate change involves capturing carbon dioxide at its source (like a power plant) and storing it deep underground so it cannot enter the atmosphere.
Carbon Capture and Storage
This "tipping point" mechanism in the Atlantic Ocean could be disrupted by melting freshwater, which would radically alter global weather patterns.
Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) or the Gulf Stream thermohaline current