Climate is the
temperature, humidity, precipitation, winds, radiation, and other meteorological
conditions characteristic of a locality or region over an extended period of
time.
Climate change
is any long-term significant change in the “average weather” that a
given region experiences. Average weather may include average temperature,
precipitation and wind patterns .
The term Global Warming refers to
the observation that the atmosphere near the Earth's surface is warming. This
warming is one of many kinds of climate change that the Earth has gone through
in the past and will continue to go through in the future. It is reasonable to
expect that the Earth should warm as the amount of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere increases. It is known for certain that atmospheric concentrations of
greenhouse gases are rising dramatically due to human activity. It is less well
known exactly how the increases in these greenhouse gases factor in the observed
changes of the Earth's climate and global temperatures
Human beings
can contribute to global warming and climate change by
polluting and cutting down rainforests, but humans can not control the
climate or change it. The climate system is very complex and has many
variables and components. Human beings do not control all the variables
and components or the Planet Earth.
Any
organization or person that is saying things like "we can solve the
climate crisis" or "we can stop global warming" are making
statements that are just "Advertising Slogans" impossible to accomplish.
To actually
"stop global warming" or "solve the climate crisis" human
beings would have the ability to control the following to name a few:
The Sun
Volcanic
Activity
The Weather
The Atmosphere
All Human
Activities
The Oceans
No matter how
aggressively heat-trapping emissions are reduced, some amount of climate change
and resulting impacts will continue. Consequently, there is a need for
adaptation and mitigation.
“Adaptation”
–
improving our ability to cope with or avoid harmful impacts or taking advantage
of newly favorable conditions
Mitigation is
defined as -to lessen in force or intensity, as wrath, grief, harshness, or
pain; moderate- to make less severe. At best human beings can slightly modify
climate change.
“Mitigation”
–
reducing the amount of climate change, for example, by reducing heat-trapping
emissions or increasing their removal from the atmosphere
We should try
to be the best protectors of the planet as much as we are capable and
adapt to and prepare for the changes in the Earth's Climate that are
inevitable.
Major
Elements of the Climate System
Government
of Canada Graphic
Energy
from the sun drives the earth’s weather and climate, and heats the earth’s
surface; in turn, the earth radiates energy back into space. Atmospheric
greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the
outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse.
The earth’s climate is predicted to change because human activities are
altering the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of
greenhouse gases – primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The
heat-trapping property of these gases is undisputed. Although uncertainty exists
about exactly how earth’s climate responds to these gases, global temperatures
are rising.
Global
climate change is a change in the long-term weather patterns that characterize
the regions of the world. The term "weather" refers to the short-term
(daily) changes in temperature, wind, and/or precipitation of a region.
The
greenhouse effect is a natural occurrence that maintains Earth's average
temperature at approximately 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The greenhouse effect is a
necessary phenomenon that keeps all Earth's heat from escaping to the outer
atmosphere. Without the greenhouse effect, temperatures on Earth would be much
lower than they are now, and the existence of life on this planet would not be
possible. However, too many greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere could
increase the greenhouse effect.
This
could result in an increase in mean global temperatures as well as changes in
precipitation patterns. When weather patterns for an area change in one
direction over long periods of time, they can result in a net climate change for
that area. The key concept in climate change is time. Natural changes in climate
usually occur over; that is to say they occur over such long periods of time
that they are often not noticed within several human lifetimes. This gradual
nature of the changes in climate enables the plants, animals, and Microorganisms
on earth to evolve and adapt to the new temperatures, precipitation patterns,
etc. The real threat of climate change lies in how rapidly the change occurs.
Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases are likely to accelerate the rate
of climate change.
Scientists
expect that the average global surface temperature could rise 1-4.5°F
(0.6-2.5°C) in the next fifty years, and 2.2-10°F (1.4-5.8°C) in the next
century, with significant regional variation. Evaporation will increase as the
climate warms, which will increase average global precipitation. Soil moisture
is likely to decline in many regions, and intense rainstorms are likely to
become more frequent. Sea level is likely to rise two feet along most of the
U.S. coast. Calculations of climate change for specific areas are much less
reliable than global ones, and it is unclear whether regional climate will
become more variable.
Credit:NASA
Energy from the Sun reaching the
Earth drives almost every known physical and biological cycle in the Earth
system. The energy that keeps the earth's
surface warm originates from the sun. The primary source of energy to drive our
global climate system (including atmospheric and, to a lesser extent, oceanic
circulation) is the heat we receive from the Sun, termed solar insolation. The
amount of insolation which reaches the Earth's surface depends on site latitude
and season. The insolation into a surface is largest when the surface directly
faces the Sun. As the angle increases between the direction normal to the
surface and the direction of the rays of sunlight, the insolation is reduced in
proportion to the cosine of the angle. This is known in optics as Lambert's
cosine law.
These false-color images show the
average solar insolation, or rate of incoming sunlight at the Earth's surface,
over the entire globe for the months of January and April. The colors correspond
to values (kilowatt hours per square meter per day) measured every day by a
variety of Earth-observing satellites and integrated by the International
Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP). NASA's Surface Meteorology and
Solar Energy (SSE) Project compiled these data--collected from July 1983 to June
1993--into a 10-year average for that period. Credit Image courtesy Roberta
DiPasquale, Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy Project, NASA Langley Research
Center, and the ISCCP Project
This 'projection effect' is the main
reason why the polar regions are much colder than equatorial regions on Earth.
On an annual average the poles receive less insolation than does the equator,
because at the poles the Earth's surface is angled away from the Sun.
Although the energy that is emitted from
the sun is almost constant, even small changes can have noticeable effects. When
the Sun's energy reaches the Earth it is partially absorbed in different parts
of the climate system. The absorbed energy is converted back to heat, which
causes the Earth to warm up
There are three main factors that directly influence the energy balance
of the earth and it's temperature:
The total energy influx, which depends on the earth's distance
from the sun and on solar activity
The chemical composition of the
atmosphere
Albedo, the ability of the earth's surface to reflect light.
Solar Variability:
Striking a Balance with Climate Change NASA Video
The Earth's climate system is
a compilation of the following components and their interactions-
The
atmosphere
The
hydrosphere, including the oceans and all other reservoirs of water in
liquid form, which are the main source of moisture for precipitation and
which exchange gases, such as CO2, and particles, such as salt, with the
atmosphere.
The
land masses, which affect the flow of atmosphere and oceans through their
morphology (i.e. topography, vegetation cover and roughness), the
hydrological cycle (i.e. their ability to store water) and their radiative
properties as matter (solids, liquids, and gases) blown by the winds or
ejected from earth's interior in volcanic eruptions.
The
cryosphere, or the ice component of the climate system, whether on land or
at the ocean's surface, that plays a special role in the Earth radiation
balance and in determining the properties of the deep ocean.
The
biota - all forms of life - that through respiration and other chemical
interactions affects the composition and physical properties air and water.
The
Earth has periods of time when the temperature rises (warming cycles) and
periods when the temperature drops (cooling cycles) it is a series of natural
cycles of our planet. The Sun and it's level of solar activity has an major
influence on these cycles.
Today
climate change and global warming are receiving unprecedented attention due to
the possibility that human activity on Earth during the past couple hundred
years will lead to significantly large and rapid changes in environmental
conditions.
The first step in addressing the
issue of global warming is to recognize that the warming pattern, if it
continues, will probably not be uniform. The term "global warming"
only tells part of the story; our attention should be focuses on "global
climate change." The real threat may not be the gradual rise in global
temperature and sea level, but the redistribution of heat over the Earth's
surface. Some spots will warm, while others will cool; these changes, and the
accompanying shifts in rainfall patterns, could relocate agricultural regions
across the planet.
Climate
Variability
The first step in addressing the
issue of global warming is to recognize that the warming pattern, if it
continues, will probably not be uniform. The term "global warming"
only tells part of the story; our attention should be focuses on "global
climate change." The real threat may not be the gradual rise in global
temperature and sea level, but the redistribution of heat over the Earth's
surface. Some spots will warm, while others will cool; these changes, and the
accompanying shifts in rainfall patterns, could relocate agricultural regions
across the planet.
The ocean is a significant
influence on Earth's weather and climate. The ocean covers 70% of the global
surface. This great reservoir continuously exchanges heat, moisture, and carbon
with the atmosphere, driving our weather patterns and influencing the slow,
subtle changes in our climate. The oceans influence climate by absorbing solar
radiationand releasing heat needed to drive the atmospheric circulation, by
releasing aerosols that influence cloud cover, by emitting most of the water
that falls on land as rain, by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and
storing it for years to millions of years. The oceans absorb much of the solar
energy that reaches earth, and thanks to the high heat capacity of water, the
oceans can slowly release heat over many months or years. The oceans store more
heat in the uppermost 3 meters (10 feet) that the entire atmosphere, the key to
understanding global climate change is inextricably linked to the ocean.
Climate is influenced by storage
of heat and CARBON DIOXIDE in the ocean, which depends on both physical and
biological processes. Let's look at some of these processes. At the end of the
last ice age, about 15,000 years ago, and the ice sheets melted away and climate
warmed at that time. Ice sheets began to grow, and climate cool about 130,000
years ago at the beginning of the last ice age. About 130,000 years ago, fed by
evaporation of ocean waters, the polar ice caps thickened and expanded Earth
cooled by almost 12° C and global sea level to drop 130m below its current
level. About 15,000 years ago, this process was reversed as more sunlight
reached areas near the Arctic Circle, and Earth emerged from the ice age. Earth
is about 8° Celsius (14° Fahrenheit) warmer today than it was then. Still
recovering from the ice age, global sea level continues to rise. The past
century alone has seen global temperature increase by 0.6 degree Celsius (1
degree Fahrenheit), and the average global sea level over the past decade has
risen steadily. Is this just part of the natural cycle? How much of this warming
is due to the burning of fossil fuels? Is human nature affecting Mother Nature?
What should we do? Our response to the challenge of global warming begins by
formulating the right set of questions.
Climate is effected by both the
biological and physical processes of the oceans. In addition, physical and
biological processes affect each other creating a complex system.
Physical characteristics of
heat transport and ocean circulation impact the Earth's climate system. Like
a massive 'flywheel' that stabilizes the speed of an engine, the vast
amounts of heat in the oceans stabilizes the temperature of Earth. The heat
capacity of the ocean is much greater than that of the atmosphere or the
land. As a result, the ocean slowly warms in the summer, keeping air cool,
and it slowly cools in winter, keeping the air warm. A coastal city like San
Francisco has a small range of temperature throughout the year, but a
mid-continental city like Fargo, ND has a very wide range of temperatures.
The ocean carries substantial heat only to the sub-tropics. Poleward of the
sub-tropics, the atmosphere carries most of the heat.
Both the ocean and the atmosphere transport roughly equal amounts of heat
from Earth's equatorial regions - which are intensely heated by the Sun -
toward the icy poles, which receive relatively little solar radiation. The
atmosphere transports heat through a complex, worldwide pattern of winds;
blowing across the sea surface, these winds drive corresponding patterns of
ocean currents. But the ocean currents move more slowly than the winds, and
have much higher heat storage capacity. The winds drive ocean circulation
transporting warm water to the poles along the sea surface. As the water
flows poleward, it releases heat into the atmosphere. In the far North
Atlantic, some water sinks to the ocean floor. This water is eventually
brought to the surface in many regions by mixing in the ocean, completing
the oceanic conveyor belt (see below). Changes in the distribution of heat
within the belt are measured on time scales from tens to hundreds of years.
While variations close to the ocean surface may induce relatively short-term
climate changes, long-term changes in the deep ocean may not be detected for
many generations. The ocean is the thermal memory of the climate system.
Climate is also influenced by
the "biological pump," a biological process in the ocean that
impacts concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The oceanic
biological productivity is both a source and sink of carbon dioxide, one of
the greenhouse gases that control climate. The "biological pump"
happens when phytoplankton convert carbon dioxide and nutrients into
carbohydrates (reduced carbon). A little of this carbon sinks to the sea
floor, where it is buried in the sediments. It stays buried for perhaps
millions of years. Oil is just reduced carbon trapped in sediments from
millions of years ago. Through photosynthesis, microscopic plants
(phytoplankton) assimilate carbon dioxide and nutrients (e.g., nitrate,
phosphate, and silicate) into organic carbon (carbohydrates and protein) and
release oxygen.
Carbon dioxide is also
transferred through the air-sea interface. Deep water of the ocean can store
carbon dioxide for centuries. Carbon dioxide dissolves in cold water at high
latitudes, and is subducted with the water. It stays in the deeper ocean for
years to centuries before the water is mixed back to the surface and warmed
by the sun. The warm water releases carbon dioxide back to the atmosphere.
Thus the conveyor belt described below carries carbon dioxide into the deep
ocean. Some (but not all, or even a large part) of this water comes to the
surface in the tropical Pacific perhaps 1000 years later, releasing carbon
dioxide stored for that period. The physical temperature of the ocean helps
regulate the amount of carbon dioxide is released or absorbed into the
water. Cold water can dissolve more carbon dioxide than warm water.
Temperature of ocean is also impacted the biological pump. Penetrative solar
radiation warms the ocean surface causing more carbon dioxide to be released
into the atmosphere. Oceanic processes of air-sea gas fluxes effect
biological production and consequentially impacting climate. But as plant
growth increases, the water gets cloudy and prevents the solar radiation
from penetrating beneath the ocean surface
Climate and
Health
Climate can have a profound
influence on human health both directly and indirectly. Some direct
effects include deaths and illnesses related to excessive heat or cold exposure.
Indirect effects of climate on health may involve respiratory disorders due to
air pollution, including spores and pollens. Incidences of waterborne
diseases, such as cholera, as well as food productivity and its relation to
nutrition are other indirect effects of climate on health.
Human health is also indirectly
affected by climate due to its influence on the abundance and geographic
distribution of disease vectors, such as mosquitoes and rodents. Several
studies suggest projected climate changes may result in expanded geographic
ranges for many mosquito-borne diseases.
Mosquitoes
can transmit many viruses, over 100 of which are known to infect humans.
These include malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and severe and sometimes
fatal encephalitis and haemorrhagic fever.
Solar
Variability: Striking a Balance with Climate Change-Click
Here
Arctic,
Antarctic: Poles Apart in Climate Response-Click
Here
Carbon
Dioxide, Methane Rise Sharply in 2007-Click
Here
Antarctic
Ice Shelf Disintegration Underscores a Warming World-Click
Here
Sources:
NASA Oceanography, EPA, UNEP, Environment Canada,
CDC,U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Data
compiled from The British Antarctic Study, NASA, Environment Canada,
UNEP, EPA and other sources as stated and credited Researched
by Charles Welch-Updated dailyThis Website is a project of the The
Ozone Hole Inc. a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization
