Climate Change

Climate Change

Indicators and effects

Global warming• Increase in global average temperature• Changes in average temperature causes or

influences all climate change effects.

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/pastcc.html#last

Changing polar ice and the impacts

• Decreasing ice cover and volume reinforce warming temperature data.

• Impacts of melting sea ice are:– Raising sea levels– Animal habitat (seals and polar bears for example)– Inuit lifestyles and safety

Changes in polar ice volume and cover

Other effects• Health:

– Warmer temperatures increase risk of transimition of disease through insects, rodents, and birds

– Risks to safetly and long term survival due to effects listed below

• Droughts, floods and storms– Loss of agicultural land, property damage, loss of life, risk of

disease, water shortage• Deforestation

– Increased forest fires and insect infestation• Shrinking wetlands

– Loss of water storage and filtering, imporatant habitata and removal of carbon dioxide from the air

Climate Change

Energy Transfer

Engergy transfer by thermal energy (heat)

In the atmosphere

In the Oceans• Ocean currents drive water

circulation around the globe distributing thermal energy

• Called thermohaline circulation

• Caused by wind, salinity and heat (temperature)

• Cold and salty = dense• Warm and less salty = less

dense• Remember dense will sink

and less dense will rise

Ocean circulation and climate on land

• Val D’or, Quebec… average temperature 2 C• Paris, France… Average temperature 12 C

Affects of Global warming on Ocean Currents

• Desalinization by melting fresh water in northern waters

• Increased salinization in tropical waters due to increased evaporation

• Ultimatly reducing the thermohaline circulation

Earth’s Energy budget30 % of solar radition is reflected and 70 % of it is absorbed by the earth.

The 70 % that is absorbed eventually gets lost back to space. This is how the earth stays at a relatively constant temperature.