Global Climate Change

1. Global Climate Change 16 CHAPTER

2. Warm-Up Write down at least 3 facts stated in “Dear Future Generations”

3. Talk About ItWhy are rising sea levels a concern for all people, not just those who live on the Maldives Islands? Rising Seas May Flood the Maldive Islands • Sea levels are rising worldwide. • Scientists link this to global climate change. • Global climate change threatens the Maldives, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, with flooding, severe storms, erosion, and saltwater contamination.

4. Lesson 16.1 Our Dynamic Climate Without greenhouse gases, Earth would be too cold to support life.

5. Lesson 16.1 Our Dynamic Climate The Greenhouse Effect • A natural process in which greenhouse gases absorb heat and release it slowly back into the atmosphere • The greenhouse effect is different then an actual greenhouse that traps warm air inside a structure. • Greenhouse gases include CO2, H2O and CH4 (methane)

6. Lesson 16.1 Our Dynamic Climate The Effect of Latitude • Latitude is a measure of a place’s distance from the equator. • In general, the greater the latitude, the cooler a location’s overall climate will be. • The seasons are caused by the changing angles at which sunlight strikes Earth as the Earth orbits the sun due to its tilt.

7. The Effect of Sunspots • Sunspots are dark spots on the sun that emit more radiation then normal. • The number of sunspots rise and fall in cycles that last about 11 years.

8. The Effect of the Sun Activity • Activity 1: Unequal Heating • Activity 2: Earth’s orbit around the sun • Activity 3: Coriolis Effect (the Earth rotates counter-clockwise)

9. Warm-Up • Why is wind power considered a form of solar energy? • What happens in a Hadley cell? • Why is the 30 degree latitudes called “horse latitudes”?

10. Lesson 16.1 Our Dynamic Climate Wind • Caused by convection currents resulting from rising warm air and falling cool air • Transports moisture and heat • Global wind patterns move warm air away from equator, toward poles. • Cold air moves from poles toward equator. • Winds pick up moisture and can carry it for long distancesuntil it falls as precipitation.

12. Ambitious Activity Time • Go over Activity 4 • Start Activity 5 (5-7)….Use your phone/computer

13. Warm-Up • How does the Gulf Stream influence Europe’s climate? • What ominous effects will occur if the Gulf Stream slows down as projected?

15. Lesson 16.1 Our Dynamic Climate The Oceans and Climate • Ocean currents, which are caused by a combination of unequal heating of water and unequal salinity, affect climate by transporting heat. • Driven by thermohaline circulation

16. Example of climate alteration due to ocean currents: Gulf Stream and Europe Thermohaline Circulation • Thermo-: Temperature • Warm = less dense due to expansion • Cold = more dense due to contraction • -haline: Salinity (salt) • More salt = higher salinity= more mass = more dense • Less salt = lower salinity = less mass = less dense

17. Modelling Thermohaline Circulation • In 10 minutes…you need to successfully float water on top of water using your knowledge of thermohaline circulation.

18. Did You Know?The ocean absorbs a lot of carbon dioxide, causing a global cooling effect. The ocean can hold 50 times more CO2 than is found in the atmosphere.

19. Upwelling • El Niño and La Niña are disruptions to normal climate patterns caused by variations in the typical interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere. • Deals with the trade winds and upwelling of cold, deep ocean water Strengthening trade winds = colder ocean Weakening trade winds = warmer ocean

20. How did El Nino get its name? Chris Farley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkSRUf02gu8

21. Other Factors That Affect Climate Lesson 16.1 Our Dynamic Climate • Topography: Higher altitudes have cooler temperatures; mountain ranges affect rainfall patterns. Leeward Windward

22. Other Factors That Affect Climate • Volcanoes: Gases and particles can temporarily block sunlight, causing air to cool. • CO2 released from volcanoes have warmed temperatures • SO2/sulfuric acid in upper atmosphere acts like a mirror

23. Other Factors That Affect Climate • Vegetation: Plant life promotes cloud formation (reflects sunlight and increases precipitation) and absorbs carbon dioxide (cooling effect) More trees = higher albedo because they absorb U.V. radiation and visible light during photosynthesis

24. Other Factors That Affect Climate • Earth’s orbit: Changes in Earth’s orbit (Milankovitch Cycles) and the tilt of Earth’s axis affect the distribution of solar radiation. Ice Ages occurred during elliptical pattern

25. Activity-15 minutes • Set up the Melting Ice and Sea Level Rise Lab by following the procedure and predicting which type of ice will cause sea level to rise higher. • Complete your cluster diagram by adding two details to each of the nine factors that determine Earth’s climate.

26. Warm-Up • How did the eruption of Mount Tambora effect Earth’s climate? • What could happen to Earth’s climate if Yellowstone erupts?

27. Lesson 16.2 Climate Change According to NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 2009 tied for second warmest year on record, just behind 2005. The decade spanning 2000–2009 was the warmest on record.

28. Lesson 16.2 Climate Change Evidence of a Warming Earth • Rising global surface temperatures • Changes in precipitation patterns • Melting ice (glaciers, polar ice) • Rising sea level Did You Know?Since 1986, the Larsen Ice Shelf near Antarctica has lost an area more than 3 times the size of Rhode Island. Both photos show Sperry Glacier in Montana’s Glacier National Park. Top: 1913: Bottom: 2008

31. Land subsidence plays a role in sea level. Notice Alaska….as glaciers melt land rises due to the loss of the weight Notice Texas…as we extract oil the land subsides and sea level increases Hyperlink to sea level rise model simulation Video about sea level rise in Maryland

32. What is happening to Louisiana? • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4THdX9KOZ_4

33. Geoid Effect • Change in the gravitational pull • Mountains (like glaciers) pull water toward them. • As ice melts, they lose their gravitational pull.

34. Warm-Up • List three ways we study climate change. • How do we know that the main cause of climate change is due to accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? • Why was the temperature in Berlin, MD so much colder on Monday as compared to Wilmington, DE?

35. Lesson 16.2 Climate Change Studying Climate Change • Direct measurement is used to study today’s climate. • CO2 • Sea level • Temperature: surface and ocean • Precipitation • Melting ice • Wind patterns • Thawing permafrost • Subliming methane hydrate • Proxy indicators, such as patterns in tree rings, ice core data and sediment samples give clues about past climates.

36. Using Tree Rings

37. Using Ice Core Data

38. Using Sediment Samples

39. Studying Climate Change • Models are used to make predictions about future climates.

41. Lesson 16.2 Climate Change Finding the Cause of Climate Change • According to studies, increases in greenhouse gases are the primary cause of climate change. • The increase in greenhouse gases is mainly due to burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use.

42. Finding the Cause of Climate Change Emissions of carbon dioxide due to changes in land use mainly come from the cutting down of forests and instead using the land for agriculture or built-up areas, urbanization, roads etc. When large areas of rain forests are cut down, the land often turns into less productive grasslands with considerably less capacity of storing CO2.

43. Let’s Review • Watch this video!!!!

44. Lesson 16.3 Effects of Climate Change In 2003, a severe heat wave in Europe killed 35,000 people.

45. Lesson 16.3 Effects of Climate Change Effects on Organisms • Habitats shift, usually toward the poles or to higher altitudes (both plants and animals) • Migrations start earlier in the spring. • Hibernating animals wake up earlier. • Loss of ice makes hunting seals difficult for polar bears, walruses can not find sea ice to rest Did You Know?Robins arrive on a Colorado mountaintop about 2 weeks earlier than they did in 1970.

46. Short Activity • Have you ever heard of a Pizzly Bear or a Grolar Bear? • What is a hybrid? • Let’s read and learn more!!!!

47. Lesson 16.3 Effects of Climate Change Effects of a Changing Ocean • An increase in ocean temperature is associated with a process called coral bleaching, in which algae living within corals die. Without the algae, coral cannot survive. • Changes in ocean acidity, resulting from an increase in dissolved carbon dioxide, can harm organisms by making it difficult to form shells. The color of healthy brain coral comes from algae.When the algae die, coral bleaching occurs. What happens to the ocean’s ability to absorb CO2 as it warms?

49. Activity Time! Watch this video about Oyster farming and Ocean acidification. Let’s learn more by: • Short lab • Literacy assignment

50. Lesson 16.3 Effects of Climate Change Current Effects of Global Climate Change • Agriculture and forestry: Effects are complex. • Can be positive: Lengthened growing season for some crops • Can be negative:Droughts and forest fires