Leyte Normal University

Tacloban City

Topic: Global
temperatures, atmospheric
and oceanic circulation

Submitted by:
Melanie Engcoy Bsed Social Studies 22

Submitted to:
Mr. Ryan Destura

Monday-Thursday: 9:00-10:30am

September 15, 2019

Global Temperature

The temperature is defined by the speed of the particles. This is experienced as heat.

 It represents an average over the entire surface of the planet.

 Global temperature has already had observable effects on the environment. Glaciers have
shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted
and trees are flowering sooner.

 Scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for decades
to come, largely due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities.

 According to the IPCC, the extent of climate change effects on individual regions will vary
over time and with the ability of different societal and environmental systems to mitigate
or adapt to change.

 The IPCC predicts that increases in global mean temperature of less than 1.8 to 5.4 degrees
Fahrenheit (1 to 3 degrees Celsius) above 1990 levels will produce beneficial impacts in
some regions and harmful ones in others. Net annual costs will increase over time as global
temperatures increase.

 The greenhouse effect on Earth.

Some incoming sunlight is reflected by
Earth's atmosphere and surface, but most is
absorbed by the surface, which is warmed.
Infrared (IR) radiation is then emitted from
the surface. Some IR radiation escapes to
space, but some is absorbed by the
atmosphere's greenhouse gases (especially
water vapour, carbon dioxide, and
methane) and reradiated in all directions,
some to space and some back toward the
surface, where it further warms the surface
and the lower atmosphere.

Future Effects of Global Temperature

Change Will Continue Through This Century and Beyond
  Global climate is projected to continue to change
over this century and beyond. The magnitude of climate
change beyond the next few decades depends primarily
on the amount of heat-trapping gases emitted globally,
and how sensitive the Earth’s climate is to those
emissions.


Temperatures Will Continue to Rise

 Because human-induced warming is superimposed

on a naturally varying climate, the temperature rise has
not been, and will not be, uniform or smooth across the
country or over time.

More Droughts and Heat Waves

 Droughts in the Southwest and heat waves (periods

of abnormally hot weather lasting days to weeks)
everywhere are projected to become more intense, and
cold waves less intense everywhere.
 Summer temperatures are projected to continue
rising, and a reduction of soil moisture, which
exacerbates heat waves, is projected for much of the
western and central U.S. in summer. By the end of this century, what have been once-in-
20-year extreme heat days (one-day events) are projected to occur every two or three years
over most of the nation.

Hurricanes Will Become Stronger and More Intense

 The relative contributions of human and natural

causes to these increases are still uncertain. Hurricane-
associated storm intensity and rainfall rates are
projected to increase as the climate continues to warm.
Arctic Likely to Become Ice-Free

What is atmospheric circulation?

 Atmospheric circulation is the

large-scale movement of air, and together
with ocean circulation is the means by
which thermal energy is redistributed on
the surface of the Earth.

What drives the global atmospheric circulation?

 Air in the atmosphere moves around the world in a pattern called global atmospheric
circulation. This pattern, called atmospheric circulation, is caused because the Sun heats
the Earth more at the equator than at the poles. It's also affected by the spin of the Earth. In
the tropics, near the equator, warm air rises

What causes atmospheric and oceanic circulation?

 Oceanic and atmospheric circulation drives climate and weather patterns across the
globe. The lateral and vertical movement of air and water can partly be attributed to the
Coriolis effect, creating air cells thanks to Earth's constant spinning

The Earth's atmosphere is constantly moving, transferring heat energy from one location to
another via atmospheric circulation cells. These cells have distinctive characteristics that cause
multiple weather systems.

The 3 cell model

  Three-cell model attempt to
represent the atmospheric circulation
systems over a hemisphere by three
adjoining vertical cells of meridional
surface motion, transferring energy
from equatorial to polar regions. This
concept of heat transfer by meridional
circulation has generally been
superseded by more modern ideas of
travelling waves.

 In the Hadley cell air should move north to south, but it is deflected to the right by Coriolis.
So the air blows from northeast to the southwest. This belt is the trade winds, so called
because at the time of sailing ships they were good for trade.
 In the Ferrel cell air should move south to north, but the winds actually blow from the
southwest. This belt is the westerly winds or westerlies.
 Finally, in the Polar cell, the winds travel from the northeast and are called the polar
easterlies. The wind belts are named for the directions from which the winds come. The
westerly winds, for example, blow from west to east. These names hold for the winds in
the wind belts of the Southern Hemisphere as well.

Ocean circulation

 Ocean circulation is a key regulator of

climate by storing and transporting heat,
carbon, nutrients and freshwater all around
the world. Complex and diverse
mechanisms interact with one another to
produce this circulation and define its
properties.

 Ocean circulation can be conceptually divided into two main components: a fast and
energetic wind-driven surface circulation, and a slow and large density-driven circulation
which dominates the deep sea.

Oceanic circulation is very sensitive to the global freshwater flux. This flux can be described
as the difference between [Evaporation + Sea Ice Formation], which enhances salinity, and
[Precipitation + Runoff + Ice melt], which decreases salinity. Global warming will undoubtedly
lead to more ice melting in the poles and thus larger additions of freshwaters in the ocean at high
latitudes. This input of freshwater, by decreasing surface water density near the poles, could limit
down welling, prevent deep waters formation, slowing down global circulation.

Such a process could have tremendous consequences for our societies. It would mean less
carbon and heat uptake by the ocean and thus higher rates of both carbon and heat in the
atmosphere. It could potentially accelerate global warming and enhance its negative effects.

What causes oceanic circulation?

 Ocean currents can be generated by wind, density differences in water masses caused by
temperature and salinity variations, gravity, and events such as earthquakes.
How does oceanic circulation influence climate?
 Ocean currents act much like a conveyer belt, transporting warm water and precipitation
from the equator toward the poles and cold water from the poles back to the tropics. Thus,
currents regulate global climate, helping to counteract the uneven distribution of solar
radiation reaching Earth's surface.
Two major kinds of currents define the planet's oceans: surface currents driven by wind and
deep-water currents driven by variations in seawater density.

Surface Currents

 Surface currents refer to movement of

the top layer of ocean water – the upper 330
feet or so – primarily driven by wind. The
large-scale circulation of these surface
currents roughly mirrors the large-scale
circulation of air, which most simply
derives from unequal heating of the
planet’s surface by the sun. Currents form
rotating systems in the middle of major ocean systems called gyres. Like the winds
controlling them, these surface currents help redistribute heat at a planetary scale:
Generally speaking, warm water flows toward the poles and cold water flows toward the
equator.
Deep-water currents

 Deep-water currents describe water movement patterns far

below the ocean’s surface and the influence of the wind.
Instead of airflow, these currents primarily arise from
variations in the density of seawater, controlled by its
temperature and salt content (salinity). Their movement forms
thermohaline circulation (“thermo” meaning temperature,
“haline” meaning salinity) which crosses ocean basins and
links to surface currents in what’s called the “global conveyor
belt.”

The oceans play a significant role in absorbing greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, and heat
from the atmosphere. This absorption can help mitigate the early effects of human-emissions of
carbon dioxide.

References:

https://www.encyclopedia.com/earth-and-environment/ecology-and-
environmentalism/environmental-studies/three-cell-model

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geophysical/chapter/global-atmospheric-circulations/

https://ocean-climate.org/?page_id=3829&lang=en

https://sciencing.com/two-types-ocean-currents-5209213.html