1. What is the natural variability of climate?
1. Evidence of past climates
a) episodes of cooling and warming over geological time
b) evidenced by data on seafloor sediment and oxygen isotope
2. Changing climate zones
a) indicated by temperature as the most important parameter
b) evidenced by expansion and contraction of main climatic zones
3. Climate variability due to natural processes
a) changes in Earth’s orbit and angle of tilt
b) occurrences of sunspots and large-scale volcanic eruptions
2. How do anthropogenic factors contribute to climate change?
1. Growth in population and industrialisation
a) altered quantity of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide
b) data from the last decade has shown it to have been successively warmer than any of the preceding decade since 1850
2. Causes of the greenhouse effect
a) a natural process making Earth liveable
b) involves absorption and emission of shortwave and longwave radiation, respectively
3. Causes of the enhanced greenhouse effect, include
a) burning of fossil fuels
b) changing land use
3. How might climate change affect natural systems?
1. Impact of climate change on natural systems
a) increase in ocean surface temperatures and changes to ocean circulations
b) increase in atmospheric temperatures and changes in precipitation on land
2. Impact of climate change on aquatic ecosystems
a) threatens coral reefs and disruption of marine food webs
b) ocean acidification
3. Impact of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems
a) threatens flora and fauna
b) changes in extreme weathers including droughts and excessive rainfall
4. How might climate change affect human systems?
1. Impact of climate change on human systems
a) geographically uneven due to climate variables and localised economic and social factors
b) impacts are interconnected and cascaded from natural systems to people
2. Direct impact of climate change on human systems
a) occurs through extreme weather events
b) including heat waves, droughts, floods, cyclones and wildfires
3. Indirect impact of climate change on human systems
a) affects provisioning ecosystem services including food production, and regulating ecosystem services including disease regulation
b) alters cultural ecosystem services including melting of arctic ice and degradation of natural landscapes
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