CLIMATE CHANGE

& GLOBAL
WARMING
earth’s atmosphere is warming, because of a combination of
natural effects and human activities, and that this warming is
likely to lead to significant climate disruption during this
century.
 WEATHER AND CLIMATE ARE NOT THE
SAME

Weather is short-term changes Climate is average conditions in a particular

area over a long period of time
Temperature Temperature
Air pressure Precipitation
Precipitation Fluctuations are normal
Wind
 CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOT NEW

Over the past 4.7 billion years the climate has been altered by
Movement of the Changing global air
Volcanic emissions Changes in solar input Impacts by meteors
continents and ocean circulation

Over the past 900,000 years

Glacial and interglacial periods
 O U R C L I MAT E , L I V E S , A N D E C O N O MI E S D E P E N D
O N T H E N AT U R A L G R E E N H O U S E E F F E CT

Greenhouse gases absorb heat radiated by the earth

• The gases then emit infrared radiation that warms the atmosphere

Without the natural greenhouse effect

• Cold, uninhabitable earth

 THE GREEN HOUSE EFFECT

Effect called the greenhouse effect Major green house gases are
Natural phenomenon Water vapor
Carbon dioxide
Methane
Some oxides of nitrogen
CFCs
 THE GREEN HOUSE EFFECT

Each gas in the atmosphere has its own absorption spectrum

• Certain gases are especially strong absorbers in the infrared
• They absorb radiation emitted by the warmed surfaces of the Earth
• They then re-emit this radiation
• Making the Earth’s surface warmer
 HUMAN ACTIVITIES EMIT LARGE
QUANTITIES OF GREENHOUSES GASES

Since the Industrial Revolution

• CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions higher
• Main sources: agriculture, deforestation, and burning of fossil fuels

Correlation of rising CO2 and CH4 with rising global temperatures

 HUMAN ACTIVITIES PLAY A KEY ROLE
IN RECENT ATMOSPHERIC WARMING

What natural and human-influenced factors could have an effect on temperature changes?
• Amplify
• Dampen
 POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE FEEDBACKS

The atmosphere and its interactions w/ the ocean and land surfaces experience positive and
negative feedbacks.
• Negative feedback
• Warms temps warm air and lead to increased evaporation
• Evaporation leads to more cloud formation which reflects more sunlight which could cool the
surface.
 POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE FEEDBACKS

Positive feedback
• Warms temps warm air and lead to increased evaporation but instead of clouds forming remain as
water vapor.
• Water vapor is a greenhouse gas. The warmer it gets the more water vapor, and the process
continues.
+VE -VE
MELTING OF ALASKA’S MUIR GLACIER
BETWEEN 1948 AND 2004

Fig. 19-6, p. 499

 THE BIG MELT: SOME OF THE
FLOATING SEA ICE IN THE ARCTIC SEA

Fig. 19-7, p. 499

The projected rapid change in the atmosphere's temperature could have severe and long-
lasting consequences, including increased drought and flooding, rising sea levels, and shifts
in the locations of croplands and wildlife habitats.
 ENHANCED ATMOSPHERIC WARMING
COULD HAVE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES

Worst-case scenarios
• Ecosystems collapsing
• Low-lying cities flooded
• Wildfires in forests
• Prolonged droughts
• More destructive storms
• Glaciers shrinking; rivers drying up
• Extinction of up to half the world’s species
• Spread of tropical infectious diseases
 SEVERE DROUGHT IS LIKELY TO
INCREASE

Accelerate global warming, lead to more drought

Increased wildfires

Declining streamflow's, dry lakes, lower water tables

Dry climate ecosystems will increase

Other effects of prolonged lack of water

 MORE ICE AND SNOW ARE LIKELY TO
MELT

• Why will global warming be worse in the polar regions?

• Mountain glaciers affected by

• Average snowfall
• Average warm temperatures
• 99% of Alaska’s glaciers are shrinking

• When mountain glaciers disappear, there will be far less water in many major rivers
 MORE ICE AND SNOW ARE LIKELY TO
MELT

• Glaciers disappearing from

• Himalayas in Asia
• Alps in Europe
• Andes in South America

• Greenland
• Warmer temperatures
 SEA LEVELS ARE RISING

Projected irreversible effect

• Degradation and loss of 1/3 of coastal estuaries, wetlands, and coral reefs
• Disruption of coastal fisheries
• Flooding of
• Low-lying barrier islands and coastal areas
• Agricultural lowlands and deltas
• Contamination of freshwater aquifers
• Submergence of low-lying islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Caribbean
• Flooding of coastal cities
 CHANGES IN BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

“approximately 2–20% of species assessed so far are likely to be at increased risk of extinction as global
mean temperatures exceed a warming of 2 to 3°C above preindustrial levels.”
 AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCTIVITY

Globally, agriculture production is likely to

increase in some regions and decline in others
A climate shift could have serious negative effects
on mid-latitude food production.
In addition, lands in the southern part of the
Northern Hemisphere may become more arid.
soil moisture relationships will change
 HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS

Health status of millions of people could potentially be affected through

• Increases in malnutrition
• Increased deaths, diseases, and injury due to extreme weather events
• Increased burden of diarrheal diseases
• Increased frequency of cardio-respiratory diseases
 EXTREME WEATHER IS LIKELY TO
INCREASE IN SOME AREAS

• Heat waves and droughts in some areas

• Could kill large numbers of people

• Prolonged rains and flooding in other areas

• Will storms get worse?

• More studies needed
 ADJUSTING TO POTENTIAL GLOBAL
WARMING

There are two kinds of adjustments people can make to the threat of global warming:
• Adapt: Learn to live with future global climatic change.
• Mitigate: Work to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
 ADJUSTING TO POTENTIAL GLOBAL
WARMING

How can carbon dioxide emissions be reduced?

• Energy planning that relies heavily on energy conservation and efficiency
• Use of alternative energy sources, use of natural gas
• Use of mass transit
• Greater economic incentives to energy-efficient technology, higher fuel-economy
 • Accounts for about
20% of anthropogenic
Burning emissions of carbon
dioxide into the • Planting more trees
forests to
atmosphere. • Increase biosphere
convert land • Minimizing burning Reforestation sinks for carbon
to and protecting the dioxide.
agricultural world’s forests would
help reduce the threat
of global warming.
 INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS TO
MITIGATE GLOBAL WARMING

two major approaches are:

• international agreements in which each nation agrees to some specific limit on emissions
• Carbon trading
 CARBON
TRADING

In carbon trading, a nation or

nation agrees to a cap of carbon
emissions.
• Then corporations and other
entities are issued emission
permits, allowing a certain
quantity of emissions.
• These can be traded.
 INTERNATIONAL TREATIES

1988
First international meeting to discuss limiting
greenhouse gases held in Toronto, Canada in 1988.

In 1992, Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

• General blueprint for reduction of global emissions suggested
• US thought it would be to costly and no legally binding limits set.

1992
In 1997, legally binding limits discussed in Kyoto, Japan.
• US eventually agreed to cut emissions to 7% below 1990 levels (leading scientists recommend cuts
60-80% below)
• Became a formal treaty in 2006