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CLIMATE SCIENCE
What earth systems processes influence climate change?
What impact will climate change have on me as a global citizen?
What can be done to create a sustainable global community?
http://thundafunda.com/uncategorized/hq-desktop-wallpaper-forces-of-nature-volcanoes-thunder-lightning/
Lithosphere
Solid part of the earth. Crust and upper
mantle ~75-100km thick
http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/images/lithosphere.gif
• What phenomena occur in the lithosphere and relate to climate?
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/images/biosphere/global_biosphere_2003_lrg.jpg
http://www.coralreefinfo.com/images/coral_reef.jpg
Biosphere
Parts of the land, sea, and atmosphere in which organisms are able to live.
What phenomena occur in the biosphere and relate to climate?
http://earth.rice.edu/mtpe/cryo/cryosphere/what_images/ramseier_aerial_view.jpg
Cryosphere
Frozen parts of Earth:SnowSea IceLake Ice/River IceFrozen ground and
permafrost.GlaciersIce Sheets
http://www.digitaluniverse.net/images/19061/350x0/scale/CryosphereThm.jpg
• What phenomena occur in the cryosphere and relate to climate?
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Water/images/wave_ucar.jpg
http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/images/hydrocycle.gif
Hydrosphere Combined mass of
water found on, under, and over the surface of the planet.
What phenomena occur in the hydrosphere and relate to climate?
http://www.williamsclass.com/EighthScienceWork/Atmosphere/AtmosphereEarth.jpg
Atmosphere The gaseous envelope surrounding the earth.Exosphere, Thermosphere,
Mesosphere, Stratosphere, & Troposphere.
http://www.theozonehole.com/images/atmospbhere.gif
• What phenomena occur in the atmosphere and relate to climate?
http://www.phys.port.ac.uk/units/2007/global/Anthrosphere.gif
Anthrosphere
The anthrosphere is that part of the environment that is made or modified byhumans for use in human activities.
What phenomena occur in the anthrosphere and relate to climate
http://blogs.discovery.com/.a/6a00d8341bf67c53ef0133f15e3aab970b-800wi
Atmospheric Science
What is the basic composition of the atmosphere?
What are the major layers of the atmosphere?
Where is the ozone layer located within the atmosphere?
What is the impact of direct vs. indirect heating?
The atmosphere
Atmosphere = the thin layer of gases that surrounds Earth Absorbs radiation and moderates climateTransports and recycles water and nutrients78% nitrogen gas, 21% oxygen gas, 1% other gasesIts four layers differ in temperature, density and
composition
Minute concentrations of permanent (remain at stable concentrations) and variable gases (varying concentrations)
Human activity is changing the amounts of some gases
© 2003 John Wiley and Sons Publishers
The structure of the atmosphere showing temperature profile and ozone layer of the atmosphere to an altitude of 110 km.
The atmosphere’s four layers
The first two layers of the atmosphere
Troposphere = bottommost layerAir for breathing, weatherTemperature declines with altitudeTropopause = limits mixing between troposphere
and the layer above it Stratosphere = 11-50 km (7-31 mi) above
sea levelDrier and less dense, with little vertical mixingColder in its lower regions, temp increases with
altitude Contains UV radiation-blocking ozone, 17-30 km
(10-19 mi) above sea level
The two highest levels of the atmosphere
Mesosphere = 50-80 km (31-56 mi) above sea levelExtremely low air pressureTemperatures decrease with altitude
Thermosphere = atmosphere’s top layerExtends upward to 500 m (300 mi)Temp increases with altitude
http://eo.ucar.edu/staff/rrussell/atmosphere/images/mesosphere_diagram_big.jpg
OZONE
HIPPO
Solar energy heats the atmosphere
Energy from the sun Heats air Moves air Creates seasons Influences weather and climate
Solar radiation is highest near the equator
Solar energy creates
seasons
Because the Earth is tilted
Each hemisphere tilts toward the sun
for half the year
Results in a change of seasons
Equatorial regions are unaffected by
this tilt, so days average 12 hours
through the year
Solar energy causes air to circulate
Air near Earth’s surface is warmer and moister than air at higher latitudes
Convective circulation = less dense, warmer air rises and creates vertical currentsRising air expands and
coolsCool air descends and
becomes denser, replacing warm air
Influences both weather and climate
FROM http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/images/atmosphere_mural_jpg_image.html
FROM http://user.gs.rmit.edu.au/caa/global/coriolis.html
What processes make weather on a global scale?
DIFFERENTIAL HEATING OF EARTH’S SURFACE
ROTATION OF THE EARTH
GLOBAL PATTERN OF:
1) PREVAILING WINDS
2) LATITUDINAL BELTS
OF HIGH AND LOW
PRESSURE
Convection Currents Convective currents contribute to climatic
patterns and affect moisture distributionHadley cells = near the equator, surface air warms,
rises, and expands ○ Releases moisture and heavy rainfall near the
equatorFerrel cells and polar cells
○ Creates precipitation at 60 degrees latitude north and south
○ Causes air to descend at 30 degrees latitude
Global wind patterns
The atmospheric cells interact with Earth’s rotation to produce global wind patternsAs Earth rotates, equatorial regions spin faster
Coriolis effect = the north-south air currents of the convective cells appear to be deflected from a straight pathWeb merry-go-round , web animation , embeddedResults in curving global wind patterns
Wind patterns Doldrums = near the equator
Few winds Trade winds = between the equator and 30
degrees latitudeBlow from east to west
Westerlies = from 30 to 60 degrees latitudeOriginate from the west and blow eastPeople used these winds to sail their ships across the
ocean
The atmosphere drives weather and climate
Weather = specifies
atmospheric conditions
over short time periods and
within a small geographic
areas.
Climate = describes patterns of atmospheric conditions
across large geographic regions over long periods of time
Mark Twain said “Climate is what we expect; weather is what we get”
http://www.london.ca/Emergency_Management/images/lightning.png
Natural causes of climate variation Atmosphere Sun Milankovitch Cycles Ocean atmosphere interactions
El Nino/La Nina Ocean Circulation Volcanoes
The Greenhouse Effect - Atmosphere
http://www.sciencebuzz.org/sites/all/files_static/global_warming/greenhouse_effect.gif
http://www.ecoslopes.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/greenhouse-effect-solutions-300x225.jpg
The atmosphere = without it, the Earth’s temperature would be much colder
Earth’s atmosphere, clouds, land, ice, and water absorb 70% of incoming solar radiation
Atmosphere - Greenhouse/Heat trapping Gases and major sources
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) = Burning fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas) and other combustion reactions such as forest fires.
Methane (CH4) = fossil fuel deposits, termites, livestock, landfills, crops such as rice, melting permafrost. HIPPO VIDEO
Nitrous oxide (N2O) = feedlots, chemical manufacturing plants, auto emissions, and synthetic nitrogen fertilizers
http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/6246/reducingsmogpollution.jpg
Greenhouse/Heat trapping Gases and major sources
Ozone (O3 ) = risen due to
photochemical smog. Stratosphere= Good Troposphere= Bad
Halocarbon gases (CFCs/HCFCs/HFCs) = Man-made, primarily found in refrigerants and blown foam products. CFCs are declining due to the Montreal Protocol.
Water vapor (H2Ov) = the most abundant greenhouse gas and contributes most to the greenhouse effect
http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2008/07/11/11jul_solarcycleupdate_resources/ssn_predict_l.gif
Natural Reasons for climate flux
Solar output = drives temperature change on Earth’s surface
The Sun varies in the radiation it emits
Variation in solar energy (i.e., solar flares) has not been great enough to change Earth’s temperature
The Sun = without it, the Earth would be dark and frozenAlso supplies most of our planet’s energy
http://www.eoearth.org/files/120401_120500/120458/620px-MilankovitchCycles.jpg
Natural Reasons for climate flux Milankovitch cycles:
periodic changes in Earth’s rotation and orbit around the Sun Precession(wobble)-
19,000-23,000 yrs Tilt- 41,000 yrs Orbit- 100,000 yrs Alter the way solar radiation
is distributed over Earth’s surface
By modifying patterns
of atmospheric heating, these cycles trigger long-term climate variation such as periodic glaciations
Natural Air Sea Interactions influence Climate flux
El Niño-southern oscillation (ENSO) = a systematic shift in atmospheric pressure, sea surface temperature, and ocean circulation in the tropical Pacific.
El Niño is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific, as opposed to La Niña, which characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific.
http://s4.hubimg.com/u/2739815_f520.jpg
Ocean Circulation
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Thermohaline_Circulation_2.png/400px-Thermohaline_Circulation_2.png
The oceans = shape climate bystoring and transporting heat and moisture
Ocean circulation = ocean water exchanges tremendous amounts of heat with the atmosphere, and ocean currents move energy from place to place
• Surface and deep water currents move this around our earth.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/1997/fs113-97/resources/AshCloud.jpg
Other Natural contributors to climate flux
Volcanoes:Example: On June 1991: Mount Pinatubo (Philippines)
explodedAirborne pollutants (AEROSOLS), deaths, and damageAffected climate temperatureJames Hansen(NASA) cooled the temp of the earth
by )0.5* over a 19th month period. Then the earth would warm
Paleoclimatology: An Investigation How do we know what we know? What is a proxy? Examples of proxies
Ice coresTree ringsPollenSpeleothemsHistorical documentsCoralPackrat Middens
Resolution vs. Span
Ice CoresJim White: Stable Isotope Lab @ CU
http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2009/11/vostok-graph.jpg
Tree Rings
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/ctl/images/16thchron2.jpg
http://saima-tutkimus.fi/saimapictures/kiekkoisov.jpg
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/pubs/smith2006/fig1.jpg
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/climate/images/stalagmites_sm.jpg
Sp
ele
oth
em
s
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a1/Labeled_speleothems.jpg
Pollen
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_j1cdMMQnYns/TMLGrbaJP_I/AAAAAAAAJMU/2CNdQce5DKw/lavender-pollen-grain--lavandula-dentata--80200172-m%5B4%5D.jpg
Canadian modelHadley model
Coral
bleaching
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/fbeinecke/Bleached.coral.jpg
http://www.climateshifts.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Bellwood-et-al-Fig-1.jpg
Model images/examples
Super Computers (picture)
Resolution?High resolution (pictures) vs. low
Used for predicting
future based on past
(paleo) data
http://www.coloradoconnection.com/uploadedImages/kxrm/News/Stories/supercomputer.jpg?w=204&h=153&aspect=nostretch
http://www.frontiernet.net/~gnreil/weather/LWC/James%20Balog_Climate%20Rhythm.jpg
Impacts of Global Warming
Courtesy EPA
Affects of Global Climate Change (projects)
Extreme Weather (flood, fires, drought, heat waves) Distribution of plant and animal species Desertification Water/food availability Disease Sea Level Rise and temp relationship Ocean acidification Ocean acidification (link) Urban Heat Islands Ice Sheet/Glacial Sheet Melt
Mitigation, Adaptation, Remediation Mitigation: the action of lessening in severity
or intensityExamples:
Adaptation: something that is changed or modified to suit new conditions or needsExamples:
Remediation: the correction of something bad or defectiveExamples:
Major environmental policies related to climate change
International PoliciesMontreal Protocol (1987): Ozone LayerKyoto Protocol (1997): Reduction of GHG emissions
5% National Policies
Clean Air Act (1970, 1990 modified): reduction in air pollution.
Can you connect other policies to climate change? Talk to neighbor