Dana Cotrorreal

Conservation Biology

Nov 11 2018

Global Warming effects on the land

Global warming has always been a controversial topic; most of the time we hear

the effects it has on our oceans but do we really know what it causes on our land? The

official definition of global warming is “a gradual increase in the overall temperature of

the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased

levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants”(Merriam Webster).

This topic was slowly becoming an accepted concept until our most resent elections,

which made this topic once again controversial. These elections made the United States

more divided than ever on the topic. Unfortunately while we are debating and going back

and forth global warming is a very real problem, which we have to address before it is too

late. Global warming affects everything around us the weather, shorelines, biological

processes and even our animals.

Weather is a big influence in our daily life. For example in Houston the summers

are getting hotter and the winters are taking longer and longer to arrive. Global warming

has a great impact on the extreme weather such as thunderstorms, hurricanes and

tornados. In resent years we notice how hurricanes and weather catastrophes have

become more common in the untied states. We have examples like hurricane Harvey

which caused 125 billion dollars worth of damages, hurricane Florence in 2018, and

Michael also in 2018 category 4 hurricane which hit the gulf coast of the united states.

According to studies made by the School of Atmosphere & Environment in Monash

the rise in temperature and the amount of storms creates in our atmosphere.

In the article by Singh 2017 they show us how a map which clearly shows the positive

correlation between CAPE and the temperature found in an area. The impact of these
hotter temperatures caused by global warming cause the CAPE readings to be higher. The

higher the CAPE reading the more probability there is of a natural disaster. In these

studies they used state of the art devices that calculate the amount of CAPE, which stands

for convective action potential. This action potential makes the atmosphere more

significantly prone to convection, which ultimately cause thunderstorms and hurricanes

to form.

These harsh temperatures due to global warming have also take a toll on our

forest, livestock and crops. According to calculations agriculture in the south plains of the

United States will be hit the hardest by the sudden changes in the earth’s climate. Forests

like the ones in the south and the Pacific Northwest are in danger due to their inability to

adapt to the significant temperature change. Due to these facts people are having to find

new ways to make a profit out of their lands. One example of this is how farmers are

having to move their crops when the temperature are at their highest. They exchange their

crops with different types of livestock due to their ability to withstand the harsh

temperatures. There are going to have to be different changes made according to the area

and depending on the temperatures in which the farms are located. The amount of

precipitation also changes with global warming and this has a very big impact on

agriculture in general. If framers do not find new ways to adapt to these climate changes

there will eventually be a scarcity of food in our supermarkets, which will then cause the

prices become incredibly high.

Global warming meaning the change in temperature of the earth caused by the

amount of green house emissions and thermal expansions, is projected to make the water

levels rise. By the year 2100 the water levels are predicted to rise about .387m. At a
simple glance these numbers might not seem like a threat to us but it should definitely for

everybody. The change of temperature not only makes our icecaps melt but also our

mountain glaciers, which melt at a much higher rate.

In the article by Raper 2006, there is a clear table which shows us how many places

contain glaciers and individual icecaps. When we see this image we really get a grasp on

we have such a significant number of glaciers and icecaps simultaneously melting in our

planet. With these facts we can also paint a clearer picture on how all this water is going

to affect our coastlines. The issue of the melting icecaps has a very impacting effect on

the people living on the coastal areas. According to led by the environmental protection

agency for the United States Climate Change Science Program. They concluded that

“flooding of low lying regions by storm surges and spring tides is becoming more
frequent and causing more damage and disruptions”. With their studies they also found

that around the wetlands of the Chesapeake Bay are being submerged in water. The

fringe forests are also being affected, the abundance of water caused them to die and

become marsh. Other studies have showed that many Mid Atlantic coastlines like the

ones in New York, Molatauk point and North Carolina have risen 30 to 40 centimeters

just in this past century. The water rising causes many disturbances on the land. Some of

these disturbances include the loss of a few species. Mud flats in the coast of Virginia are

very important to the abundant 30+ number of bird species found there. Other species

like the red wolf in North Carolina is in danger because as the waters rise into their

territory it changes the habitat into marshes. Unfortunately these red wolfs cannot adapt

to this habitat in such a short amount of time. Another impact that we have to consider is

how this is going to affect humans and how are we going to possibly adapt to the change.

Once the rise of the water starts to get too noticeable this will cause political action

requiring the approval of structures such as bulkheads, sea walls, dikes and revetments to

keep the sea from destroying houses and properties. Even though protecting houses and

our loved ones from the water is important, these barriers don’t permit the future

potential for new beaches, wetlands and other habitats. With these barriers we risk the

total destruction of existing ones because of the rise of the water levels.

Biological processes are such delicate and unique structures that the slightest

temperature change can alter the amount of necessary natural exchanges produced in out

ecosystems. The predicted temperature rise over the next century is from 1.0 to 3.5

Celsius. Even though we know this, we do not know how these temperature changes are

going to affect specific ecosystems or habitats. Studies demonstrated that temperatures at

because according to Shaver and Candell 2000, “even a small increase in average

temperature at higher latitudes could increase both the length of the unfrozen period and

degree-day accumulations by large percentages”. These temperature changes affect

processes like photosynthesis. If a location with normally cold temperature gets a slight

increase chances are that the amount of photosynthetic productivity will increase. The

opposite would happen if a normally warm place would suffer a temperature increase, the

results would be a decrease in photosynthesis. Due to the warming of an area the levels of

NNP (Net Primary Production) and Rh (Heterotrophic Respiration) can be altered. These

changes can have consequences like the altering of the ecosystem’s moisture regime,

nitrogen availability and a change in the length of a location’s growing season. When it

comes to temperature there are infinite way in which natural processes could be affected

and unbalanced. Temperature is a tremendous factor in the stability of our ecosystems,

which is why the slightest change could have such serious consequences.

In all sincerity the saddest and most impactful change due to the impactful change

of global warming will be on our animal and plant life. One of the earliest indications and

evidence of climate change comes from the differences between fossils and current

distribution of animals and plants. You can observe an obvious change in habitat meaning

that these creatures migrate in order to survive. Some of the evidence showed how some

animals had traveled hundreds of even thousands of kilometers in search of ideal habitats.

Another way in which creatures could survive the climate change is by changing their

behavioral and/ or evolutionary adaptations. Global temperatures have raised 0.8 Celsius

since the beginning of the 20th century, due to energy imbalances slowly building on our
earth. These are due to greenhouse gasses, and other harmful emissions. These emissions

cause changes in in the carbon cycle and other feedback working in our environment. The

temperature in the land rises twice as fast as the temperature in our oceans. If people do

not start helping with this cause our flora and fauna will not withstand the drastic changes

in our ecosystems.

Now that we know some of the negative effects that global warming has on our

land, the question is how can we help to make the situation better. There are tons of ways

in which everybody can help. Carpooling is a very easy way to reduce green house

emissions into the atmosphere. For example for most students the commute to the

university of Houston takes about an hour; a typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6

metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. We can also purchase Energy Star appliances

these appliances use two-thirds less energy than your typical appliances. Refrigerators are

a huge energy consumer so if you buy one of these not only will you be helping the

environment but you would be saving a large amount of money through the years.

Phantom energy loss is one that we do not always think about, this term refers to the extra

appliances that we unnecessarily leave plugged in. some examples of these phantom

energy loss appliances are TVs, cellphones, toasters, blenders and our handy dandy

microwaves. Even thought we have many ways to save our planet, the most important

and easy way to be productive and help is by voting. Voting for government officials that

care for our planet is ultimately the most important way to make sure that all our small

efforts are actually making a difference. As we go through our day and live our lives we

have to think about what choices are going to be beneficial for our future generations.
 Global warming has been one of the environmental topics that has had the longest

history of controversy. This is due to the back and forth hat our government has had

thought the years. This topic is very real and needs to be addressed and taken head on.

Global warming affects our weather causing more hurricanes than ever before in our

planet, affecting thousands of people and their homes. It also has effects on the rise of our

coastal lines, which will eventually wipe out many places in the Untied States.

Agriculture practices are going to have to change due to the change in temperatures and

the change on precipitation. Our flora and fauna are being severely affected, having to

more and change their natural instincts and behaviors in order to survive. We have to take

immediate action on this matter by voting for officials that support our environment and

also doing things like recycling and car-pooling in order to limit our emissions releases.

If we all work together we can help our environment and make a better place for our

upcoming generations.

Works cited

Compo, G. P., P. D. Sardeshmukh, J. S. Whitaker, P. Brohan, P. D. Jones, and C. McColl

(2013), Independent confirmation of global land warming without the use of

station temperatures, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 3170–3174, doi: 10.1002/grl.50425.

Correction for Singh et al., Increasing potential for intense tropical and subtropical

thunderstorms under global warming Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences Jan 2018, 115 (2) E342; DOI:10.1073/pnas.1721679115
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TerrestrialClimateConditions.” ScienceMagazine,2Aug.2013,science.sciencemag.or

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Fu, Q., and S. Feng (2014), Responses of terrestrial aridity to global warming, J.

Geophys. Res. Atmos., 119, 7863–7875, doi: 10.1002/2014JD021608.

Nash, S. Wetlands, Icecaps, Unease: Sea-Level Rise and Mid-Atlantic

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"Practical ways to help in the fight against global warming." OB GYN News, 1 Feb. 2008,

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Raper, S. C. B., & Braithwaite, R. J. (2006). Low sea level rise projections from

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