All Flashcards
What is the effect of melting permafrost?
Releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas, further accelerating climate change.
What is the effect of rising temperatures on polar bears?
Melting ice destroys their habitat, making it difficult to hunt and survive.
What is the effect of melting ice on coastal areas?
Increases ocean volume, leading to rising sea levels and flooding in coastal regions.
What is the effect of increased CO2?
Increased CO2 traps more heat in the atmosphere, leading to global warming and climate change.
What is the effect of disrupted heat distribution?
Climate change can disrupt natural circulation patterns, leading to unpredictable weather.
How does ice core analysis work?
Snow compacts into ice, trapping atmospheric gases. Bubbles reveal past CO2, methane, and pollutant levels. Deeper ice equals older samples.
Explain the positive feedback loop of melting ice.
Rising temperatures melt ice/snow, reducing reflective surfaces. More solar radiation is absorbed, leading to faster warming, which causes more melting.
What are ice cores?
Samples of ice drilled from glaciers or ice sheets that contain trapped air bubbles revealing past atmospheric composition and climate data.
What is albedo?
The measure of how much light that hits a surface is reflected without being absorbed.
What is a positive feedback loop?
A process where the effect of a change amplifies the original change, creating a cycle.
Define permafrost.
Ground that remains frozen for at least two consecutive years.