1 / 13

Climate change: chapter two

A Primer on Global Climate Change and Its Likely Impacts. Climate change: chapter two. Climate Versus Weather How Earth’s Climate Works Greenhouse Gases Aerosols Past and Future Climates How Quickly Will This Happen? Uncertainties and Conclusions. Overview. Climate versus weather.

hal
Télécharger la présentation

Climate change: chapter two

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. A Primer on Global Climate Change and Its Likely Impacts Climate change: chapter two

  2. Climate Versus Weather How Earth’s Climate Works Greenhouse Gases Aerosols Past and Future Climates How Quickly Will This Happen? Uncertainties and Conclusions Overview

  3. Climate versus weather Climate • Average weather conditions over an extended period of time • Temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, humidity, and wind patterns • How does North Carolina’s climate affect us? Weather • Atmospheric conditions for an individual event or time • Prediction capability • If chaos theory does significantly impact weather prediction, how does this affect predictions for global warming?

  4. 15,000 years ago: last ice age ended, glaciers recede • 13,000 years ago: Younger Dryas Period • Glaciers return to NH and Europe drops 5°C • Medieval Warm Period (tenth to fourteenth centuries) • Little Ice Age (fifteenth to nineteenth centuries) • El Nino: year-to-year differences in ocean temperature • Volcanic eruptions • How does knowing climate change has occurred naturally affect the idea of anthropogenic climate change? Earth’s Climate history

  5. Sun and Earth emit energy- role of atmosphere • Water vapor and clouds • Wind and Ocean Currents • Atmospheric Circulation (Ex. Sea breeze) • Oceans’ roles • Cryosphere- positive feedback • Land surface and biosphere • Carbon cycle • Since Earth’s climate is based on a delicate balance of systems and cycles which can take millions of years to occur, do humans have a responsibility to preserve them? How earth’s climate works

  6. 1824: Joseph Fourier observed the Greenhouse Effect • Warm Earth’s surface by reradiating thermal heat back towards Earth • Efficiency, Quantity, Lifetimes • Halocarbons • Carbon cycle • Human Carbon emissions: 7 billion metric tons/year • Electricity • Transportation • Human methane emissions • Should human technological progress be regulated to prevent environmental damage? Greenhouse gases

  7. Greenhouse emissions

  8. Cooling effects: solution for greenhouse gas? • Political controversy: natural variations or human activities? • Models • Current rate of change • Is a global climate experiment (perhaps with aerosols) a good idea? How about a localized one? Aerosols

  9. Measurements of the past Proxy indicators- types Largest warming period in history Can we rely on past climate indicators to give an accurate vision of the future? Past and future climates

  10. Equilibrium climate Polar Ice Cores Ocean Circulation Control Standard: models What should governments focus on as their first priority in combating global warming? How quickly will this change occur?

  11. Limited understanding Limited computer power Chaos Theory Scenarios Clouds Given the uncertainties of climate prediction, how many resources should countries devote to preventing climate change? Uncertainties

  12. The natural balance • Limitations on Predictions • The people’s reaction • Influences • What can you do? Conclusions

More Related