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Climate Change Vocab Review

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  • IR (Infrared)
    longer wave-length energy coming from the Earth to the atmosphere
  • Rain shadow
    an area next to a mountain with a dry climate
  • carbon sources
    emit carbon into the atmosphere (fire, burning fossil fuels, ocean, respiration)
  • Anthropogenic
    caused by humans
  • positive feedback loop
    response makes the stimulus stronger
  • Latitude
    Measure for the North-South point of a location
  • Atmosphere
    The gasses surrounding the Earth
  • thermohaline circulation
    the process responsible for ocean currents: warm water (less salty) rises, cool water (more salty) falls
  • albedo
    a measure for how much energy a substance reflects back into the atmosphere
  • interglacial period
    a period in between ice ages when the Earth is warm
  • Topography
    physical features of the land (mountains, valleys, plateaus, etc.)
  • negative feedback loop
    response makes the stimulus weaker
  • Climate
    pattern of weather in a region for a long period of time
  • Atmospheric Pressure
    force exerted on a thing by the air // pressure within the atmosphere of the Earth
  • UV (Ultraviolet)
    shorter-wavelength energy coming from the sun to the Earth
  • Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC)
    chemicals that deplete the ozone layer
  • Biosphere
    living things on Earth
  • carbon sinks
    take carbon out of the atmosphere (forests, plants, algae, negative CO2 emissions technologies)
  • continental drift
    the process by which tectonic plates caused the continents to drift apart
  • Greenhouse gasses
    gasses that capture IR energy from the Earth (CO2, CH4, H2O, O3, NO2)
  • Lithosphere
    Rocks on Earth (Tectonic plates)
  • industrialization
    process of economic and technological development
  • weather
    Short term perception of climate (rain/sun/wind/humidity/clouds/temperature)
  • Hydrosphere
    Water on earth
  • Ozone
    Gas that helps reflect UV light; Harmful greenhouse gas when it is in the troposphere
  • proxy records
    Physical characteristics preserved in the environment that give us data about the past
  • cryosphere
    frozen water on Earth
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