...Climate Change and the IPCC o What is the IPCC? - Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change, created in 1988, first assessment report in 1990 launched global awareness of climate change issue. How the IPCC works - Thousands of scientists contribute to writing and reviewing reports. Does not carry out new research or monitor climate related data. There are 3 working groups and a special tasks force. Terminology – 99%-100% (Virtually Certain) 90%-100% (Very Likely) 66%-100 (Likely) 33%-60% (About as likely as not) 0%-33% (Unlikely) 0%-10% (Very Unlikely) 0%-1% (Exceptionally Unlikely) o Causes of climate change Relative forcing components – Long-live greenhouse gases (Global), Ozone (Continental to Global), Stratospheric water vapor from methane (Global), Surface albedo, Aerosol (Direct Affect, Cloud Albedo Affect, Surface to Continental), Linear Contrails (Continental) , Solar irradiance (Global) Earth’s energy budget & human use Quadrillion BTU 100% Incoming Solar Energy Wood 64% - Radiated to space Coal 51% - Absorbed by land and oceans Oil &Gas 23% - Carried to clouds Hydropower &Nuclear (1900-) 20% - Reflected by clouds 16% - Absorbed by atmosphere 15% - Radiation absorbed by atmosphere 7% - Conduction and rising air 6% - Reflected by atmosphere 6% - Radiated directly into space 4% - Reflected from Earth’s surface 3% - Absorbed by clouds Greenhouse gases (types and impact)...
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...RAPID CLIMATE CHANGE: OCEAN RESPONSES TO EARTH SYSTEM INSTABILITY IN THE LATE QUATERNARY James P Kennett Department of Geological Sciences and Marine Science Institute University of California Santa Barbara and Larry C Peterson Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science University of Miami A RAPID CLIMATE OSCILLATOR IN THE LATE QUATERNARY Until recently most Earth scientists believed that past climate change occurred on relatively long time scales of tens of thousands of years or more Most also thought that climate change was controlled largely by changes in the distribution of solar radiation with Earth's orbital oscillations providing an external forcing to the climate system and pacing the so called Milankovitch cycles However dramatic discoveries during the early s changed this paradigm Climatic records produced from the Greenland ice sheet and in nearby marine sediments of the North Atlantic altered the way Earth scientists thought about the operation of Earth's climate system and the relative sensitivity of this system to major climatic shifts Age (Years before present) 0 cold 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 Paleoclimate studies of Greenland ice cores (Dansgaard et al ) were the first to reveal a remarkable sequence of major rapid millennial scale oscillations in the climate system during the last ice age (Fig ) superimposed on the more gradual orbitally driven insolation cycles Because of high accumulation rates of snow over Greenland ice cores from this...
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...Polar ice caps are sheets of ice close to the North and South poles. They are formed because they are in high-latitude regions, which results in less exposure to the heat from the sun, causing the temperatures to be very cold. Average temperatures at the North and South poles have begun to get hotter because of environmental changes, like global warming and gas emissions, causing ice caps to melt and often times, break apart. (What is a Polar Ice Cap, 2015) Why did I choose this topic? This topic is interesting for me because it proves that we, as humans, have destroyed our earth. It shows that even though we talked as a whole about fixing the global issues of our earth that we created, we didn't act fast enough to fix it, and now we are facing those consequences....
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...temperature will increase and the hotter it will get. In Data Set 2, it is noted that average global temperature variations are on the rise as well. A potential issue in the future because of this is the continuous melting of the ice caps. If average global temperatures continue to rise as they...
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...leg due to shrinking ice caps that is the reality in today’s world. Ever since the industrial revolution in the 1850’s, people started to use fossil fuels as energy sources. Fossil fuels create tons of CO2 emissions that get stuck in the atmosphere. These emissions could negatively impact both wildlife and humans alike. CO2 emissions are a big problem in today’s society, and emissions need to be reduced to protect the environment. Some people say CO2 emissions are a myth, and these emissions don’t cause global warming. In the past the Earth heated up to end the Ice Age, and they argue the same cycle is happening today. While the Earth did heat up in the past, it has never reached this kind of global temperature. According to NASA’s climate change graph that shows the Earth’s temperature before fossil fuels and after fossil fuels, the temperature after fossil fuels were used is much higher than before, so this proves CO2 emissions rise global temperature and cause global warming. This creates big problems for the environment. CO2 emissions heat up the Antarctic ice caps causing them to melt. The Antarctic ice caps has been on a slow decline ever since 1992. According John Cook, “Between 1992 and 2011, the Antarctic Ice Sheets overall lost 1350 giga-tonnes (Gt) or 1,350,000,000,000 tonnes into the oceans, at an average rate of 70 Gt per year (Gt/yr).” Even though the Antarctic ice cap gained some of the lost ice from 2011 to 2014, it has lost so much ice due to a rise in CO2...
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...People against the Earth: Cycle of melting of ice caps in the environment It is very shocking to see how many people do not have the knowledge or the interest to educate themselves about one of the biggest issues of the Earth. There are many articles about the climate change in general, but this essay will answer a question what are the effects of melting ice caps on climate change? Firstly what is global warming and what is climate change? Global warming is just the Earth’s rising surface temperature and climate change is a bigger category and global warming is one part of its category. In another words global warming is one issue of a much larger problem of human caused climate change. Both of them are a commonly talked about issue among scientists since it causes many changes in the 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...
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...Climate Change is a Natural Process, not Man-Made Lanson D Owen II Friends University Abstract One of the most important and controversial environmental issues facing the world today is the changing of the climate. Many think it is man-made but fail to understand the fascinating natural cycles of how complex the geological history of planet earth is. It is a difficult subject to take in, so the public has to rely on experts for making the information understandable. The problem with relying on a group of people to make decisions for the public is they have the ability to manipulate the data to back their point of view. It has been scientifically proven and accepted by many scientist that mini global warming and global cooling periods have been present in the earth’s history. These fascinating scientific facts of earth’s history have been totally knocked out by the massive hype that man is responsible for climate change. Overall, climate change tends to be reported as explanations about general tendencies and possible outcomes. Climate Change is a Natural Process, not Man-Made It seems like everyone in the world has an opinion about what might be causing the climate of the world to change. Recently there has been a common scientific consensus that claims to know what is causing the climate to change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is stating carbon dioxide is causing the climate to change, the oceans are warming, and the temperature is rising faster...
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...Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions, or in the distribution of weather around the average conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change is caused by factors such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics, and volcanic eruptions. Certain human activities have also been identified as significant causes of recent climate change, often referred to as "global warming". Scientists actively work to understand past and future climate by using observations and theoretical models. A climate record — extending deep into the Earth's past — has been assembled, and continues to be built up, based on geological evidence from borehole temperature profiles, cores removed from deep accumulations of ice, floral and faunal records, glacial and periglacial processes, stable-isotope and other analyses of sediment layers, and records of past sea levels. More recent data are provided by the instrumental record. General circulation models, based on the physical sciences, are often used in theoretical approaches to match past climate data, make future projections, and link causes and effects in climate change. Terminology The most general definition of climate change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over long periods...
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...Climate change From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For current and future climatological effects of human influences, see global warming. For the study of past climate change, see paleoclimatology. For temperatures on the longest time scales, see geologic temperature record. [pic] |Atmospheric sciences | |[pic] | |Aerology | |Atmospheric physics | |Atmospheric dynamics (category) | |Atmospheric chemistry (category) | |Meteorology | |Weather (category) · (portal) | |Tropical cyclone (category) | |Climatology | |Climate (category) | |Climate change (category) | |Global warming (category) · (portal) | |v · d · e | Climate change is a long-term change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average (e.g., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change may be limited to a specific region or may occur across the whole Earth. |Contents ...
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...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 will face once the glaciers are gone is drought. Many communities are also dependent on hydroelectric dams and water reservoirs to create electricity. Once the glaciers are gone then what? Scientists think that without water from the glaciers to create electricity, these communities that are so dependent on the hydroelectric...
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...in the environment is global warming. Global warming has become a problem around the world; it is caused by CO2 emissions and other gases in the atmosphere that cause the sun’s thermal energy to be absorbed, otherwise known as the greenhouse effect. Studies have shown that at least 20% of ice on Earth has melted since 1979. Although it may not sound so bad, every year we deplete the natural ice on Earth by using CO2-emitting machines such as vehicles, factories, and other heavy machinery. The depleting may accelerate until all naturally-made ice caps and glaciers are gone. Ocean levels will rise sky-high from the melted ice. Global warming is also causing change in both wind and ocean currents. The ocean currents have changed so dramatically scientists believe anymore change may cause catastrophic waves, not to mention the change in the flow of things. The wind’s change in direction may cause high-speed winds, and horrendous tornadoes. A mixture of the two would cause weather worse than Hurricane Katrina. Despite disagreements on this subject, studies have shown that this could possibly happen if we keep going the way we are. Of course, in 1972, scientists were afraid another ice age would happen because the temperature was going down half a degree between 1945 and 1968. Then, the temperature started rising. This shows that it may or may not happen. But from past references, global warming may not happen. To summarize, an issue in the world today is global warming...
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...“Climate change and global warming talk about to an increase of usual global temperature. Natural disasters and human actions are believe to be the main reasons for the happening of average global temperatures increase. This is happen because of increase in ‘greenhouse’ gases such as Carbon Dioxide. A warming planet therefore leads to a revolution in climate which can affect weather in different behaviours.” Climate change mostly happens by the natural cycle of earth however as of now human exercises are still significant wellspring of environmental change. Expanding level of greenhouse gasses including carbon dioxide conveys more warmth to the earth as they have capacity to ingest and discharge heat in the environment and hence keep earth warm. A few of the human activities that contribute to the greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere are deforestation, burning fossil fuel and invention of new technology. All the greenhouse gasses make temperature of earth to increment at higher rate which is not in the support of life of people, animal and plants. A gigantic level of environmental change bothers the equalization of the global ecosystem will affect in increase in health risk and death. There are numerous reasons of environmental change including natural cycle of earth however the significant supporters of the environmental change is global warming. Some human exercises and the advancement of technology are forcing the greenhouse gasses to grow and also, getting gathered...
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...Tomorrow, is actually about the issue of global warming which caused the temperature to increase the earth’s atmosphere where polar ice caps are melting and thus, increasing the water levels of oceans. Then flooding occurs, and other climatic disturbances occur all over the world as well. This sets the stage for a new Ice Age. At first, I thought it’s a movie about weather, dramatic and a disaster movie. It provides suspense and a prediction of a climate shift which is going to happen again after 10,000 years. The way the movie portrayed global warming and other disastrous events were extreme and not very believable. Some of the information is backed up by science but most is completely off the wall and nonrealistic. The movie cited the cause of the global climate change to be the rise in temperature due to greenhouse gasses. According to the movie, the warmer temperatures caused the polar ice caps to melt, and the increased amount of water in the ocean disrupted the North Atlantic Current. The North Atlantic Current is what is responsible for the warm temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere. With the current disrupted the Northern Hemisphere went into an ice age. In real life, the polar ice caps are melting, but at a rate not even close to that of the one represented in the movie. There is no way that the ice would melt so quickly that a change that drastic would be made. Another major issue I had with the movie was its temperature inconsistencies. In the movie, scientists...
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...Outline for Climate Change Introduction: Why does climate change matter? Biochemically speaking, why is temperature so important? Temperature is critical to biochemical reactions, because it determines the effectiveness of the enzymes controlling the reactions. What is an ectotherm? ectotherms, organisms whose body temperature depends on the surrounding environment. What is the connection between performance and temperature in ectotherms? For these organisms, how fast they grow,1 how quickly they move,2,3 and almost everything else about their behavior and functioning is affected by external temperatures. What is the Goldilocks principle? And to what can it be applied when it comes to temperature? Goldilocks principle when the temperature is just right, enzyme activity is maximized. It is the optimum temperature, where an enzyme or things work at its best. Can be applied to enzymes, performance, population growth rates. How does temperature relate to species richness? As temperature increases the species richness (the number of species in a given area) increases So, what’s the big deal? many biological processes exhibit the same basic hump-shaped relationship with temperature, in which temperatures that are too low or too high impair or sometimes even terminate critical biological processes.1This is why climate change is the focus of so much scientific research. Part 1: Detecting climate change What is the difference between weather and climate? How is this...
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...“Constant Change” In a world where nothing is constant except change, we are also faced by a dreading fact that as years goes by, our climate is also changing. The way people way people lived today has drastically changed from the way our forefathers lived thousand years ago. The Climate Change or Global Warming has been an issue for so long, but do we really care about our dying world? In the past years, scientific evidence for the warming of the climate system has been tracked down and is very unequivocal. According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), these are the signs that we are in a state of a climate change: The sea level rise – global sea level rose about 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) in the last century. Global temperature rise – all three major global surface temperature reconstructions show that Earth has warmed since 1880. Warming Oceans – the oceans have absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 700 meters (about 2,300 feet) of ocean showing warming of 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969. Shrinking ice sheets – the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Declining Arctic sea ice – both the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades. Glacial retreat – glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world – including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska and Africa. Ocean acidification – since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface...
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