ClimateChange-CarloGarcia
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City Colleges of Chicago, Richard J Daley College *
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Course
201
Subject
Geography
Date
Dec 6, 2023
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docx
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13
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PRE-LAB QUESTIONS
1.
Briefly describe the difference between weather and climate.
Weather refers to the conditions of the atmosphere and over short periods of time for a
small, local area. Climate refers to the average behavior of the atmosphere over a long
period over a large area.
2.
Natural climate change usually occurs over long periods of time, whereas ___ climate change refers to changes that occur over shorter time scales as a result of human activities.
Modern 3.
___ works by absorbing infrared radiation, thus trapping heat in Earth’s atmosphere.
a.
Albedo
b.
The carbon cycle
c.
A greenhouse gas
d.
Ocean acidification
4.
One of the biggest indicators of human impact on climate is the amount of ___ in the atmosphere.
a.
Calcium carbonate
b.
Carbon dioxide
c.
Water vapor
d.
Oxygen
5.
What is the term for the percentage of solar radiation that is reflected back into space from the Earth?
Albedo
©eScience Labs, 2018
Climate Change
6.
Ocean acidification is a major problem for organisms that make their shells/tests out of what chemical compound?
Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3)
©eScience Labs, 2018
Climate Change
EXERCISE 1: ALBEDO IN ACTION
Data Sheet
Table 3. Temperature Data for Beakers Containing White Sand
Beaker Covered with Plastic Wrap
Time
(min)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Temp.
(°C)
20
21
23
24
25
26
28
29
30
30
31
Beaker Covered with White Paper
Time
(min)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Temp.
(°C)
20
20
20
21
21
21
22
22
22
22
22
Table 4. Temperature Data for Beakers Containing Soil
Beaker Covered with Plastic Wrap
Time
(min)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Temp.
(°C)
20
21
21
21
21
22
23
25
25
25
25
Beaker Covered with White Paper
Time
(min)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Temp.
(°C)
20
20
20
20
21
21
21
22
22
22
23
Table 5. Temperature Data for Beakers Containing Water
Beaker Covered with Plastic Wrap
Time
(min)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Temp.
(°C)
20
22
23
24
26
27
28
29
31
31
31
Beaker Covered with White Paper
Time
(min)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Temp.
(°C)
20
21
22
23
23
24
25
26
26
27
27
©eScience Labs, 2018
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Exercise 1 Post-Lab Questions
1.
Compare the data from your three graphs and summarize your findings.
On all three experiments, the beaker with the plastic wrap had higher temp than one with
paper.
2.
Compare and contrast the conditions of your model greenhouses to the actual “global greenhouse” that we have on Earth.
Though it is slightly inaccurate, you could say that it can be a miniature version or prototype.
3.
Based on your results, what kind of conditions on Earth would cause warmer global temperatures? What conditions would cause cooler global temperatures?
If gases trapped heat in the outer layer, then the earth as a whole would get warmer. ©eScience Labs, 2018
EXERCISE 2: THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT
Data Sheet
Figure 1. A simplified model of Earth’s energy budget from solar radiation and longwave infrared
(LWIR) radiation. Numbers are long-term global average fluxes in W/m
2
(Watts per meter squared).
Calculations for Earth’s Energy Budget:
1.
What percentage of incoming solar radiation is reflected back into space (this is albedo)? To do this, divide the total reflected solar radiation by the total incoming solar radiation and multiply by 100. Show your work.
(107/342)100=31.28%
2.
What percentage of incoming solar radiation is absorbed by the surface?
To do this, divide the solar radiation absorbed by the surface by the total incoming solar radiation and multiply by 100. Show your work.
(168/342)100=49.12%
©eScience Labs, 2018
3.
Which
is greater: total incoming solar radiation or the surface emission of LWIR radiation?
Surface emission of LWIR radiation. 4.
What percentage of LWIR radiation emitted by Earth’s surface escapes directly to space (without being absorbed by the atmosphere)?
To do this, divide the amount of LWIR radiation that escapes the atmosphere by the surface emission of LWIR radiation and multiply by 100. Show your work.
(235/324)100=72.53%
5.
Does the total amount of incoming solar radiation balance with the total outgoing LWIR radiation?
Use the numbers given in the fluxes to justify your answer.
No because incoming solar radiation outweighs total outgoing LWIR radiation
6.
Does the surface energy budget balance?
To do this, first add together all the fluxes that enter the surface (solar radiation absorbed by the surface and LWIR re-emitted by the atmosphere and absorbed to surface). Then add together all the fluxes that leave the
surface (conduction, evapotranspiration, and surface emission of LWIR) and compare the two totals to each other. If the two totals are the same number, then they balance. Show your work.
324+342=66624+78+235=337no, they don't balance out
7.
What is the largest source of heat energy for the Earth’s surface?
What is the primary way the surface gets rid of heat?
Incoming solar radiation, Evapo-transpiration
8.
Does the atmosphere energy budget balance?
To do this, first add together all the fluxes that enter the atmosphere (solar radiation absorbed by the atmosphere, ©eScience Labs, 2018
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conduction, evapotranspiration, and LWIR absorbed by the atmosphere). Then add together all the fluxes that leave the atmosphere (LWIR emitted by atmosphere and LWIR re-emitted by atmosphere and absorbed by the surface) and compare the two totals to each other. If the two totals are the same number, then they balance. Show your
work.
67+78+24+350=519 195+324=519 yes, they balance out
9.
What
is the largest source of heat energy for the atmosphere? What is the primary
way the atmosphere gets rid of heat?
Surface emission of LWIR radiation, radiation emitted by atmosphere
10.
Does the total surface emission of LWIR radiation balance with the total outgoing LWIR radiation (into space)?
Use the numbers given in the fluxes to justify your answer.
Total surface emission of LWIR is 390, while total outgoing LWIR radiation is 235.
No, they do not balance out. ©eScience Labs, 2018
Exercise 2 Post-Lab Questions
1.
Based on the heat budgets you analyzed in Questions 1–10 on the Exercise 2 Data Sheet, explain why the Earth’s surface is inevitably so much warmer than the temperature of the planet when treated as a whole (i.e., as satellites see it from space).
Because heat is trapped in the surface
2.
In the Introduction section, you learned that greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation and trap heat in the atmosphere. Based on this information, which fluxes shown on Figure 10 are caused by greenhouse gases?
Surface emission of LWIR
3.
Assume that all the greenhouse gases were suddenly removed from the atmosphere. What would happen to the surface temperature of the Earth? (For simplicity, ignore any changes this would cause to albedo)
It would cool because there would be less heat coming from up top
4.
For the following questions, suppose that significantly more CO
2
(a greenhouse gas) was added evenly throughout the atmosphere.
a.
How would the flux of LWIR radiation absorbed by the atmosphere respond?
It would increase due to that fact that more heat was trapped in the atmosphere.
b.
What would happen to the amount of radiation that the atmosphere emits (both into space and back to the surface)?
It would also increase because of an increase of greenhouse gases.
c.
What would happen to the temperature of the surface? Why?
©eScience Labs, 2018
It would increase because earth got warmer and heat coming in would be bigger and hotter.
©eScience Labs, 2018
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EXERCISE 3: OCEAN ACIDIFICATION
Data Sheet
Table 7. Carbon Dioxide and pH Data
Sample
pH Color of Solution
Initial Water
4
Dark Blue
Water After Bubbling
5
Green/yellow
Table 8. pH of Solutions Containing a Seashell
Sample
Initial pH pH After 4 Hours
Bottled/Distilled Water
4
4
Acetic Acid
0
5
Table 9. Calcium Carbonate (CaCO
3
) Observations
Time
Neutral Beaker Observations Acid Beaker Observations
Initial
No reaction
Small bubbles are forming around the
shell
1 Hour
No reaction
Lots of bubbles from the shells.
2 Hours
No change
Form/bubbles at the surface 3 Hours
No change
Less bubbles, very small / still
bubbles at the surface 4 Hours
No change
Not many bubbles coming the shell
at the point
©eScience Labs, 2018
Exercise 3 Post-Lab Questions
Part 1: Understanding the Process of Ocean Acidification
1.
Bromothymol blue is a pH indicator that turns blue in basic solutions and then green to yellow in acidic solutions. Based on the color of the solution at the end of the exercise, did the solution become acidic or basic? Did the pH strip confirm or refute these results?
The solution becomes Acidic. The pH strip confirms the Test.
2.
What gas did you add to the solution to change its color and pH?
Carbon dioxide.
3.
Carbonic acid (H
2
CO
3
) is unstable in near-neutral pH conditions and it breaks down into two ions (hydrogen and carbonate). Write this balanced reaction below. (Hint: Look at the products in Equation 1 in the Introduction).
H
2
CO
3
(aq) → ___ + ___
H2CO3 -----> 2H^+ + CO3^2-
4.
According to the balanced reaction above, what is causing the pH to drop when carbonic
acid is formed in seawater (as a result of the dissolution of CO
2
)?
H+ are acidic radical.
Part 2: Effects of Ocean Acidification
5.
What effect did pH have on the shells?
Lowering the pH causes the carbonate shells of marine organisms to dissolve.
©eScience Labs, 2018
6.
Based on the results of the exercise, what are some potential implications of an increasingly acidic ocean for marine organisms that have calcium carbonate shells and/or body parts?
The falling pH would trigger the dissolution of marine coral skeletons and limestones, which serve as food for many fish species, putting their lives in jeopardy. Corals would be endangered because they secrete limestone structures that support algae and offer food for corals. Without skeletons, algae would not exist, and corals would finally perish.
7.
In what ways was this exercise different from what is actually occurring in the oceans?
The contrast is based on the difference in carbon dioxide levels between the atmosphere and the ocean. Carbon dioxide in the ocean is affected by several factors such as human activities attributed to deforestation and burning of fossil fuels, eutrophication, competition among marine life, calcite compensation depth etc.
Part 3: Trends in Atmospheric and Oceanic CO
2
Levels
8.
Based on your graphs, how is the ocean responding to increased amounts of CO
2
in the atmosphere?
CO 2 dissolves in water and produces carbonic acid and H +, which acidifies the water. Calcium
carbonate marine shells are formed when H + reacts with carbonate to generate bicarbonate, hence removing carbonate from the carbonate cycle.
9.
Dissolved CO
2
and pH measurements are sensitive to many variables including the chemical properties of seawater and changes in temperature. The oceanic CO
2
and pH data from Table 6 was taken from a buoy near Mauna Loa station where the atmospheric
CO
2
data was collected. a.
Why might it be difficult to compare oceanic data from other areas to the Mauna Loa CO
2
curve?
©eScience Labs, 2018
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Different salts (Na+, Ca+, Cl-) and dissolved gases (CO2, O2) are present in the subsurface to deep ocean water, some of which are absent from the surface saltwater. It is also possible that the gases present in the surface seawater are absent from the deeper ocean water...
b.
Why is it difficult for oceanographers to determine the acidity of the oceans on a global scale?
The complexity of ocean chemistry makes measuring and analyzing ocean acidity on a global scale problematic. Oceanographers monitor the pH of the water using a range of devices and procedures, however the data obtained is often inadequate or inconsistent. As a consequence, oceanographers are having difficulty determining the worldwide acidity of the seas.
10. Historical and geographic trends in oceanic CO
2
levels are much more variable than those of the atmosphere. What might account for the variability we see in the CO
2
levels in the oceans?
Human and natural cycle activities control the volume of carbon dioxide taken by the oceans from the atmosphere. However, the variability of co2 levels seen in the seas is caused by the ocean and biological circulation. In most cases, the oceans contain a large reservoir of carbon exchanged with the atmosphere when water reacts with CO2 to
form carbonic acid and other related products. Therefore, when natural and human activities release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, more co2 is absorbed, exchanged, and dissolved in the oceans, resulting in decreased pH levels and acidification in the seas.
©eScience Labs, 2018