Sp21_ClimateActivity
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University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill *
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101
Subject
Geography
Date
Dec 6, 2023
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docx
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Uploaded by BrigadierBuffalo1397
Plenge Sp2021 Energy Budget
Name
Poojha Palle
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Learning objectives: Part 1
Define reservoirs and fluxes within a system and explain how a change to reservoirs, fluxes or residence time in
one Earth system can result in changes to another Earth system, using the water cycle, energy budget and/or
carbon cycle as an example.
Sketch a diagram of a simplified carbon or water cycle, using reservoirs and fluxes to show where carbon is
stored and how it moves through the Earth system
Define greenhouse gases, give examples of greenhouse gases and describe how they change Earth’s energy
budget.
Interpret a diagram of Earth’s energy budget, and correlate climate forcings that can increase or decrease Earth’s
temperature to fluxes or reservoirs on the diagram
Corresponding Lecture materials:
Lectures 32/33-34
Part 1A. The carbon cycles
1.
Connect the reservoirs shown with these fluxes (they may appear in more than one place):
a.
Dissolution
(dissolving of CO
2
gas or a carbonate rock into water)
b.
Outgassing
(un-dissolving of CO
2
from water as a gas)
c.
Precipitation
(un-dissolving of CO
2
from water as a carbonate rock)
d.
Photosynthesis
(incorporation of CO
2
gas into biological carbon)
e.
Respiration
(production of CO
2
gas by organisms as they oxidize sugars or other carbons)
f.
Combustion
(burning of solid carbon to produce CO
2
)
g.
Decay
(decomposition of biological carbon to produce CO
2
)
h.
Burial
(burial of biological carbon without decay)
i.
Weathering (
CO
2
reacts with rocks to facilitate chemical weathering)
j.
Volcanism
(release of CO
2
gas from eruption events) (this would be geosphere to atmosphere)
1
Atmosphere
Biosphere
Hydrosphere
Geosphere
2.
Humans has increased a
flux
removing carbon from the geosphere and adding it to the atmosphere.
a.
Explain how this could result in the size of the atmospheric
reservoir
remaining stable over
time.
Specifically reference at least one additional
flux
or
reservoir
in your explanation.
Basically, the amount of flux in and out are balanced. This controls the size of reservoirs.
If human emissions are insignificant, we might see an increase in flux that does not change
reservoir size. We could also be increasing flux from geosphere to atmosphere, but this also
increases flux between the atmosphere and hydrosphere (precipitation). There can also be
increased photosynthesis as there is more carbon in atmosphere.
b.
Explain how this could result in the size of the atmospheric
reservoir
increasing over time.
Be
specific in your answer.
For the atmosphere to get larger, we would have not enough flux out. This means that carbon is
being absorbed by the atmosphere but there is not enough precipitation or photosynthesis.
Flux is dependent on the size of the reservoir: larger atmospheric reservoir, greater flux
Part 1B. The Energy Budget
Before completing this section, watch the video explaining the energy budget included in the lecture 34 & 35.
Interpreting the diagram:
The numbers shown on the
diagram are percentages of
total incoming solar
radiation.
The dotted line represents
the boundary of the Earth
system, and that the
incoming radiation =
outgoing radiation.
Radiation that is “absorbed”
results in an increase in
temperature
Radiation that is “reflected”
does not result in a change in
temperature
Radiation that exits the Earth
system to space through the
“window” does so without
increasing atmospheric temperature
3.
What percent of incoming solar radiation is absorbed by the Earth & atmosphere?
2
a.
~30 %
b.
~70 %
c.
~51 %
d.
~19 %
4.
Which flux is the main contributor of energy to the Earth’s surface?
a.
Incoming solar radiation
c.
Back radiation
b.
Sensible heat flux
d.
Latent heat flux
5.
The Greenhouse Effect refers to:
a.
The ability of certain atmospheric gases to trap heat and keep the planet relatively warm
b.
The ability of the atmosphere to retain water vapor
c.
The ability of cloud to scatter electromagnetic radiation
d.
The ability of water to absorb a lot of energy without changing temperature
6.
Explain how it is possible that the Earth can emit more radiation than enters the Earth system as solar
radiation.
Use only reservoirs and fluxes shown to explain this, e.g., radioactivity and other internal
sources of Earth’s heat are not relevant to this question.
7.
What contributes the most radiation/energy to Earth’s atmosphere?
a.
Absorption of solar radiation by atmospheric gases
c.
Latent heat flux
b.
Absorption of Earth’s reradiated energy by greenhouse gases
d.
Sensible heat flux
8.
Compare the amount of energy absorbed by the atmosphere/greenhouse gases from the Earth’s
surface vs. solar radiation and choose the correct option below.
a.
The atmosphere/greenhouse gases absorb long-wave radiation more effectively than short-
wave radiation
b.
The atmosphere/greenhouse gases absorb long-wave and short-wave radiation equally well
c.
The atmosphere/greenhouse gases absorb short-wave radiation more effectively than infrared
radiation
d.
The atmosphere/greenhouse gases do not absorb long- or short-wave radiation
9.
Solar radiation is composed of shorter wavelengths than the radiation emitted by the Earth.
Knowing
this, and using your answer to #7: Which is most effective at heating the atmosphere?
a.
Radiation coming from the Sun (solar radiation)
b.
Radiation coming from the Earth (Earth radiation)
10. For each option below, circle either “Heating” or “Cooling” to indicate whether the change described
would result in atmospheric heating or atmospheric cooling.
a.
Increasing the reflectivity (albedo) of Earth’s surface
(HEATING or COOLING)
b.
Increasing cloud coverage (not H2O vapor)
(HEATING or COOLING)
c.
Increasing H
2
O vapor (not cloud coverage)
(HEATING or COOLING)
d.
Increasing greenhouse gas concentrations
(HEATING or COOLING)
e.
Decreasing incoming solar radiation
(HEATING or COOLING)
11. A positive feedback loop is illustrated by all of the following EXCEPT:
a.
Increased use of fossil-fuel powered air conditioners to combat global warming
b.
Exponential population growth
c.
Oceans absorbing CO
2
, which decreases CO
2
in the atmosphere
3
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d.
Global warming thawing permafrost, which releases methane to the atmosphere
12. Give an example illustrating how a change to Earth’s carbon cycle can affect both the energy budget
and the water cycle.
4