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Global Climate ChangeGlobal Climate Change
Created as part ofNational Science Foundation Created as part ofNational Science Foundation ITEST Grant #0833706. ITEST Grant #0833706.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. National Science Foundation.
Global Climate Change
• Identifiable change in the climate of Earth as a whole that lasts for an extended period of time (decades or longer) – When due to natural processes, it is usually
referred to as global climate variability– Usually refers to changes forced by human
activities that change the atmosphere
What causes EarthWhat causes Earth’’s s climate to change?climate to change?
Changes in the atmosphereChanges in the atmosphere Natural processesNatural processes
Volcanoes Volcanoes Tectonic plate movementTectonic plate movement Changes in the sunChanges in the sun
Human activities – any activity that releases Human activities – any activity that releases ““greenhouse gasesgreenhouse gases”” into the atmosphere into the atmosphere
What are What are greenhouse gases?greenhouse gases?
Any gases that cause the Any gases that cause the ““greenhouse greenhouse effect!effect!””
Imagine… a car on a cool but sunny day…
Research
• Almost 1000 studies dealing with different aspects of climate change have been conducted and published
• So… how do we make sense of all this?
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Why was it created? Created in 1988 by
the United Nations Environmental Program
Established to provide policy-makers with an objective source of information about climate change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Who is it? Governments
Members of the UN Participate by naming
experts and reviewing the reports before they’re published
Scientists Close to 1000 scientists Climatologists, ecologists,
atmospheric physicists, and others
Dr. Susan Solomon, a NOAA atmospheric chemist, an IPCC member and one author of IPCC summary
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
What do they do? Review current scientific and technical
literature relevant to global climate change Provide reports on their findings at regular
intervals Reports are designed to be politically
neutral and of high scientific and technical standards
How do they create their reports?
It’s a multi-step process…
IPCC – Words Used in Reports
When they discuss data: Very high confidence to very low
confidence that the data is accurate
When they discuss the likelihood of something occurring: Virtually certain to exceptionally unlikely
ObservedChanges and Effects
Warming of Climate
• Warming of the climate is definitely occurring and can be observed by the:– Increases in global sea and air temperatures – Widespread melting of snow and ice– Rising global sea level
Temperature Change Data
1880-1884
1880-18841886-1890
1896-1900
1906-1910
1916-1920
1926-1930
1936-1940
1946-1950
1956-1960
1966-1970
1976-1980
1986-1990
1996-2000
2003-2007
Other Observed Changes and Effects
• 89% of current changes in ecosystems are consistent with changes expected due to global climate change
• Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide levels in atmosphere have increased greatly due to human activities since 1750 and now far exceed previous levels
• Carbon dioxide has increased by approximately 80% since 1970
Other Observed Changes and Effects
• 89% of current changes in ecosystems are consistent with changes expected due to global climate change
• Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide levels in atmosphere have increased greatly due to human activities since 1750 and now far exceed previous levels
• Carbon dioxide has increased by approximately 80% since 1970
Human-Produced Greenhouse Gas Levels
Causes of Change
Most of the observed increase in global average temperature since the mid-20th century is
very likely due to the observed increase in human-caused
greenhouse gas concentrations and human influences have very
likely contributed to sea level rise, too.
•Warming and sea level rise will continue and will probably occur more quickly than what we’ve already seen
•Even if greenhouse gases are stabilized, this will probably continue to occur for centuries
•Some effects may be permanent
•Effects on Ecosystems–Coral systems cannot handle higher temperatures well
–Wildfires will increase–Up to 30% of species will be at increased risk for extinction due to the rapid changes in their ecosystems
•Effects in North America– Warming in western mountains:
several effects– Increased rain: will actually help
some crops– Heat waves will increase in number,
length, and intensity– Coastal communities will be affected
by increased flooding and storms
There are several types of options…
• Reduce emissions of greenhouse gases
• Attempt to develop alternatives energies
• Allow emission to continue, but prepare for global climate changes
• Allow emissions to continue as normal and leave preparations up to individual countries
• Combine any of these ideas
• Come up with your own unique plan!
References• IPCC Summary Report for Policy Makers. November 2007• "About IPCC." IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change. 20 Apr. 2009 <http://www.ipcc.ch/about/index.htm>.
• "Climate Change | U.S. EPA." U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 20 Apr. 2009 <http://epa.gov/climatechange/index.html>.
• Rischard, J. F. High noon twenty global problems, twenty years to solve them. New York: Basic Books, 2002.
• "SVS Animations." NASA Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio. 20 Apr. 2009 <http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003400/a003490/index.html>.
