Global Warming: Evaluating the Evidence

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Global Warming Evaluating the Evidence

• Amy West, Beth Watson, and Katie Hardin

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• The Arctic region is Global Warmings canary in
  the coal mine. (Natural Resource Defense
  Council, 2005)
  
• NASA satellite image shows north polar ice cap
  diminishing from 1979-present
  

Melting rate 9 per decade All melted by end of c
entury
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Affects of Polar Ice cap melting

• Loss of enclosed fresh water lake and its unique
  ecosystem when Ward Hunt Ice Shelf ruptured in
  2000
  
• Exposed soil absorbs more of Suns energy,
  warming the Earth and affecting weather
  
• Total melt down of North Polar ice cap would
  cause U.S interior temps to increase by 4 deg, C.
  Winter wheat crops would suffer b/c they
  required freezing winter temps. Decrease in
  summer rain by 10 causing droughts.

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• Warmer temps have already affected migration and
  feeding patterns of whales, walruses and seals
  
• Natives feeling affects on hunting
• Fear for loss of culture

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Rising sea level

• Sea level has risen 6-8 inches in last 100 years
  (EPA)
  
• Little impact from melting northern polar ice
  cap
  
• Most of it floats on the Arctic Ocean
• Melting of the floating part and icebergs does
  not increase ocean volume
  
• displacement- the volume of water displaced by
  ice is equal to the volume of ice
  

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• Rising sea levels due to melting glaciers and
  land covering ice sheets (Greenland)
  
• Glaciers have been melting at alarming rates
  world wide
  
• http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gal
  lery/05/sci_nat_how_the_world_is_changing/html/1.s
  tm
  

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Thermal expansion

• A major cause of rising sea levels is thermal
  expansion
  
• water is at its densest at 4 deg C
• As it warms its density decreases and it expands
• Prediction by 2100, thermal expansion, melting
  glaciers and ice sheets will cause sea level to
  rise 21 in (International Panel on Climate
  Change)

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Impact of rising sea levels

• Beach erosion
• Flooding
• Tuvalu (Pacific) Marshal Islands (Indian)
• Contamination of fresh water supplies
• Economic Impact housing, tourism, crops
  destruction

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The Earths Heat Bucket

• The ocean acts a reservoir for excess heat and
  energy that does not escape into the atmosphere.
  
  

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Taking the Oceans Temperature

• Using satellite images (Jason 1) and the Argo
  float program, NASA has discovered that from 1993
  to 2003 the oceans heat content has increased by
  0.86 watts/sq. meter.
• area of about 337 trillion square meters

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Current Disruption?
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The Antarctic

• The EVENT Increased glacial melt rate in the
  (WAIS) West Antarctic Ice Shelf.
  
• The EFFECT Warmer, less salty water impacting
  ocean currents and sea level.
  
• The POSSIBLE CHANGES A change in the movement of
  heat on the planet, a reduction in dispersal of
  nutrients, and a possible 18 foot rise in sea
  level--in our lifetime.

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The Atlantic

• The EVENT The North Atlantic current is impacted
  by salinity changes in the ocean.
  
• The EFFECT The heat moved from the equator to
  the higher latitudes via a global current system
  becomes less pronounced.
  
• The POSSIBLE CHANGES Northern Europe could cool
  currents might modify the nature of hurricane
  events. Or, heating may increase dramatically as
  methane deposits along the coastal regions are
  less effected by the thermohaline currents, which
  might wind up releasing the deposits , at an
  increased rate.

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The Pacific

• The EVENT Enhanced El Nino events due to ocean
  temperature increase.
  
• The EFFECT More frequent El Nino leading to
  disruptions in farming, forest fire patterns,
  rainfall, and population movement.
  
• The POSSIBLE CHANGES Food production may be
  severely curtailed in the southern US, Southeast
  Asia, and eastern Australia due to less rain.
  Floods and increased rain in Western South
  America.

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Effects of Global Warming on Animals
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• SPRUCE TREE BEETLE
• MALARIA
• MOSQUITOES vs. HUMANS
• MARINE LIFE

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SPRUCE TREE BEETLE
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The Spruce Bark Beetle is about the size of a
grain of rice
They cannot fly when temps are below 60 degrees F
so their ability to colonize trees are limited in
cooler areas
Warmer temps are allowing these beetles to live
and reproduce throughout winter
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It typically takes Spruce Beetles 2 years to
develop into adults, howeverAs we demonstrated
the first day of class, warmer (but not too hot)
temperatures speed up the rate at which enzymes
catalyze reactionsNEED TO KNOW Basically,
warmer temperatures cause the Krebs cycle to spin
faster, producing more energy, allowing the
beetles to grow and produce quickerWithin 1
year, causing greater damage to Spruce Trees
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• MALARIA
• (MOSQUITOES vs. HUMANS)

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• BEYOND THE BITE MOSQUITOES AND MALARIA

NEED TO KNOW Each year, up to 2 million people
die from Malaria
NEED TO KNOW 42 of the world is at risk of
getting Malaria
NEED TO KNOW Malaria is caused by the
Plasmodium protozoa that is spread by the female
mosquito and affects the human liver and blood
What does Malaria look like and where is it
prevalent? How does Malaria affect a human body?
NEED TO KNOW Malaria generally spreads to
regions where minimum temperatures fall no lower
than 61 degrees F
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What connection can you make between MALARIA and
GLOBAL WARMING?
You will have 5 minutes to discuss this with your
partner ?
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MARINE LIFE
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Oceans are naturally alkaline and they are
expected to remain so
The increase in Carbon Dioxide is making the
water more acidic
This acidity lowers the concentration of
carbonate ion, a building block of the calcium
carbonate that many marine organisms use to grow
their skeletons
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MIGRATIONPATTERNS
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RESEARCH SHOWS
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Numerous species had shifted toward the poles or
moved to a higher elevation --
-- indicating that some plants and animals are
occupying areas that were previously too cold for
survival.