Greenhouse Gases
Identify the two most significant greenhouse gases.
Carbon dioxide and water vapour
The type of radiation greenhouse gases absorb and emit.
Long-wave radiation (infrared)
The main cause of increased CO2 emissions.
The combustion of fossilised organic matter
The percentage of human CO2 emissions absorbed by the ocean.
~30%
The phrase used to critique the link between greenhouse gases and climate change.
Correlation does not equal causation
Term for man-made gases like those from combustion and cattle. .
Anthropogenic gases
The greenhouse effect ensures these are maintained during days and nights.
Moderate temperatures
The event correlated with rising levels of CO2 and global temperatures.
The industrial revolution
The acid formed when CO2 dissolves in seawater.
Carbonic acid (H2CO3)
A claim that current climate trends are part of this kind of cycle.
A natural climatic cycle
The two factors which determine the impact of a greenhouse gas.
Its ability to absorb long-wave radiation and its concentration in the air
The Earth's surface re-emits solar radiation at this wavelength.
A longer wavelength
A predicted consequence of climate change involving heat waves and cyclones.
More frequent extreme weather conditions
Ocean acidification lowers the pH by increasing the concentration of these ions.
H+ ions
The counter-argument to the claim that temperature changes are caused by solar activity.
Over the last 35 years, the sun has shown a cooling trend
Methane and nitrogen oxides have far less of an impact than CO2 and H2O, but they are still considered this.
Greenhouse gases
The greenhouse effect traps this in the atmosphere.
Radiation/Heat
The location of the ice core showing a link between CO2 and temperature over 350,000 years.
Vostok, Antarctica
The process where coral expels its mutualistic algae due to stress.
Coral bleaching
The principle that measures should be taken in the absence of scientific consensus for a significant threat.
The Precautionary Principle
A gas's concentration is determined by its rate of release and this.
Its persistence
The approximate percentage of the atmosphere comprised of greenhouse gases.
Less than 1%
Climate change may cause changes to these, leading to longer El Niño and La Niña events.
Circulating ocean currents
The amount the ocean's pH has dropped in the last 200 years.
~0.2
The Precautionary Principle states that the burden of proof should be on proving an activity is not doing this.
Causing harm (or "raising a significant threat of harm")