Patterns in environmental quality and sustainability

Unit 3

Create a definitions list using the handoutWeatherClimateAtmosphereInsolationShort-wave radiationLong-wave radiationAlbedo(Natural) Greenhouse EffectHeat budgetOzoneDiffuse radiationAcid rainHeat transfer (vertical and horizontal)Latent heatExternal Forcings

Atmosphere and changeAims:To understand how the atmosphere functionsand how its components are being altered

Page 100 and 101 – Planet Geography : Read and answer question 1 on back of definitions page (with diagram)

GREENHOUSE EFFECT – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzCA60WnoMk

Radiation balance = The atmosphere, which contains gases such as water vapour and carbon dioxide, absorbs the Earth's long-wave radiation and subsequently reemits long-wave radiation in all directions. This is known as the "greenhouse effect," which is just one part of the energy exchange process between the surface and the atmosphere. Without it we would be 60F cooler

Our atmosphere

HEAT BUDGET

Net Radiation Received, W m-2

Heat Budget• Incoming solar radiation is not

evenly divided over the earth• Net surplus of radiation in tropics

and deficit at high-latitudes• This leads to a transport of heat by

the oceans and atmosphere from the equatorial regions to the poles

• This need to redistribute heat is the main driving force the oceanic and atmospheric circulation

Why differences in the amount of solar radiation?1) Angle of impact of solar

radiation2) Solar constant3) Distance from the sun 4) Tilt of the planet5) Wobble

CHANGES IN SOLAR RADIATION

AFFECT OF CLOUDS (AN EXAMPLE OF NEGATIVE FEEDBACK)

POSITIVE FEEDBACK – melting of the ice, more seawater, increase in albedo, less heat reflected, more heat abosrbed – LINKS TO FUTURE SLIDE

CHANGES IN ALBEDO (Quantitative measure)About 50 million sq km of the Earth's terrestrial surface undergo a transition each year from freeze to thaw. This change can be detected by the amount of sunlight that is reflected by the Earth's surface at various wavelengths. 0 (none is reflected) – 1 (all is reflected)Examples?Deep ocean water = 0Fresh snow = 1

Examples of albedoes

• Oceans and lakes 0.03-0.10• Sea ice 0.30-0.45• Fresh snow 0.75-0.95• Tundra 0.15-0.20• Conifer forest 0.09-0.15• Broadleaf forest 0.15-0.20• Desert 0.20-0.45

The snow – albedo feedback loop

Increase in heat absorption

Decreases in albedo

Decreases in snow cover

Increases in temperature

CHANGES IN LONGWAVE RADIATION

CLIMATE CHANGE – CAUSE AND EFFECT (including solutions)

Composition of Earth's Atmosphere

Nitrogen 78.1%

Oxygen 20.9%

Argon 0.9%

Carbon dioxide, Methane, Rare (inert) gases 0.1%

Water vapor

Ash cloud

CLIMATE CHANGE – CAUSES

CLIMATE CHANGE - AIR

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/interactive/2009/oct/22/climate-change-carbon-emissions

CLIMATE CHANGE - WATER

CLIMATE CHANGE - WATER

CLIMATE CHANGE - WATER

http://flood.firetree.net/?ll=16.3412,97.3388&z=12&m=7

CLIMATE CHANGE - WATER

CLIMATE CHANGE - WATER

CLIMATE CHANGE – EFFECTS: PEOPLE

NaturalEarth would be frozen -19 degrees Celsius (present 15 degrees). Venus 462 degrees! Mars too cold. 80-90% of greenhouse gases is water vapour

CLIMATE CHANGE – RESPONSES: KYOTO

CLIMATE CHANGE – RESPONSES: COPENHAGEN

Global weirding

Causes:Human – before the industrial revolution Earth had roughly 280 ppm of CO2. Today – 384 ppm. Natural – earth’s orbit is not circular, its an ellipse – cycle of 100,000 yrs. Also, earth’s tilt – creates seasons but every 40,000 yrs it changes slightly. Also, earth’s orbit changes very slightly every 21,000. These 3 are called the Milankovitch Cycles. Looking back over the last 670,000 yrs using ice data, ave temp has varied by 6 degrees centigrade. This is to large to be explained by natural factors alone. In the last 50 yrs, CO2 particles inclreased from 280ppm to 284ppm – not coming from the oceans but burning fossil fuels. IPCC report in 2007 stated that with 90% confidence greenhouse gas emissions were due to inudstry and agricultural. If increase to 550 ppm then = 3 degree rise. 450 ppm = 2 degree rise. Effects – bleaching of coral /acidification due to carbonic acid being produced – CO2 plus H20.China has accelerated emissions in the last 5 yrs though. Political interference has altered some IPCC reports though plus models can be unreliable. Western Siberia – carbon could be released from peat bogs – 500bn tonnes if the ice thaws .Need to understand that climate change is not always going to behave in a linear fashion – exponential instead. P.131 – detail for Montana. Global warming is not uniform like the term implies. Its uneven. Solution – local meteorologists can educate ppl. Controversial though.

Soil and ChangeAims:To identify the causes and effects of soildegradation as well as evaluate solutionsS.D. = Negative process often accelerated by human activities (improper soil use and cultivation practices, building areas) that leads to deterioration of soil properties and functions or destruction of soil as a whole, e.g. compaction, erosion, salinization. (E.U.)

Drought: a deficiency of precipitation over anextended period of time, usually a season ormore

Drought and desertification: case study India and Pakistan

• Processes and human and physical causes:Drought due to physical structure of the region (NATURAL)Monsoon rains fall in certain parts of the region but not in other which causes drought and desert conditions (NATURAL)Increasing population creating pressure which is faster than overall growth of India (HUMAN)irrigation is diverting water from the North and South (HUMAN)Greater amounts of animals – increased by over 50% between 1983 and 1997 (HUMAN)More land is being sown also (HUMAN)Erosion from wind (3%) and water (18% land) 18% forest degraded, salting(2%) waterlogging (1%) (HUMAN?) ARAVALLI HILLS: Eastern boundary of the Thar desert (meeting point of humid and arid areas). Rainfall not declining and slight variations in Monsoon rainfall ut environmental pressure =hills exploited for marble and limestone and metal ores (destruction of vegetation). Between 1972-84, 42% offorest has been removed and sand dunes have taken their place. Run off is now more rapid with overgrazingand population increase.

Environmental damage in a LEDC – Case study : The Sahel

The Sahel regions are areas which experience

desertification.

So what has caused this?-Us!

SODU

Soil exhaustion (planting too many crops)

Overgrazing (too many cattle)

Deforestation (cutting down trees)Up and down ploughing

Why does the Sahel suffer from desertification?Why does the Sahel suffer from desertification?

DESERTIFICATION

Increase in population Increase in cattle

Deforestation for fire wood Grassland grazed more intensively

Roots no longer hold soil together Roots may be eaten as well as grass

Leaves no longer protect soil from weatherLess vegetation means less protection from weather

Loose top soil blown away by wind

(Soil Erosion)

=

Loose top soil blown away by wind

(Soil Erosion)

=DESERTIFICATION

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkYhW9AUCG8Excellent video about how water problem is being solved by women

SOIL DEGRADATION - SOLUTIONS

Notes(Guajarat):

AUSTRALIA’S DRY RUNFarmer – now only has 70 cattle when 5 yrs agohad 500. Have to feed on roadside grass since has no grass. He cannot buy grain since$000,000’s in debt. Only him and his wife working on the farm used to have 5 farmhands."The last three years we've had essentially no water. That's what is killing us.“ Water is present alongthe Southern Main Canal, an irrigation channel from the Murray River. The farmer is allowed to draw 273m gallons a watera yr after paying for a permit. City of Adelaide, corporate farms and protected wetlandsall take the water also. Due to drought in last 3 years, the farmer is notallowed to take water. Still pays for water but cannot use it. All farmers are facing difficulties. Current 7 yr drought is worstin Australia’s 117 yr history. When rainfallhappens it can sometimes miss the areas that need it plus towns of Queensland get flooded. 3/4s of a degree temp increaseover the last 15 years so greater evaporation istaking place. This area is one of the least fertile places on Earth. Soi is old and fertile because it hasnt been stirred up byglaciers within the past million years. Colonial powersfelled 15bn trees which could cope with the arid conditions and introduced crops not suited to a desert ecosystem as wellas animals. Endless plowing degraded the soilfurther. Murray River has been affected by weirs, locks and barrages so irrigation can take place. Unnatural – run high whenit should low, runs low when it should be high –increased salinity so poisons wetland and makes land unfit for cultivation. There is conflict for the water. Communities arebecoming ghost towns. Whole farming sectorssuch as rice collapse. Riverland district of South Australia – farmer can only use 16% of their water allocation. He has to choose one crop overanother. One farmer states that the government encouraged unsustainable farming practices. Goyder Line – bounadary that marks the limit of sufficient rainfall for crops to grow in South Australia. Settlements,irrigation and crop land was established on the wrongside of the line, where grassland gave way to bush. Crops became a large part of exports. Water was used without any limits(used to wash away soil, irrigation was leakproof). Water rights culd be sold by farmers that didnt use them. Industrialists were offered tax incentives to createsuperfarms, e.g. Olive groves. Late 90s New South WalesAnd Queensland handed out many licenses to extract water. Increased drought meant decreased allocations. The mouth ofthe river must dredged in order that it meets thesea. A lagoon ecosystem would dry up without freshwater. Salty water has changed the ecosystems massively. Aboriginalfood has disappeared – has spritiual significance. Adelaide – world’s 1st industrialised city in a constant state of water shortage. 90% of water comes from the Murray 30 milesaway. Water restirctions ar ein force forresidents.

Water and change

• How is water utilized at a regional level• Human and environmental factors affecting

physical water scarcity and economic water scarcity

• Safe drinking water

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywBE4-qCU-E

Dubai History:

DEWA

.

Aral SeaTurkmenistanUzbekistanKazakhstanTajikistanKyrgyzstan

191819301970s1980s1987

Moynaq, Uzbekistan

Economic water scarcity

Indian Caste System

Israel and Palestine

Biodiversity and changeAims:To understand the concept and importance ofbiodiversity and examine the causes and effectsof reduced biodiversity

...defined as a forest in the tropics receiving 4-8 meters of rain each year

The importance of tropical rainforests

ANIMAL HABITAT

REGULATING CLIMATE

HOME FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

RAINFOREST PHARMACY

1992

2006

National Geographic article notesAmazonia – last 40 years approx 20% of Amazon has been cut down (more than last 450 yrs) altho doesnt count selective logging. An additional 29% could be lost. This will mean less rain, more drought and more fires and more greenhouse gases. CAUSES – 1)Road building (105,000 miles of unauthorised roads) created by loggers. Ranchers and others move in once loggers have gone. They then claim rights to the land, (titles are fraudulent). Brazil’s agricultural dept found that >62k claims were fraudulent.IBAMA – env agency. Has only a handful of inspectors. Overwhelmed and have to deal with violence. Post Stang – Gov had a crackdown, suspending logging permits. Uncovered corruption within IBAMA; selling millions of endangered hardwoods to US, EU & Asia. Brazil using satellites to track clearings but inadequate resources on the ground. History – 1970s – Brazil’s military gov had a poLicy of ‘occupy it or lose it’ to get ppl out of the SE to Amazonia. Poor settlers rarely given title to the land though whilst those well connected given large blocks which encouraged logging and ranching. Had to productively use the land within 5 yrs though or risk losing ownership. If no productivity then ppl moved in and conflict took place. Mato Grosso – Blairo Maggi – ‘King of Soy’ + governor of the state. Built a city, Sopeal, to service a plantation. Hey buys soy from 900 mid-size farms. Brazil is an agricultural powerhouse – the world leader in beef exports, 2nd to the US in soy beans. Brazil is the only country where soy expansion can take place. Maggi is working with environmentalists though and supports international environmental & social standards, (no slave labour. No illegally cleared land, no spraying near streams). Further info here also! Soy beans need large amounts of chemicals though.

Could be Long term economic and env problems though since unknowns re acidification of soils. In Mato Grosso, farmers can clear up to 20% of their land with the remainder left as reserve. If veg is a mixture of savanna and trop rainforest then up to 50% can be cleared. Laws are flauted though. American MNCs who produce agri procts – tractors, also benefitting. Feb 2006 – President Lula announced protection of 16m acres - only environmental friendly logging can take place. This and other measures have reduced deforestation by 30% in 2005. Indians patrol areas using satellite tech and have weapons. 7 dams are planed to be built on the Xingu and Madeira rivers as well as other large projects. Dams will power aluminium smelters. US NC Cargill is being sued for poor EIA of the port of Santarem. However last summer Cargill and 2 other big soy traders agreed to a 2 yr moratorium on buying soy beans from newly deforested land.

Sustainable development / environmental sustainability

Aims:To understand the concept of environmentalsustainability and evaluate a national strategy CASE STUDY – SOUTH AFRICA (plus Hippos)

Definition – sustainable development

‘…..development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. ‘

Brundtland Report 1987

Local environmental sustainability – case study Hippos

http://www.hipporoller.org/

South Africa: KgautswaneKgautswane, South Africa. Rural area where 120,000 residents depend on a small number of wells to provide them with water. Not enough and only provide water once or twice a week. Have to spend as much as 7 hours a day collecting water. Community leaders responsible for organising Hippos who prioritises needs, (old, AIDS)

Problem:Keeps children out of schoolHealth problems – 20l – spine / childbirthLandminesNeed a secure water source for economic growth and poverty reduction

Solution:Can carry more water90kg of water now 10kgMoves over most types of terrain