Geograph 110: Global Environmental Change Study Guide for 3rd Test
Please review lecture slides and your lecture notes. Please be aware that Test 3 will cover materials from Week 11 to Week 15. Test 3 will be made available between 5/7 and 5/13. Please complete your test during this time period. If you have a legitimate reason not to be able to complete your test within this time period, please contact me. All test results are made available ONLY after everyone in the class completes the test. Global temperature and the long-term carbon cycle
• What is global mean temperature? • 4 lines of evidence that identify/support the anthropogenic increase in
atmospheric CO2 since the industrial revolution (Week 11, Lecture 18) o Glacial-Interglacial Cycle (temperature shifts coincide with CO2 changes) o Keeling Curve o Geographical distribution of real-time CO2 emissions is closely
aligned with industrialized areas o Changing atmospheric chemical composition (mixing with ancient carbon
and carbon is getting isotopically lighter) – This is called the Suess Effect. • Questions of attribution
o Anthropogenic vs Natural causes
Drought • “Solomon et al. (2009), IPCC AR5” figure (Week 13, Lecture 23) shows the
expected distributive change in global precipitation. Where do you see increased potential for drought in the future? Why?
• How does climate change play a role in drought (e.g. Texas drought, Colorado River, water conflict in Africa)?
• In the NOVA Power Surge documentary (Discussion 6), as a part of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, they talk about the scientific idea of involving a “Wedge” concept. What is a “Wedge”? Also, what are the goals of these wedges in terms of stabilizing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels?
Climate projections (IPCC AR6, AR5 and SP15) • What is the mission of the IPCC? • What is the Global Climate Coalition? • What is Climatogate? • Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP8.5, RCP6.0, RCP4.5, RCP2.6) • Based on global average surface temperature changes, the earth’s sea level will
continue to rise for the next ~100 years, even when simulated under aggressive mitigation pathways. Why?
• If we follow the most intense “Business As Usual” pathway, how long will earth potentially hold glacial ice?
• Key USFCCC conferences and why they are important and what is the US’s role in those conferences? (Rio, Kyoto, Copenhagen, Paris)