...TermPaperWarehouse.com - Free Term Papers, Essays and Research Documents The Research Paper Factory Join Search Browse Saved Papers Home Page » Science Melting of Ice Glaciers In: Science Melting of Ice Glaciers The melting of ice glaciers is considered to be a normal act of nature. The real problem occurs when “the snow replenishing it is less than the melted water.” (Mathias, 2011). This problem is occurring with the majority of glaciers around the world, with the size of the glaciers reducing causing an increase in the sea water levels. The primary culprit for the sudden melting of ice glaciers is the rapid industrialization and the burning of fossil fuels taking place. There are many negative effects on the earth because of the rapid melting of ice glaciers but the most prominent ones are global warming, shortage in fresh water and the rise in sea level. The human population has taken action to try and reduce the severity of these effects, and have been successful in doing so, but they are still very present. Global warming is a concern that is well-known by the majority of our population and a mutual effort of several countries to reduce the overall release of pollution and greenhouse gases was carried out through a contract called the “Kyoto Protocol.” This is one good example of the awareness of the issues that we as a planet are facing, and how we have tackled these severe issues. Glacier melting is on the rise and the effects...
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...on the other hand, is shorthand for biological diversity, and it is about the living world with which humanity not only co-exist but has evolved as a dependant part. The term biodiversity acknowledges that the natural world is a whole living system, and we are a part of it (Corlett & LaFrankie, 1998). The phase “climate change” and “global warming” are now a part of our lives and rarely does a day goes by without a mention, in the press or on the radio, of the possible causes of climate change and its consequences. This phenomenon has sneaked up on us in a somewhat short period of time and is accelerating at an alarming rate. It is perhaps the most serious problem that is threatening the civilized world today (Ninan, 2009). This paper postulates that climate change poses a serious threat on biodiversity. It will put forward evidence of how biodiversity has been affected worldwide, and will seek a solution to this problem 1.2. Biodiversity and its importance Simply put, biodiversity represents the fabric of life itself. It is comprised not only of numbers of species, but also includes the variety of all life forms and their genes as well as the communities and ecosystems of which they are a part of (Schwartz, 2007). According to Lovejoy & Hannah (2006), the consequences of climatic change for biodiversity are potentially profound considering that biodiversity provides the underpinning of the ecosystem services on which human societies are ultimately dependant...
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...energy sources, we are highly dependent on burning coal for our personal and commercial electrical supply. 2. Global Warming Cause: Carbon dioxide emissions from burning gasoline for transportation Our modern car culture and appetite for globally sourced goods is responsible for about 33% of emissions in the U.S. [EPA pg. 8] With our population growing at an alarming rate, the demand for more cars and consumer goods means that we are increasing the use of fossil fuels for transportation and manufacturing. Our consumption is outpacing our discoveries of ways to mitigate the effects, with no end in sight to our massive consumer culture. 3. Global Warming Cause: Methane emissions from animals, agriculture such as rice paddies, and from Arctic seabeds Methane is another extremely potent greenhouse gas, ranking right behind CO2. When organic matter is broken down by bacteria under oxygen-starved conditions (anaerobic decomposition) as in rice paddies, methane is produced. The process also takes place in the intestines of herbivorous animals, and with the increase in the amount of concentrated livestock production, the levels of methane released into the atmosphere is...
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...environment including the melting of ices which has an effect on all parts of the world. Because of the sea level rising there are, even if it is not a rapid increase, many devastating effects on land habitants, and also there is a threat of the next ice age. Firstly the melting of polar ice caps can affect countries, as continents. A lot of parts of the “now known” continents would totally disappear under the ocean; which would mean that people that live there now, would lose their homes and the number of people per square foot would rise rapidly. The sunk parts of the countries would affects also the fauna and flora. It is clear that many species are dying out now and also would die out because they would lose their homes and the environment they are designed to live in. Same goes for flora; plants would not be able to spread that fast and adjust to a different environment so they would become extinct. If we summarize it the rise in temperatures of the climate affects the ice in polar areas by melting it. That affects the climate because as the ocean...
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...Axia College, University of Phoenix [COM 220- 08 March 2009] Have you ever watched a television program, or read an article about Global warming? A person would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t. The news is hard to ignore since the information that is given to us comes from scientists or experts in the field of global warming. We are continually bombarded with information that the Earth is experiencing a warming trend, and human activity is to blame. The pollution that man creates is adding to the earth’s greenhouse gases. The resulting affect of global warming is triggering warmer temperatures around the world, and ecosystems are taking the toll. One of the most publicized looming catastrophes is the plight of the polar bears. Once the glaciers are gone, the polar bear will be extinct in the wild. Although, scientists say it is caused by the pollution that humans are creating, global warming is a natural phenomenon. Snow capped mountains are a wondrous sight to behold, and can be found on every continent. But, these massive ice shelf’s have a purpose that many people take for granted. Many people do not realize that glaciers are responsible for part of the world’s water supply. Revkin (2003) states “The melting is likely to threaten water supplies in places like Peru and Nepal” (¶ 19). The result from the melting glaciers will raise water levels and potentially create devastating floods over time. The eventual outcome that these countries...
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...Composition II Research Paper Our atmosphere doesn't act as a single unit; it is made up of hundreds of different layers. Some of the energy released from Earth is stopped in each of these layers. The energy is then re-emitted in a random direction, but on average the energy is moving either "up" or "down." The atmospheres get thinner as altitude increases, so eventually the radiation will reach a layer high enough and thin enough to escape to space. If you increase the concentrations of a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, the thin upper layers will become denser. The place where the majority of the energy finally escapes moves higher, these higher levels are much colder and so they do not radiate heat very well. The rate that radiation escapes to space is lower, and the planet will take in more than it radiates. As the higher levels emit some of the excess radiation downwards, the lower levels will warm all the way down to the surface. The imbalance will remain until the higher levels get hot enough to radiate as much energy back out as the planet is receiving. Though all natural processes, they are not always helpful. On the other side of the spectrum, we as humans are not always helpful to the processes. Because of this, we find ourselves at a time of question. What are we doing to our planet and how will it affect us? Many are attempting to take action now, others try to not believe. Eventually, however, we are all going to see what we have truly been doing. Global warming...
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...The effects of global warming on the environment and human life are numerous and varied. Scenarios studied by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predict that global warming will continue and get worse much faster than was expected even in their last report. Research by NOAA indicate that the effects of global warming are already irreversible. The IPCC reports attribute many specific natural phenomena to human causes. The expected long range effects of recent climate change may already be observed. Rising sea levels, glacier retreat, Arctic shrinkage, and altered patterns of agriculture are cited as direct consequences of human activities. Predictions for secondary and regional effects include extreme weather events, an expansion of tropical diseases, changes in the timing of seasonal patterns in ecosystems, and drastic economic impact. Concerns have led to political activism advocating proposals to mitigate, or adapt to it. Geoengineering is a further potential response, which could potentially reverse some effects that may otherwise be irreversible. It is notable that many of the effects of global warming are non-linear in nature, with potential for dramatic positive feedback effects. This means that the climate may enter a critical state where small changes can trigger runaway or abrupt climate change. Geoengineering has been suggested as a means of interrupting or reversing these effects. A notable example of a 'runaway' effect is the release of methane...
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...ITA Occasional Paper August 2007 “Above-Ground” Issues Affecting Energy Development in the Arctic By Rachel Halpern Office of Energy and Environmental Industries Overview As opportunities to develop energy resources in the Arctic grow as a result of climate change and technical advances, companies wishing to participate will face not only technical challenges, but political, legal, and regulatory challenges, as well. The five Arctic countries considered in this paper (defined here as the countries that border the Arctic Sea – the United States, Canada, Norway, Denmark/Greenland, and Russia – see Figure 1 on next page for map) will likely see increased interest in the development of their Arctic resources in the coming decades and will have to begin considering how to address these challenges in order to take advantage of this interest. Each Arctic country has different policies, laws, and regulations regarding oil and gas development and transportation, and these differences will affect how and by whom resources are developed, and how and where they are transported. This paper describes 1) the reasons that energy companies will likely focus more of their attention on the Arctic; 2) the current state of knowledge of Arctic oil and gas resources; and 3) issues that will affect the development of Arctic oil and gas resources including boundary issues, access to resources, environmental restrictions, tax and regulatory issues, transportation challenges, and regional...
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...believe that global warming is a normality of the earth’s atmosphere. This paper will answer the questions: who, what, why, when, and how global warming will or will not have a negative impact on human health. The research must start by describing global warming and why some scientist and researchers believe that it will have a negative impact on human health. In direct quotation of Bloice and Hallinan, 2005: The temperature of the earth’s atmosphere is influenced by the balance between the high energy ultraviolet radiation absorbed from the sun and the amount of heat radiated back into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, water, methane, and other “greenhouse gases” are the key elements that regulate the earth’s temperature. Greenhouse gases are similar to the glass in a greenhouse- they allow light to enter and warm the interior but trap radiation, which heats the inside. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere cause a buildup of heat that raises the temperature on the earth’s surface, a process called the greenhouse effect. Why do people believe that global warming will have a negative impact on human health? 1) Disease 2) Heat related deaths 3) Increases storm strengths 4) Storm surges Due to the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas-the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased significantly since the Industrial Revolution. The Nation Research Council in 2006 reported that the earth’s average temperature had risen 0.6...
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...GLOBAL WARMING: Energy, Fall 2005 v30 i4 p36(2) It could get a lot warmer. (GLOBAL WARMING) Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2005 Business Communications Company, Inc. If humans continue to use fossil fuels in a business as usual manner for the next few centuries, the polar ice caps will be depleted, ocean sea levels will rise by seven meters and median air temperatures will soar to 14.5 degrees warmer than current day. These are the stunning results of climate and carbon cycle model simulations conducted by scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. By using a coupled climate and carbon cycle model to look at global climate and carbon cycle changes, the scientists found that the earth would warm by 8 degrees Celsius (14.5 degrees Fahrenheit) if humans use the entire planet's available fossil fuels by the year 2300. The jump in temperature would have alarming consequences for the polar ice caps and the ocean, said lead author Govindasamy Bala of the Laboratory's Energy and Environment Directorate. In the polar regions alone, the temperature would spike more than 20 degrees Celsius, forcing the land in the region to change from ice and tundra to boreal forests. "The temperature estimate is actually conservative because the model didn't take into consideration changing land use such as deforestation and build-out of cities into outlying wilderness areas," Bala said. Today's level of atmospheric carbon dioxide is 380 parts per million (ppm). By the year 2300, the model...
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...didn’t let other’s opinions influence him and was willing to take risks in his work. It was his theory that the current would take him to the North Pole and then south toward Greenland (Adams 2014). While his name may never become a common household name without his brave and successful journey the world of oceanography may not be where it is today. All of these combined make him an excellent topic for an oceanography paper. Fridjof Nansen was more however then just an oceanographer. Before the Fram expedition he was already a well-recognized zoologist, and had been made the curator of zoology at eh Bergen Museum. As stated by Harald Sverdrup, “He wrote papers on zoological and histological subjects, illustrated by excellent drawings” (Sverdrup 2013). Shortly after this his interests moved to the physical side of oceanography. He became an oceanography instructor at the University of Kristina and on his two most successful artic expeditions most of the data was collected by Nansen himself (Sverdrup 2013). Before going on his famous expedition to the Arctic Ocean he had already began his work in oceanography by taking a group of five other men to Greenland’s icecaps to gain further knowledge on continental glaciers. Friftjof Nansen and his team of five men were successful in their expedition and became the first person to cross Greenland’s ice cap, and provided support to the isostatic rebound theory. This theory suggests that “when the Earth's crust sinks under a heavy weight...
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...American Intercontinental University Unit 1 Individual Project BUSN300-E-1205B-02 Lowe Division Capstone 1/11/2013 Abstract This paper talks about global warming and what is really to blame. In this paper the author will give their opinion on what is to blame and why they feel this way. And if global warming is really going on or if it is just people looking to try and justify their opinions. * Climate changes * Too hot * Too cold * The sea animals * Animal population on the rise * Animal population on the down fall * Caused by humans * Why do you think humans caused global warming * why do you think it is not caused by humans * Is the theory scientifically credible * Does it pose a serious environmental and health risks Global Warming: Fact or Fiction What do we know about Global Warming? Is it man made, or is it due to the way the earth shifts naturally that causes it? Some experts say the extreme weather changes are due to the increase in the average global temperatures. Some also say the natural human activities might be one of the contributing factors for the global warming, causing an increase in the average temperatures. Let us first look at what the earth is doing in order to cause the global warming situation. Ocean heat is rising; the temperature over the oceans is also rising. Now I could say that it is caused by us taking some of the fresh oxygen out of the air by cutting the trees, we can also...
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...GLOBAL WARMING Introduction Global warming begins when sunlight reaches Earth. The clouds, atmospheric particles, reflective ground surfaces and ocean surface then reflected about 30 percent of it back into space, while the remaining is absorbed by oceans, lands and air. This in turn heats the planet’s surface and atmosphere, making life possible. As Earth warmed up, this solar energy is radiated by thermal radiation or infrared heat, traveling directly out to space, thus cooling the Earth. However, some of the outgoing radiation is re-absorbed by carbon dioxide, water vapor and other gases in the atmosphere and is radiated back to Earth’s surface; these gases are known as greenhouse gases due to their heat-trapping capacity. This re-absorption process is naturally good; the Earth’s average surface temperature would be very cold if not for the greenhouse gases. The problem begins when the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were artificially raised by humankind at an ever-increasing rate since the past 250 years. As of 2004, over 8 billion tons of carbon dioxide was pumped out per year; natural carbon sinks such as forests and the ocean absorbed some of this, while the rest accumulated in the atmosphere. Millions of pounds of methane are produced in landfills and agricultural decomposition of biomass and animal manure. Nitrous oxide is released into the atmosphere by nitrogen-based fertilizers and other soil management practices. Once released, these greenhouse...
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...Integrated Natural Science (INT1) Task 1 The Changing Nature Of Science Evolution Evolution :- All living beings have developed over time from ancestors through a series of changes. That life has changed over long periods of time, with all forms of life related to one another, is a scientifically well-established fact. There are two aspects of evolution today. First, evolution is the organizing principle for all of biology. Just as we are offspring from our parents, and our grandparents before them, and so on, all living organisms today are inclined from organisms that lived in the past. Understanding how and why these ancestor-descendent lineages have changed through time helps us appreciate the diversity of life we see today. Genetics, anatomy, physiology, neurology, morphology, and behavior all of these aspects of living organisms have evolved through time. The study of the evolutionary processes that produced these traits provides the comprehensive framework for understanding them. Theory Of Evolution Evolution Theory: - Evolution is technically defined as: "a gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form." As it is most famously used, "evolution" is the process by which an organism becomes more sophisticated over time and in response to its environment. The Theory of Evolution is currently the most popular concept of how life reached its current state. Evolution as a biological mechanism is driven by natural...
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...ARCTIC VOL. 59, NO. 3 (SEPTEMBER 2006) P. 261 – 275 Possible Effects of Climate Warming on Selected Populations of Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) in the Canadian Arctic IAN STIRLING1 and CLAIRE L. PARKINSON2 (Received 10 November 2005; accepted in revised form 25 January 2006) ABSTRACT. Polar bears depend on sea ice for survival. Climate warming in the Arctic has caused significant declines in total cover and thickness of sea ice in the polar basin and progressively earlier breakup in some areas. Inuit hunters in the areas of four polar bear populations in the eastern Canadian Arctic (including Western Hudson Bay) have reported seeing more bears near settlements during the open-water period in recent years. In a fifth ecologically similar population, no changes have yet been reported by Inuit hunters. These observations, interpreted as evidence of increasing population size, have resulted in increases in hunting quotas. However, long-term data on the population size and body condition of polar bears in Western Hudson Bay, as well as population and harvest data from Baffin Bay, make it clear that those two populations at least are more likely to be declining, not increasing. While the ecological details vary in the regions occupied by the five different populations discussed in this paper, analysis of passive-microwave satellite imagery beginning in the late 1970s indicates that the sea ice is breaking up at progressively earlier dates, so that bears must fast for longer...
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