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Linda May, Environmental Outreach CoordinatorMarch 11, 2011
Understanding the Scienceof Climate Change
Photo Source: NSTA Web Seminar – An Introduction to Earth’s Climate
Department of Natural ResourcesWildlife Resources Division
Climate Vs. Weather
Weather: The state of the atmosphere at a time and place, described
by precipitation, clouds, air pressure, winds, and temperature.
Climate: The typical state of the atmosphere as described
by precipitation, clouds, and temperature.
Climate tells you what clothes
to buy or pack for a LONG trip.
Weather tells you what to wear
on a particular day.
Department of Natural ResourcesWildlife Resources Division
Which graph line represents weather?Which represents climate?
Tem
pera
ture
Department of Natural ResourcesWildlife Resources Division
Climate/Weather: Student Activities
Weather.com
Research climate data
for your region
National Center For
Atmospheric Research
Differences Between
Climate and Weather
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Global Climate
The average climate over the entire Earth
Department of Natural ResourcesWildlife Resources Division
How Climate Data is Collected
Examining fossil & pollen records to
identify species & carbon-date samples – used to make inferences about climate
Paleoclimates and Pollen Lesson
Examining growth rings on trees
(dendrochronology)
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How Climate Data is Collected
Journals and
other documents
The Meteorological Journal of William Dawes.
Entries from 1788-1791. Image: Joelle Gergis.
Source: SE Australian Recent Climate History
Extracting deep ice cores from
glaciers & the polar ice caps
Paleoclimatology: The Oxygen Balance
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How Climate Data is Collected
Comparison of Photographs
Lowell Cemetery, Massachusetts
May 30, 1868 May 30, 2005
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How Climate Data is Collected
Weather Instruments
(past 150 years)
Climate Models
via supercomputers IBM supercomputers Photo credit: NOAA
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Greenhouse Gases (GHG)
Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere
In order of abundance:
• Water Vapor – H2O
• Carbon Dioxide – CO2
• Methane – CH4
• Nitrous Oxide – N2O
• Ozone – O3
• Fluorinated Gases
EPA Climate Change Kids Site Animation
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Water Cycle
Source: NSTA Web Seminar – Global Climate Change and the Earth System
Water vapor in the
atmosphere comes
from evaporation
and transpiration.
How does the rate of
evaporation change when
the atmosphere is warmer?
How does the temperature
change if there’s more water
vapor in the atmosphere?
Department of Natural ResourcesWildlife Resources Division
Melting Ice: Albedo Effect
Warmer
temperatures
Less snow
and ice
More sunlight
absorbed
by the land
and sea
Albedo Effect Activity featuring “Daisyworld”Albedo Lesson Plan (NCAR)
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The Carbon Cycle
“Fast” Carbon Cycle
vs.
“Slow” Carbon Cycle
Source: NSTA Web Seminar – Global Climate Change and the Earth System
Volcanoes, earthquakes
coal, oil, natural gas, petroleum
EPA Carbon Cycle
Animation
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Carbon Cycle – Student Activities
Carbon Cycle Game
Dinosaur BreathWhat is the Carbon Cycle?
Where in the World is Carbon Dioxide?
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Atmospheric CO2 Trend
CO2now.org
Archeologists estimate that modern humans have been on the Earth for ~ 200,000 yrs.
Image: NASA http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
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Atmospheric CO2 Trend
Source: www.windows.ucar.edu
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Increasing Global Temperature
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CO2 and Temperature
(CDIAC ice cores)
(NOAA measurements)
Source: Skeptical Science
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But hasn’t the climate changed before???
Source: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Interglaciation = A long period of time (10,000+ years)
characterized by a climate with few glaciers.
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Which makes more CO2: Volcanoes or Human Activities?
Source: USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
Pu‟u „O‟o crater in Hawaii Fossil Fuel Combustion
Volcanoes on land and under sea:
200 million tons of CO2 annually
Global Fossil Fuel Emissions
(2003 data): 26.8 billion tons CO2US Dept. of Energy‟s CO2 Info Analysis Center (CDIAC)
Human Activity and Climate Change Lesson
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Global Temperature Projections
A Windows to the Universe image based on a graph from the IPCC 4th Assessment Report: www.windows2universe.org
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General Scientific Consensus
Source: www.skepticalscience.com
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Potential Effects: Oceans
• Sea Level Rise ~ see NASA time machine
• Ocean Acidification
CO2 > Carbonic Acid
Change in sea surface pH from 1700s – 1990s Credit: Tom Kleindinst, WHOI
Mapping Ancient Coastlines activity
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Potential Effects: Coral Reefs
• Ocean acidification makes it difficult for
coral to build reef
• Warming water stresses corals, causing
their zooxanthellae to
die > lose pigmentation
(“coral bleaching”)
Zooxanthellae (zoh-oh-zan-thell-ee)
are the symbiotic algae that live
within hard or stony corals
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Potential Effects: Wildlife & Plants
• Temps may exceed a
species’ physiological
threshold
Plant Hardiness Zone Changes
• Temperature extremes
could challenge
energetic demands
© Mahalie Stackpole / Flickr.com
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Potential Effects: Wildlife & Plants
• Phenology
mismatches
• Increase in pests,
disease outbreaks,
and severe wildfires
National Phenology Network: www.usanpn.org
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Potential Effects to Humans
• Increase in vector-borne
diseases like Lyme disease,
dengue, and malaria.
• Increase in water-borne diseases (mainly due to increase in rainfall)
• Increase in water-washed diseases (lack of rainfall > lack of washing)
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Potential Effects to Humans
• More allergy
and asthma cases
• Sea Level Rise
• More extreme
weather events (accidents, injuries)
• Decrease in crops
due to drought
Windows To Universe Lesson Plan: Withering Plants
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Human Vulnerability to Climate Change
McGill University (2011, March 3). Mapping human vulnerability to climate change. ScienceDaily.
Retrieved March 3, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2011/03/110303120848.htm
CDVI = climate-demography vulnerability index
CO2 emissions by country
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Responding to Climate Change
• Mitigation: reducing the causes of global
warming (namely GHG emissions).
Attempts to prevent the worst-case scenarios.
• Adaptation: figuring ways to cope with climate
change and safeguarding against its effects;
strategies to moderate harm or to exploit
beneficial opportunities.
Acknowledges the inevitable, despite mitigation.
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Mitigation Strategies
• Use fossil fuels more
efficiently for industrial
processes or electricity
generation
• Switch to
renewable
energy
Photo: Jennifer Berry,
Earth911.com
Department of Natural ResourcesWildlife Resources Division
Mitigation Strategies
• Improve the
insulation of
buildings
• Expand forests
to remove greater
amounts of CO2
from the atmosphere
http://atticinsulationhouston.com/cellulose_6.html
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Adaptation Strategies
• Improve habitat connectivity
Remove dams
Restore/protect riparian zones
Enhance wildlife corridors
• Reduce other non-climate stressors
Habitat fragmentation
Stormwater runoff
Invasive species
Diseases
Overharvestingwww.gainvasives.org
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• Assisted migration (namely with plants)
• Adaptive Management
• Monitoring
• Partnerships
Adaptation Strategies
Florida Torreya
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State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP)
• Due for a revision
by 2015.
• Vulnerability
Assessments - species sensitivity
factored with potential
exposure to climate change
• Promote species‟
resilience to change
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Landscape Conservation Cooperatives
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What Else Can You Do?
Participate in Citizen Science Projects
http://scienceforcitizens.net
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Climate Change ResourcesBooks/PDFs
• Beyond Seasons End: A Path Forward for Fish & Wildlife in the Era of Climate Change
– Download or request a free copy at www.seasonsend.org
• Climate Change Adaptations: What Federal Agencies Are Doing http://www.pewclimate.org/publications/report/climate-change-adaptation-what-federal-agencies-are-doing
• Climate Change and Wildlife Health – US Geologic Survey
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2010/3017/pdf/fs2010-3017.pdf
• Climate Literacy Guide – US Global Change Research Program
http://www.globalchange.gov/resources/educators/climate-literacy
• Ecological Impacts of Climate Change – The National Academies
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12491#toc
• Teaching About Climate Change – Green Teacher (Grant & Littlejohn)
*Sold in the EEA Store – only $15!
• The Psychology of Climate Change Communication – Center For Research on Environmental
Decisions http://www.cred.columbia.edu/guide/pdfs/CREDguide_full-res.pdf
• The Science of Climate Change: Questions & Answers – Australian Academy of Science,
Aug. 2010 http://www.science.org.au/reports/climatechange2010.pdf
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Climate Change ResourcesWebsites
• A Student‟s Guide to Global Climate Change: www.epa.gov/climatechange/students/index.html
• American Security Project (“Pay Now, Pay Later”): www.secureamericanfuture.org/pay-now-pay-later/
• Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE): www.cakex.org
• Climate Literacy & Energy Awareness Network: www.cleanet.org
• Climate Time Machine: http://climate.nasa.gov/ClimateTimeMachine/climateTimeMachine.cfm
• Defenders of Wildlife: www.defenders.org
• Facing The Future – Teaching Resources: www.facingthefuture.org/default.aspx
• NASA: http://climate.nasa.gov
• NOAA Climate Services – Teaching Resources: http://www.climate.gov/#education
• NSTA Learning Center: http://learningcenter.nsta.org
• National Wildlife Federation: www.nwf.org/en/Global-Warming.aspx
• Project Budburst for Educators: http://neoninc.org/budburst/educators/_Educators.php
• Skeptical Science: www.skepticalscience.com
• Science Daily: www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/global_warming/
• UCAR: http://www2.ucar.edu/news/backgrounders/understanding-climate-change-global-warming
• US Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.us/ccrc/primers/climate-change-primer.shtml
• Windows to the Universe: www.windows2universe.org
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Climate Change Educator Group on FaceBook
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My Contact Info