Marine Pollution

Climate Change

Harriet Jean Cabalog

Mindanao State University at Naawan

Climate vs. Weather

• Climate is defined as statistical weather information that describes the

variation of weather at a given place for a specified interval.

• Weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere in a region, and its short-

term (minutes to weeks) variation.

What is…?

• Climate Change is the change in climate caused by increase in the greenhouse effect.

• Regional temperature, precipitation, extreme weather, etc.

• Greenhouse effect is the process wherein greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb and re-emit heat being radiated from the earth, trapping warmth. Greenhouse gases refers to gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation (heat).

• Water vapour, CO2, methane, etc.

Gases that contributed to the greenhouse effect include:

• Water vapor

• The most abundant greenhouse gas.

• It acts as a feedback to the climate. Water vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, but so does the possibility of clouds and precipitation, making these some of the most important feedback mechanisms to the greenhouse effect.

• Carbon dioxide (CO2)

• A minor but very important component of the atmosphere.

• It is released through natural processes such as respiration and volcano eruptions and through human activities such as deforestation, land use changes, and burning fossil fuels. Humans have increased atmospheric CO2 concentration by a third since the Industrial Revolution began. This is the most important long-lived "forcing" of climate change.

• Methane• A hydrocarbon gas produced both through natural sources and human activities, including the

decomposition of wastes in landfills, agriculture, and especially rice cultivation, as well as ruminant

digestion and manure management associated with domestic livestock.

• On a molecule-for-molecule basis, methane is a far more active greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide,

but also one which is much less abundant in the atmosphere.

• Nitrous oxide • A powerful greenhouse gas produced by soil cultivation practices, especially the use of commercial

and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning.

• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)• Synthetic compounds entirely of industrial origin used in a number of applications, but now largely

regulated in production and release to the atmosphere by international agreement for their ability to

contribute to destruction of the ozone layer. They are also greenhouse gases.

This graph, based on the comparison of atmospheric samples contained in ice cores and more recent direct measurements,

provides evidence that atmospheric CO2 has increased since the Industrial Revolution.

(Credit: Vostok ice core data/J.R. Petit et al.; NOAA Mauna Loa CO2 record.)

Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal.

- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Evidences

• Rising global temperatures have been accompanied by changes in weather and climate.

• Places have seen changes in rainfall, resulting in more floods, droughts, or intense rain, as well as more frequent and severe heat waves.

• The planet's oceans and glaciers have also experienced some big changes

• oceans are warming and becoming more acidic,

• ice caps are melting, and

• sea levels are rising.

The current and future consequences of

global change:

The potential future effects of global climate change include more frequent wildfires,

longer periods of drought in some regions and an increase in the number,

duration and intensity of tropical storms.

Global

temperature rise

Averaged over all land and ocean surfaces,

temperatures warmed roughly 1.53°F

(0.85ºC) from 1880 to 2012.

Global Temperature2013

0.61 °C

This graph illustrates the change in global surface temperature relative to 1951-1980 average temperatures. The 10 warmest years in the 134-year record all have occurred since 1998, with 2010 and 2005 ranking as the warmest years on record (Source: NASA/GISS).

Warming Oceans

The oceans have absorbed much of this

increased heat, with the top 700 meters

(about 2,300 feet) of ocean showing

warming of 0.302°F since 1969.

Shrinking ice sheets

The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have

decreased in mass. Data from NASA's

Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment

show Greenland lost 150 to 250 cubic

kilometers (36 to 60 cubic miles) of ice per

year between 2002 and 2006, while

Antarctica lost about 152 cubic kilometers

(36 cubic miles) of ice between 2002 and

2005

Sea level rise

Global sea level rose about

17 centimeters (6.7 inches) in the

last century.

Sea LevelSeptember 2014

(56.35 mm)

Change in sea level since 1993 as observed by

satellites. (January 1993 – September 2014)

Coastal tide gauge data, shows how much sea

level changed from about 1870 to 2000.

Consequences

• On average, Earth will become warmer. Some regions may welcome warmer temperatures, but others may not. And will probably lead to more evaporation and precipitation overall, but individual regions will vary, some becoming wetter and others dryer.

• Meanwhile, some crops and other plants may respond favorably to increased atmospheric CO2, growing more vigorously and using water more efficiently. At the same time, higher temperatures and shifting climate patterns may change the areas where crops grow best and affect the makeup of natural plant communities.

Some impacts that are currently visible throughout the U.S. and will continue to affect these regions:

• Northeast

• Heat waves, heavy downpours, and sea level rise pose growing challenges to many aspects of life in the Northeast. Infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries, and ecosystems will be increasingly compromised. Many states and cities are beginning to incorporate climate change into their planning.

• Northwest

• Changes in the timing of stream flow reduce water supplies for competing demands. Sea level rise, erosion, flood, risks to infrastructure, and increasing ocean acidity pose major threats. Increasing wildfire, insect outbreaks, and tree diseases are causing widespread tree die-off.

• Southeast

• Sea level rise poses widespread and continuing threats to the region’s

economy and environment. Extreme heat will affect health, energy,

agriculture, and more. Decreased water availability will have economic and

environmental impacts.

• Midwest

• Extreme heat, heavy downpours, and flooding will affect infrastructure,

health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more.

Climate change will also worsen a range of risks to the Great Lakes.

• Southwest

• Increased heat, drought, and insect outbreaks, all linked to climate change,

have increased wildfires. Declining water supplies, reduced agricultural

yields, health impacts in cities due to heat, and flooding and erosion in

coastal areas are additional concerns.

Vital Signs: Carbon DioxideOctober 2014399.23 ppm

• This chart shows atmospheric

CO2 levels in recent years,

corrected for average seasonal

cycles.

• 97% of climate scientists agree

The least we can do? according to Josh Willis from NASA and a JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Oceanographer

Turn off the lights when we leave the

room

Power down the computer once in a

while

Take a bicycle instead of

using a car

Taken as a whole, the range of published evidence indicates that the net damage costs of climate change are likely to be significant and to increase over time.

- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Chang

References

• Databases:

• International Energy Agency - http://www.iea.org/topics/climatechange/

• EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency -http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/

• NASA Global Climate Change Vital Signs of the Planet -http://climate.nasa.gov/causes/

• NCAR UCAR/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research -https://www2.ucar.edu/climate/faq/how-much-has-global-temperature-risen-last-100-years

THANK YOU!