Indicators of Climate Change
3 Indicators of climate change are...
What causes coral bleaching?
Increased ocean temperatures and higher levels of ocean acidification due to increased C02.
Global wind patterns are dictated by two processes. What are they?
1 - Solar radiation
2 - The Coriolis Effect
RUFWIC helps us remember the types of land cover. What are the different types?
Rangelands, Urban, Forests, Wetlands, Ice and Croplands
The four spheres of the biophysical environment
Hydrosphere
Atmosphere
Biosphere
Lithosphere
The average sea level in Kiribati has risen how much per year since the 1990's?
3.2mm per year
Climate change is caused by...
Anthropogenic processes causing more carbon to be added to the carbon cycle, unbalancing the process. The added carbon in the atmosphere traps more of the sun's heat, resulting in warmer temperatures, warmer sea surface temperatures, and more extreme climate anomalies.
The closer you are to a body of water, the more likely it will rain. Explain why.
Large water bodies provide constant evaporation, adding moisture to the air. This moist air rises, cools, and condenses into clouds, increasing the chances of precipitation.
Dr Dacll helps us to remember the different ways land cover can be changed. What are the different land cover changes?
Deforestation
Resource Extraction
Degradation (soil and water)
Agriculture
Coastal Modification
Land Drainage
Land Reclamation
An example of the hydrosphere interacting with the lithosphere is...
Waves breaking down and moving sediment (erosion)
Explain how increasing sea surface temperatures can cause mass coral bleaching.
Increasing sea surface temperatures stress corals, causing them to expel their symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae), which leads to mass bleaching and loss of colour.
Identify and explain the process that reflects solar radiation.
Albedo is a biophysical process that refers to the proportion of light reflected from a surface. Lighter land cover types reflect more solar radiation. Darker land cover types absorb more of the sun's radiation, meaning they retain more heat.
What is the Coriolis Effect? How does it impact climate?
The Coriolis Effect is the apparent deflection of moving air and water caused by Earth’s rotation, making winds and currents curve rather than move in straight lines. It impacts climate by shaping global wind patterns and ocean currents, which distribute heat and moisture around the planet, influencing temperature and rainfall in different regions
What is deforestation? How can it interrupt the carbon cycle?
The permanent removal of trees to make room for something besides forest. This can include clearing the land for agriculture or grazing, or using the timber for fuel, construction or manufacturing.
Deforestation interrupts the carbon cycle by reducing the number of trees that absorb carbon dioxide, causing more carbon to stay in the atmosphere and increase greenhouse gas levels.
What is the carbon cycle?
The carbon cycle is the process of transferring, storing and exchanging some of these chemicals between the biophysical and living systems.
Human activities have a tremendous impact on the carbon cycle: what are two key elements of the carbon cycle are effected by human activities?
What is the storage of carbon - (released via burning of fossil fuels and deforestation)
Ocean Acidification
List the three types of land cover that have the lowest albedo rating (absorb the most heat).
Asphalt, Open Ocean, Conifer Forest
Explain how the Earth's uneven distribution of solar radiation can impact climate. Must reference wind/ocean patterns.
The uneven distribution of solar radiation means areas near the equator receive more heat, creating warm, rising air, while the poles get less heat, causing cold, sinking air. This difference drives global wind patterns and ocean currents, which shape climates around the world.
Explain how water degradation interrupts the water cycle? Refer to two pollutants, the lithosphere and the hydrosphere.
Water degradation interrupts the water cycle by introducing pollutants like fertilizers and oil, which contaminate water sources and reduce infiltration into the rock and soil of the lithosphere. In the hydrosphere, these pollutants harm aquatic ecosystems, decreasing evaporation and disrupting the natural movement of water.
Explain how whales can change climate.
Whales help regulate climate through the carbon cycle by storing carbon and moving nutrients in the ocean. When they feed at depth and poo near the water surface, they fertilise phytoplankton, which absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. Less carbon in the air means less heat being trapped, which can lead to cooler global temperatures over time and less climate irregularity.
Explain how a decline in aragonite saturation at the ocean surface is an indicator of coral bleaching.
A decline in aragonite saturation means there is less calcium carbonate available for corals to build their skeletons, making them weaker and more stressed. This stress can lead to coral bleaching when combined with other factors like warmer water.
Give three reasons how deforestation worsens the effect of climate change.
1. Deforestation causes more carbon (stored in trees) to be released into the carbon cycle.
2. Less tress also mean less photosynthesis which leaves carbon in the atmosphere instead of absorbing it.
3. Less trees also changes the surface reflectivity of the lithosphere (albedo).
Explain the biophysical processes that cause the El Niño–Southern Oscillation phenomenon.
The ENSO is caused by interactions between the atmosphere and hydrosphere in the Pacific Ocean. Normally, trade winds push warm water west, but during El Niño these winds weaken, allowing warm water to spread east, reducing upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water. During an El Niño event, Australia typically experiences hotter and drier conditions, with reduced rainfall and higher risk of droughts and bushfires. This happens because warm water shifts east in the Pacific, reducing moisture supply to eastern Australia.
List an effect deforestation has on each of the biophysical spheres.
No trees to reduce impact of rainfall - leads to significant erosion
No leaf litter to nourish soil - soil becomes less fertile
Carbon released when trees are cut down or burnt
Less carbon sequestration with less trees
No evapotranspiration leading to reduced precipitation
Habitat destruction
Which two of Earth's biophysical systems are the most important for the carbon cycle in a marine environment and why?
1. The Atmosphere – It supplies carbon dioxide to the ocean and interacts with surface waters, influencing how much carbon enters or leaves the ocean.
2. The Biosphere – Marine organisms like phytoplankton and whales store and cycle carbon through photosynthesis, respiration, and decomposition, which drives carbon movement within the ocean.