13-3 Climate Change

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Picture it……..

• Have you ever sat in a car……..• ……….on a hot day…….• ……..like todaaaaayyyyy….. 8{• Windows are up, heat is trapped….• And you feel like you are suffocating??????

This guy has!

A. The Greenhouse Effect

• 1. Solar radiation (suns rays) enter atmosphere as high-energy light.

A. The Greenhouse Effect

• 2. Some of the suns warm energy is absorbed and re-radiated to the earth, while some escapes to space.

A. The Greenhouse Effect

• 3. The rest of the energy is absorbed by gases in the troposphere causing a greenhouse effect.

A. The Greenhouse Effect

• 4. Greenhouse gases absorb and radiate infrared radiation from the sun.

A. The Greenhouse Effect

• 5. Major greenhouse gases include water vapor and carbon dioxide (the highest amount) and methane and nitrous oxide.

Brainstorm

• Think about the greenhouse gases.• How are we negatively impacting the greenhouse effect?

B. Carbon Dioxide Levels

• 1. Plants photosynthesize in the summer, which causes less CO2 in the atmosphere.

B. Carbon Dioxide Levels

• 2. During winter, plants die off and there is more CO2 in the atmosphere.

B. Carbon Dioxide Levels

• 3. CO2 levels have increased 20% in less than 50 years.

B. Carbon Dioxide Levels

• 4. By analyzing ice cores, scientists show that CO2 levels are the highest they have been for the last 420, 000 years!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHzADl-XID8

C. Global Climate Change

• 1. Global warming is the gradual increase of the average temperature of the earths surface.

C. Global Climate Change

• 2. The rise in temperature is correlated to the rise in greenhouse gases.

Matching!

• A. Carbon Dioxide, CO2• B. Methane, CH4• C. Nitrous Oxide, N2O• D. Water Vapor, H2O

• 1. Evaporation, plant transpiration

• 2. Animal Waste, Livestock, Sewage, etc.

• 3. Burning of Fossil Fuels and deforestation

• 4. Burning of Fossil Fuels, biomass burning, and deforestation

D. Consequences of a Warmer Earth

• 1. Rising sea levels– Warm water expands– Ice glaciers are melting– Higher chance of floods

D. Consequences of a Warmer Earth

• 2. Global Weather Patterns– Oceans absorb more heat, increasing intensity of

typhoons and hurricanes

D. Consequences of a Warmer Earth

• 3. Human Related Problems– Heat stroke cases increase– Mosquitoes, vector for disease, move to warmer

areas

E. Recent Findings

• 1. Global temperature has increased 0.74° C, higher at northern latitudes

E. Recent Findings

• 2. Sea level continues to rise.

E. Recent Findings

• 3. Greenhouse gases are increasing due to human activity.

E. Recent Findings

• 4. 1990s: Kyoto Protocol was a global treaty designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

E. Recent Findings

• 5. Many countries have ratifies the treaty; except for countries most responsible, including the U.S.