Stratospheric Ozone and Greenhouse Gases
This is the element (found in compounds) that is primarily responsible for stratospheric ozone depletion.
What is chlorine?
These are TWO contributing factors to the rise in sea levels due to global climate change.
What are melting of glaciers and thermal expansion (of water molecules)?
These are species that can live outside of their normal habitat and can threaten native species.
What are invasive species?
This piece of legislation cut CFC production found in coolants and aerosols in half and is considered the biggest environmental success story to restore the damage caused by the ozone hole.
What is the Montreal Protocol?
The increase of these ions in seawater leads to the decrease in seawater pH.
What are hydrogen ions?
This type of UV radiation is associated with sun burns and skin cancers but luckily 95% of it is absorbed by the stratospheric ozone layer.
What is UV-B?
This is an environmental effect of melting sea ice in the Arctic due to global climate change.
What is habitat destruction for species that depend on the ice for habitat and food, release of methane from methane hydrates and permafrost, increase in sea levels, decreased albedo leading to more temperature rises, etc.?
This is the usual reproductive strategy of invasive species.
This piece of legislation was a program meant to protect critically endangered/threatened species and their habitats.
What is Endangered Species Act?
These are TWO anthropogenic activities that contribute to ocean acidification.
What are burning of fossil fuels, vehicle emissions, deforestation, etc.?
This type of radiation is absorbed by greenhouse gases and is associated with the warming effect in the atmosphere.
What is infrared (IR) radiation?
This occurs in coral reefs due to ocean warming and increased ocean temperatures.
What is coral bleaching?
These are THREE ways to maintain biodiversity and protect endangered and threatened species.
What are passing of legislation (CITES, ESA), wildlife preserves (ANWR), reducing invasive species, monitoring anthropogenic land use to prevent habitat destruction, reintroducing species, criminalizing poaching, etc.?
This piece of legislation was an agreement among 150 nations requiring greenhouse gas reductions of 5-20% but was not considered successful because some nations that had the most carbon emissions were not a part of it.
What is Kyoto Protocol?
This greenhouse gas or "group of greenhouse gases" has the highest global warming potential (GWP).
What are CFCs or fluorinated gases?
This area in the world was most affected by the ozone hole in 1998.
What is Antarctica?
This phenomenon occurs in aquatic ecosystems due to seawater absorption of excess atmospheric carbon dioxide.
What is ocean acidification?
This occurs when large habitats are broken into smaller sections.
What is habitat fragmentation? Solution for habitat fragmentation: wildlife corridors to connect isolated patches of habitat.
This piece of legislation was a global agreement that protects endangered/threatened species by regulating the trade of endangered species.
What is CITES?
This is the effect (strengthens or weakens) of global climate change on ocean thermohaline circulation.
What is weakening of thermohaline circulation?
This is a synthetic chemical found in solvents and refrigerants that contributes heavily to stratospheric ozone depletion.
What are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)?
These are TWO diseases that are directly transmitted by mosquito vectors.
What are malaria, West Nile Virus, and Zika virus?
These are FOUR main anthropogenic causes of the loss of biodiversity.
What are habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution, human population increase, climate change, overexploitation (overharvesting, overhunting, overfishing), etc.?
This piece of legislation regulates the 6 criteria pollutants: SOx, NOx, Lead, Particulate Matter, Carbon Monoxide, and Tropospheric Ozone.
What is Clean Air Act?
These are regions in the world that are experiencing greater increases in average atmospheric temperatures due to global climate change.
What is polar regions?
This greenhouse gas does not contribute significantly to global climate change due to its short residence time in the atmosphere.
What is water vapor (H2O)?
This greenhouse gas is released in the melting of permafrost.
What is methane (CH4)?
These are THREE characteristics of species that increase vulnerability of endangerment and extinction.
What are loss of habitat, inability to adapt, no natural defense mechanisms, specialized diet, spread of disease from humans or livestock, small population size, limited range, etc.?
This piece of legislation tracks the "lifetime" of hazardous waste from cradle to grave.
What is RCRA (Resource Conservation Recovery Act)?
CCl3F and CCl2F2 are the most common chemical formulas of this greenhouse gas.
What is CFC's (chlorofluorocarbons)?