🌦️ Climate Science — Intermediate#

Scope — Climate drivers, feedback mechanisms, circulation patterns, and observational evidence of climate variability.

Key concepts#

• Greenhouse effect — atmospheric gases trap outgoing infrared radiation, warming the surface.
• Climate feedbacks — processes that amplify or dampen change (e.g., ice–albedo, water vapor).
• Atmospheric and ocean circulation — Hadley cells, jet streams, thermohaline circulation.

Seed Q&A triads#

• Q: How does the greenhouse effect warm Earth’s surface?
  A: Greenhouse gases absorb and re‑emit infrared radiation, reducing heat loss to space and raising surface temperature.

• Q: What is a positive climate feedback?
  A: A process that amplifies an initial change, such as melting ice reducing albedo and increasing heat absorption.

• Q: Why are ocean currents important for regional climates?
  A: They redistribute heat, influencing temperature and precipitation patterns far from the equator.

Short exercises#

• Explain how changes in sea ice extent can influence global temperature through feedback loops.