Global Climate Change

“We warn you that unless you act quickly and decisively, our homeland and others like it will disappear beneath the rising sea before
the end of this century.”
- Mohamed Nasheed, former president of the Maldives
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The Atmosphere
The atmosphere is the thin layer of
gases that surrounds the earth.
 The atmosphere contains four
separate layers with differences in
temperature, density, and
composition.

Earth’s atmosphere and moon. Photo taken

from the International Space Station. 2
The troposphere contains the air we breathe and every aspect of what we call
weather.
 Temperatures decrease as you move up in altitude until just before the
stratosphere, where they stabilize.

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The stratosphere is a very dry and less dense layer above the troposphere.
 The ozone layer, which absorbs and scatters ultraviolet radiation, is found here.
Very little air mixing takes place between the stratosphere and upper
troposphere due to the similar temperatures.

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The atmosphere consists of
permanent gases, such as:
 78.1% nitrogen
 21% oxygen
 0.93% argon
Trace amounts of variable gases
that enter and leave the
atmosphere in small amounts:
 Water vapor
 Carbon dioxide
 Methane
 Nitrous oxide
 Ozone
 CFCs

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Greenhouse Effect
When a hemisphere is
facing the sun, about half of
incoming solar radiation
passes through the
atmosphere and warms the
Earth.
 At night, that heat is
radiated from the Earth’s
surface back towards the
atmosphere.

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The atmosphere creates a
greenhouse effect, absorbing
and re-radiating some of that
heat back towards the Earth.
Greenhouse gases contribute
to this effect, and include:
 Carbon dioxide
 Methane
 Nitrous oxide
 CFCs
The greenhouse effect keeps
the Earth’s temperatures
within a habitable range.

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Mars has a much thinner
atmosphere, with no
greenhouse effect.
 A Martian summer
daytime high near the
equator may approach
70°F.
 At night, the same
location would
experience a low of -
100°F.

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The Precambrian Period
The Earth’s atmosphere has
undergone many changes
throughout its history.
During the Precambrian Period,
from 4.6 billion to 540 million years
ago, the Earth’s atmosphere was
mostly carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
 The earth was populated by many
species of single-celled prokaryotes.
A new life form called cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria bloom, Lake Erie.
evolved the ability to perform Photo by Thomas Archer
photosynthesis, absorbing carbon
dioxide and releasing oxygen.
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Photosynthesis weakened the
greenhouse effect due to the
removal of carbon dioxide and
oxidation of methane.
 This triggered the first and
longest ice age ever faced by the
Earth.

The “snowball Earth hypothesis” suggests the planet

was mostly covered in ice.
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Ice Ages
An ice age is a period of time where the Earth’s overall surface temperature is
lowered enough that glaciers form at the poles and in mountainous areas.
 The Earth has experienced at least 5 major ice ages.

Average global temperatures over the past 2.4 billion years.

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Within each ice age, glaciers will expand and shrink.
 During glacial periods, glaciers are growing and advancing.
 During interglacial periods, the overall climate is warmer, leading the glaciers to
retreat.
We are currently in an interglacial period of an ice age.

Average Greenland/Antarctic temperatures over the past 450,000 years. 12

Proxies
Temperature data
prior to the 19th
century is the result of
proxies, or indirect
measurements.
The main proxy is
ice cores drilled into
the glaciers in
Antarctica and
Greenland.
 Dissolved bubbles of
atmosphere in each
layer are analyzed.
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Two sets of data can be extracted from studying ice core data:
 The temperature can be estimated by studying the relative amounts of oxygen
isotopes present in the water in the ice.
 The concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen oxides are
measured directly by sampling the air bubbles.

Photo by Pete Bucktrout,

courtesy British
Antarctic Survey.

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The last glacial period on Earth ended about 10-20 thousand years ago.
 The overall temperature has been stable since, a few exceptions triggered by
natural phenomena.

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Medieval Warming and Little Ice Age
The Medieval Warm Period lasted
between about 950-1250 C.E., with
warmth in some regions exceeding
the current post-industrial era.
Historical events partially tied to
this period include:
 Vikings being able to cross ice-free
seas and colonize southern
Greenland and Newfoundland.
 High crop yields and economic
prosperity throughout much of
Europe and Asia.
A reconstructed Viking settlement, L’Anse aux
Meadows, Newfoundland.
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The Little Ice Age was a period of
cooling that lasted from the 16th-
19th centuries.
 The Viking colonies in Greenland
failed and were abandoned.
 North American Indian tribes
formed alliances in response to
food shortages.
 The River Thames frequently
froze over in the winter, leading
to frost fairs.
 A straight called the Great Belt
froze over, allowing Sweden to The Frozen Thames, 1677.
march across it and invade
Denmark.
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Natural Causes of Climate Change
The Earth periodically
undergoes a series of 3
changes called Milankovitch
Cycles that affect the amount
of global solar radiation
received:
 Shape of its orbit around the
sun (~100,000 years)
 Tilt of the Earth’s axis
(~41,000 years)
 Wobbling of the Earth’s axis
(~23,000 years)

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Volcanic eruptions release sulfur dioxide and particulates that scatter solar
radiation, causing a cooling effect.
 In 1816, Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted, causing snow to fall in June in
North America, resulting in crop losses and food shortages.

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Sunspots are darker areas on the sun’s
surface created by intense magnetic
fields.
 The sun emits slightly more radiation
when more sunspots are present.
 The sun emits slightly less radiation
when fewer sunspots are present.
The number of sunspots fluctuates
from a maximum to minimum number
every 11 years.

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The Great Ocean Conveyor
Belt is an underwater
current fueled by the
mixing of warm and cold
salt water.
 An influx of cold
freshwater
from melting land ice
could disrupt this
flow.
The release of heat by this
system keeps Western
Europe warmer than other
areas at the same latitude.

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The El Niño-Southern Oscillation cycle is a periodic warming and cooling of
surface ocean temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.
 This warm water affects evaporation rates, influencing temperatures and
precipitation levels throughout the world.

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Evidence of Climate Change
Since 1958, daily
measurements of
atmospheric carbon
dioxide levels have
been taken at an
observatory on
Hawaii.
 Hawaii was chosen
to avoid the
influences of large
forests or cities.

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Carbon dioxide levels
fluctuate within each
year, depending on the
season of the Northern
Hemisphere.
 Slightly higher CO2 in
the winter.
 Slightly lower CO2 in
the summer.

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In 1988, the United Nations set up the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) to assess climate change:
 Gathering evidence that it is taking place
 Assessing impacts and future risks
 Providing options for adapting and mitigating to its effects.
According to the IPCC 2014 report:
“Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from
observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures,
widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level.”

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Both land and ocean
surface temperatures
have increased since
the industrial
revolution.
 There has been a
0.9°C increase in
average surface
temperatures.
 17 out of 18 of the
warmest years since
1880 have occurred
since 2001.
The area of greatest
warming has been in
the Arctic. 28
Sea ice is frozen
seawater that
floats on the
ocean’s surface.
The minimum sea
ice extent in the
Arctic is measured
every September.
 This has
decreased
steadily, with an
ice-free Arctic
expected by
2030-2040.

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Ice sheets are any
permanent layers of
ice covering a tract of
land, especially in the
polar regions.
 Antarctic ice sheets
are losing 127
Gigatonnes(Gt) of
ice per year.
 Greenland ice sheets
are losing
286Gt/year.

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Sea level worldwide is
increasing, primarily
due to two factors:
 Water flowing in from
melting ice sheets.
 Thermal expansion,
the tendency of water
to expand in volume
as it warms.

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Impacts of Climate Change
The increase in surface temperature has many aspects of plant growing
seasons.

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Warmer temperatures
have increased the
range of many pest
insects.
 Mosquitoes that
spread diseases like
malaria and West Nile
Virus have expanded
ranges.
 Pine bark beetles have
begun infesting boreal
forests east of the
Rocky Mountains.

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Coral bleaching occurs when coral polyps eject the symbiotic algae that live
with them under stressful environmental conditions.
 Ocean water is becoming more acidic as it absorbs carbon dioxide.
 Ocean water overall is becoming warmer.

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Hurricane frequency
and intensity has
increased since
1980.
 The exact link
between hurricanes
and climate change
is uncertain.

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Great Ocean Conveyor
Scientists fear the Great
Ocean Conveyor may
weaken or be stopped as
cold water flows in from
Greenland.
 This would cause rapid
cooling throughout
Western Europe.

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Melting of ice sheets into
ocean water has lowered
the overall albedo of the
Arctic.
 Albedo is a measurement
of how reflective a surface
is.
A lower albedo in the
Arctic causes warming to
take place even faster,
creating a positive
feedback loop.

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The loss of sea ice
has diminished
the ability of polar
bears to hunt and
fatten up during
the Arctic winter.
 Seals must come
up through sea
ice to breathe,
allowing polar
bears to ambush
them.

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The polar bear population is expected to decline by two-thirds by 2050,
reaching numbers less than 10,000.

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Mountain glaciers, like land ice, are shrinking worldwide.

A 1870 postcard of the Rhone glacier in Switzerland contrasted with a 2006 view.
Source: New York Times
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The Himalayan glaciers are expected to decline by 70% or more by 2100,
endangering irrigation, drinking water, and hydropower throughout
Southeast Asia.

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The hydrologic cycle
describes the movement of
water through evaporation,
precipitation, runoff, and
infiltration.
 The phase changes of water
in this cycle are driven by
heat.
More heat in the atmosphere
leads to…
 A higher rate of evaporation
(from land and sea both).
 A greater capacity of the
atmosphere for holding
moisture.
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Climate change has the paradoxical effect of increasing the rate of both
drought and heavy precipitation events.

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The increase in atmospheric moisture can also fuel blizzards during the
winter months.

A 2010 political attack ad published during a major blizzard in Virginia.

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As the ocean level rises, coastal cities become more at risk of:
 Increased erosion of beaches and shorelines.
 Flooding from intrusion of ocean water.
 Increased risk of damage from storm surges.

Sea wall,
Malé ,
Maldives.

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Did We Cause It?
Determining our impact on climate change
revolves around the idea of anthropogenic
greenhouse gases – ones that were released
by human activity.
This can be established by comparing the
three isotopes of carbon present in
molecules of carbon dioxide.
 Plants only use carbon-12 in photosynthesis.
 Fossil fuels are plant or algae derived, so
burning them releases carbon dioxide that
only contains carbon-12.
The ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-13 has
increased since the industrial revolution.
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 There is
near-unanimous consensus
(97%) amongst scientists that
climate change is occurring and
that humans are at least partially
responsible for it.
 Most scientific organizations
have also endorsed this position:
 American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS)
 American Chemical Society (ACS)
 American Geophysical Union (AGU)
 American Medical Association (AMA)
 American Meteorological Society
 American Physical Society
 Geological Society of America
 U.S. National Academy of Sciences
Temperature data from four international science institutions.

 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

(United Nations) 47
Solutions
Responding to climate change involves two different approaches:
 Mitigation strategies are designed to reduce emissions and stabilize the levels of
greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere.
 Adaptation involves adjusting our lives and society to the expected future
climate.

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Mitigation
The ocean, forests, and soil
can be used as carbon sinks,
meaning they absorb and
retain carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere.
 Reforestation of areas that
have been clear cut.
 Fertilizing areas of the
ocean to promote algae
growth.
 Protecting and restoring
wetlands. Experimental reforestation of the Ashio copper mine, Japan.
Photo by Robert Stolz, japanfocus.org

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Reducing greenhouse gas
emission requires major
societal changes:
 Switching from fossil fuels to
renewable energy sources.
 Consuming less beef, as cows
release large amounts of
methane.
 Finding alternatives to
ammonium fertilizer, which
can be converted into nitrogen
oxides. A gas-catching backpack used by researchers
measured 800-1000L of emissions from an
average cow per day. Cows are responsible for
35-40% of methane emissions.

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Geoengineering
Geoengineering is the study of
intentionally and artificially changing
natural processes of the Earth.
 Solar radiation management uses
reflective surface materials to reflect
more back into space.
 Stratospheric aerosols are reflective
molecules that would be injected into
the stratosphere.
 Carbon capture and storage is the Schwarze Pumpe power station and carbon
process of capturing carbon dioxide capture facility, Spremburg, Germany.
produced from large point sources, such
as coal-burning power plants and
depositing it underground. 51
Legislation
In 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a carbon dioxide
cap-and-trade bill.
 A cap would be set on the maximum amount of carbon pollution that can be
produced by a single facility.
 Companies could trade carbon credits in exchange for money, creating an
economic incentive.
This bill was defeated in the Senate, due to concerns about increased energy
costs and its effect on the economy.

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Under the Obama administration, the
EPA, began publishing restrictions on
carbon pollution that can be released
from power plants.
 The agency is using authority granted
by the Clean Air Act to treat carbon
dioxide as a pollutant.
These restrictions were rolled back
under the Trump administration.
 Permanent regulations must originate
from Congress.

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• In 2016, Colombian
government committed to
reduce its greenhouse gas
emissions in 20% for 2030.

• Adopt conservation
approaches

• Mitigation strategies

 https://www.minambiente.gov.co/index.php/noticias-asuntos-cambio-climatico/2275-
colombia-hace-parte-de-los-paises-que-se-comprometen-a-frenar-el-cambio-climatico
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The source of this conflict is similar to the one outlined in Tragedy of the
Commons – the exploitation of a shared resource for individual benefit.

WATCH THE TED ED VIDEO

ABOUT THE TRAGEDY OF
THE COMMONS

https://ed.ted.com/lessons/
what-is-the-tragedy-of-the-
commons-nicholas-amendolare

Image from An Inconvenient Truth book, by Al Gore.

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