Climate Change and Global Warming

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The six hottest years on record occurred during the last:
10 years - According to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 2009 was only a fraction of a degree cooler than 2005—the warmest year on record—and was tied with a cluster of other years—1998, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007.
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True or False: No place on Earth is colder today than it was 100 years ago.
False - Although most locations on the planet have recorded increased temperatures since 1900, changes in global ocean and atmospheric circulation patterns have created small-scale temperature decreases in a few local regions.
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Which of the following gases does not trap heat? (Methane, Water Vapour, Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide)
Nitrogen - Heat-trapping greenhouse gases absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. Water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane are Earth's most abundant greenhouse gases. Nitrogen, 80% of Earth's atmosphere, is not a greenhouse gas.
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As average global temperature rises:
Average precipitation increases - Higher temperatures give rise to a more active water cycle, which means faster and greater evaporation and precipitation & more extreme weather events.
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Where have some of the strongest and earliest impacts of global warming occurred?
In northern latitudes - Some of the fastest-warming regions on the planet include Alaska, Greenland and Siberia. These Arctic environments are highly sensitive to even small temperature increases.
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How do scientists collect evidence about climate?
Using remote sensing, ground based measurements (temp. CO2 and sea level) and proxy data (tree rings and ice cores).
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True or False: Sea level has remained fairly constant throughout Earth's history.
False - During the past few million years' ice age cycles, sea level has varied by more than 100 meters.
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What percentage of heat from global warming has the ocean absorbed in the past 40 years?
84% - Water has high heat capacity. So far, Earth's ocean has been able to absorb and hold a majority of the heat from Earth's atmosphere.
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True or False: Sea level has never been higher than it is today.
False - Sea level was 3 to 6 meters higher during the last interglacial period about 125,000 years ago.
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What percentage of the world's population lives within 100 kilometers of the shoreline?
39% - According to the World Resources Institute, in 1995 2.2 billion people, or 39 percent of the world's population, lived on or within 100 kilometers of a seashore.
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Roughly what proportion of the world's freshwater is stored in glaciers and ice caps?
69% - The ocean contains more than 97% of all the water on Earth, which means freshwater is relatively scarce. About 70% of Earth's freshwater is held in ice caps & glaciers. The rest resides in lakes, swamps and rivers.
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Which is the only continent on Earth with currently no glaciers?
Australia/Australasia
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Which ice sheet is losing the most ice every year?
Greenland - If all 2.9 million cubic kilometers (0.7 million cubic miles) of Greenland's ice sheet were to melt, it would cause sea level to rise by 7.2 meters (23.6 feet).
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How much ice, on average, is being lost each year from all the mountain glaciers around the world combined?
400 billion tonnes
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

True or False: No place on Earth is colder today than it was 100 years ago.

Back

False - Although most locations on the planet have recorded increased temperatures since 1900, changes in global ocean and atmospheric circulation patterns have created small-scale temperature decreases in a few local regions.

Card 3

Front

Which of the following gases does not trap heat? (Methane, Water Vapour, Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide)

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

As average global temperature rises:

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Where have some of the strongest and earliest impacts of global warming occurred?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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