www.kidsforsavingearth.

org

The climate debate:

basic science and possible actions

Alberto Troccoli
Weather & Energy Research Unit, CSIRO
Weetangera Primary, Canberra, November 2011
Outline

1.  Earth System

2.  Weather Observations
3.  Models of the climate
4.  Weather vs Climate
5.  Climate forcings
6.  Climate response
7.  Possible actions

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The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
Energy Budget

Physics becomes very complex pretty soon

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 Atmosphere

Anthropo - sphere

Biosphere Hydrosphere

Lithosphere and Pedosphere

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7
Human Activity & interaction with Climate

The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research

A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
Monitoring the weather from space

The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research

A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
Monitoring the weather from the ground

The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research

A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
Monitoring the oceans

The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research

A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
Computer Models
to Simulate Climate

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Weather what is happening outside right now

The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research

A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
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Climate vs Weather

Climate is the average of local weather conditions

over a period long enough (>30 years) to provide a
reliable average that includes the inevitable peaks
and troughs of natural variability.

So climate integrates all weather and its variability

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Temperature change

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 The rise and fall, along the curve ,is
caused by the ‘inhalation’ of large
amounts of CO2 by Northern
hemisphere plant life during NH spring
and summer, and the ‘exhalation’ of
carbon back into the air during NH
autumns and winters …..

50 years of CO2 observations show an increase of

2.2 parts per million per year
This rate of increase is extremely fast geologically
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CO2 evolution

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The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
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 Projected surface temperature changes Summary for Policymak

Geographical pattern of surface warming

Projected surface temperature changes for

igure SPM.6. Projected surface temperature changes for the late 21st century (2090-2099). The map shows the multi-AOGCM average proj
on for the A1B SRES scenario. Temperatures are relative to the period 1980-1999. {Figure 3.2}
(2090-2099) relative to (1980-1999).
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Some systems, sectors and regions between
are likely to beCSIRO
espe- and the
! Bureau of Meteorology
Africa, because of low adaptive capacity and project
ially affected by climate change. {3.3.3}
12
climate change impacts
The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
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 http://climate.nasa.gov/
The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
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1980

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A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
2007

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A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
 The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
Copyright 2004 Amanda Byrd Photography
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Sea level changes

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Sea level changes

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Sea level changes

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 The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
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Photo courtesy Peter Essick/National Geographic Society
Carbon Penalty

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Carbon Penalty

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 Possible Actions

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ANYTHING WE DO
REQUIRES ENERGY

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The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
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Annual greenhouse gas emissions from
'standby' power
Dustbin  
Black   Balloons  
bags   kg  CO2 -­‐e  
CO2 -­‐e  per  year per  year

 16  
 8  000 800

 14  
 7  000 700

 12  
 6  000 600

 10  
 5  000 500

8000
4000 400

6000
3000 300

2000
4000 200

2000
1000 100

0 0

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Things we can do …

The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research

A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
Things we can do …

The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research

A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
Things we can do …

The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research

A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
Things we can do …

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Hydro Power

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Wind Power

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Solar thermal
(Hot Water)

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Solar Power
(photovoltaic)

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The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
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 Geothermal
Power
Power  extracted  from  
heat  stored  in  the  earth    

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 How the Proposed Renewable
Energy Network Might Look
Solar CSP Wind Hydro

Solar PV Biomass Geothermal

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The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research
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Final thought
Even if your action won’t
make a huge difference …
think of what happened if
7 billion people did the
same thing.
So, why not start making
your little contribution!

The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research

A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
Weather & Energy Research Unit (WERU)
Dr Alberto Troccoli
Phone: 02 6246 5759
Email: alberto.troccoli@csiro.au

Doesn’t it make you feel insignificant?

Thank you

The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research

A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology
Monitoring the weather from the ground

The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research

A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology