...IPCC o What is the IPCC? - Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change, created in 1988, first assessment report in 1990 launched global awareness of climate change issue. How the IPCC works - Thousands of scientists contribute to writing and reviewing reports. Does not carry out new research or monitor climate related data. There are 3 working groups and a special tasks force. Terminology – 99%-100% (Virtually Certain) 90%-100% (Very Likely) 66%-100 (Likely) 33%-60% (About as likely as not) 0%-33% (Unlikely) 0%-10% (Very Unlikely) 0%-1% (Exceptionally Unlikely) o Causes of climate change Relative forcing components – Long-live greenhouse gases (Global), Ozone (Continental to Global), Stratospheric water vapor from methane (Global), Surface albedo, Aerosol (Direct Affect, Cloud Albedo Affect, Surface to Continental), Linear Contrails (Continental) , Solar irradiance (Global) Earth’s energy budget & human use Quadrillion BTU 100% Incoming Solar Energy Wood 64% - Radiated to space Coal 51% - Absorbed by land and oceans Oil &Gas 23% - Carried to clouds Hydropower &Nuclear (1900-) 20% - Reflected by clouds 16% - Absorbed by atmosphere 15% - Radiation absorbed by atmosphere 7% - Conduction and rising air 6% - Reflected by atmosphere 6% - Radiated directly into space 4% - Reflected from Earth’s surface 3% - Absorbed by clouds Greenhouse gases (types and impact) – Carbon Dioxide, Methane...
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...atmosphere has been blocking an increased amount of the heat radiated out from the earth’s surface. This in turn has lead to higher average global temperatures, or global warming. One of the main problems posed by this development is the melting of the earth’s glaciers. This is problematic because more liquid water will cause the planet’s sea levels to rise, possibly by as much as 66m if they are completely melted. Other environmental concerns related to melting include changes to mountain habitats and an accelerated water cycle. Although some modeling has shown no serious deterioration of the earth’s glaciers it is becoming increasingly evident that continued global warming would have serious repercussions on the planet’s ice. With the increasing acceptance of global warming as an important phenomenon occurring in our environment today, its effects on the natural cycles of the planet are becoming the center of research. One of the most interesting of these topics is the effect of global warming on the earth’s glaciers. It has been observed that increasing temperatures have and will continue to lead to glacial melting, and that the additional water will lead to a rise in the earth’s sea levels. The other potential effects of glacial melting are still the subject of controversy but it is becoming clear that nature’s equilibriums are being altered. Factors such as global warming have been blamed for the melting of the Earth’s glaciers. The overall global temperature has been...
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...Effects of Global Warming; the problems of water in the world 1. Introduction 1) Hook: industrial development 2) General Idea: industrial development has caused serious damages to the environment. 3) Thesis statement: Global warming causes negative environmental problems, particularly various problems of water in our lives. 2. Body Paragraph 1) Global warming (1) The reasons of global warming phenomenon (2) The effects of global warming phenomenon 2) The problems of water by global warming (1) Sea levels rise (2) Water shortages (3) Flood from heavy rains 3. Conclusion 1) The efforts of each countries and organizations Abstract In the twentieth century, using fossil fuel, industrial development has caused serious damages to the environment. This is one of the main factors in the formation of global warming that is closely linked to human activity, and it is caused by the greenhouse effect. Global warming has caused many negative effects to natural environment, especially problems of global water. In other words, the first serious problem of global warming is the rising sea levels, secondly negative problem is water shortages and last one is flooding from heavy rains. Each problem is made by climate changes and global warming by increasing surface temperature. For instance, melting Antarctic and Arctic glaciers have affected sea level rise, and decreasing rainfall and rising temperature have influenced water shortages and desertification. Also, by...
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...Greenhouse Effect has made the earth an environment for supporting life through the cycling of energy from the sun via short-wave radiation, which heats the earths surface, then is released into the atmopshere as long-wave radiation. This cycle is made possible by the prescence of Greenhouse gases, which redside in the earths atmopshere, and absorb most of the long-wave radiation given off by the earth, with the remainder being expelled into space. This process cycles the heat from the sun around the earths atmosphere and a climate is the result, without this circulation of energy life cannot exist. Greenhouse gasses absorb long-wave solar radiation, enabling the Greenhouse Effect. The main gasses are Water Vapour H2O (clouds), Carbon Dioxide CO2, Methane CH4 and Nitrous Oxide, with water vapour being the most abundant. The concentrations of these gasses in the atmosphere have a direct influence over the climate, and through natural increases and...
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...objects float easier in salt water than in fresh water? Researchers have found that objects float easier in salt water due to the density level. Density is the mass of a material. When an object is placed in fresh water it will sink because the object has a higher level of density than the water. When the object is placed in salt water it will float because salt water has a higher level of density than the object. Salt water is denser due to the amount of salt that has been added. When the salt is added it dissolves and breaks down into ions. These ions then attract all the water molecules causing them to bind tightly and increase the amount of matter in the water. When salt is added to water, the chemicals sodium and chlorine are added to the hydrogen and oxygen. When salt is added to the water, it becomes...
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...Heating of the earth exterior and atmosphere and influences patterns of precipitation the sun heats the air at the equator causing it to expand and rise. This warm moist air cools as it rises. Since cool air holds less water vapor than warm air the water carried by the rising air mass condenses and forms clouds which produce the heavy rain fall associated with the tropical environment. Eventually this equatorial air mass ceases to rise and spreads north and south. The high altitude air is dry since the moisture it once held fell as a tropical rain fall. When the air mass flows north and south it cools which increases its density. It sinks back to the earth’s surface at about 30 latitude and spreads north and south. The air draws moisture from the lands over which it flows and creates deserts in the process. Temperature is plotted on the left vertical axis and precipitation on the right vertical axis. Temperature and precipitation are potted on different scales so 10 C is equivalent to 20 mm of precipitation. Climate diagrams for wet areas such as tropical rain forest compress the precipitation scale for precipitation above 100mm so that 10C is equivalent to 200mm of precipitation. This will change in scale rainfall data from very wet climates can be fit on a graph of convenient size. The temperature and precipitation scales are constructed so that 10C equals 20mm of... The circulation of air over the earth is largely due to the unequal heating of the surface. The global...
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...WATER DROPLETS= Water droplets in cloud are tiny, to light to fall, 1000’s must collide to form a heavy enough drop to fall DRIZZLE= Fine water droplets, 0.040-0.5mm Diameter RAIN= Consists of falling water droplets, 0.5-5mm Diameter, larger drops, break into pieces as they fall through the air FREEZING RAIN=When raindrops are close to freezing, strike a cold object near ground, the drops freeze instantly SNOW= Water vapor crystalizes on tiny particles of dust/smoke, forms when air/water vapor is below 0 degrees ICE PELLETS (SLEET)= When snow falls through warm layers of air, partially melts, then falls through layers of air below 0 degrees, results in beads of ice, hard enough to bounce on cold ground WET SNOW= When dry snow falls through warm air, melting all snow crystals, but are still water droplets on the snow, sticky PACKED SNOW= Best for igloos HAIL= frozen raindrops move up and down in active thunderclouds, grow larger each time an updraft raises them through cold water droplets, hailstone has 20 layers of ice FROST= when air temperature is below freezing, water molecules turn directly into a solid forming frost WEATHER SYSTEMS= Important to understand weather pattern in N. America AIR MASS= Large body of air, temperature/moisture is uniform, if air above ground/ocean does not move for a day, the air is influenced by that location CONTINENTAL POLOR AIR MASS= N. Canada, air mass above ocean is cold/dry MARITIME TROPICAL AIR MASS=...
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...already being affected by regional climatic change. Availability of food and water is affected by the risings temperature, changes in precipitation patterns and natural disasters leading to rise in poverty, increased volatility in food prices, and heightened regional tensions, affecting international stability and security. All of the changes in physical parameters stand as the global dimensions of...
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...to melt. This ice cap contains the equivalent of some 680,000 cubic miles of water. More than 200 million people live on land that is less than 3 feet above sea level. In the United States several large cities have low average elevations. Three examples are Boston (14 feet), New Orleans (4 feet), and San Diego (13 feet). In this exercise you are to estimate the rise in sea level if the Arctic ice cap were to melt and to determine whether this event would have a significant impact on people living in coastal areas. (a) The surface area of a sphere is given by the formula where r is its radius. Although the shape of Earth is not exactly spherical, it has an average radius of 3960 miles. Estimate the surface area of Earth. The surface area of a sphere is found by using the following formula: s = 4r2, where s represents surface area and r represents radius. To find the approximate surface area of the Earth, the equation would be set up as follows: S = 439602 = 197060797.4 This calculation shows that the approximate surface area of the Earth 197060797.4 square miles. (b) Oceans cover approximately 71% of the total surface area of Earth. How many square miles of Earth’s surface are covered by oceans? To calculate how many square miles of Earth’s surface are covered by oceans one must multiply the approximate surface area of the Earth, 197060797.4 by the percentage covered by water, 71%. This is set up as follows: 197060797.4 * .71 = 139913166.2 This...
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...Water is the natural resource that man and all other living creatures cannot do without. In fact, it is one thing scientists look for in other planets to confirm possible sources of life. For us humans, it is so important that in 1995, World Bank Vice President Ismail Serageldin said that “the wars of the next century would be fought over water” and not oil. Unfortunately, water is also one resource that we always take for granted and end up wasting through inefficient use and pollution.To make matters worse, what precious supply we have in our reservoirs and aquifers is now threatened by less rainfall as a result of the occurrence of a strong El Niño phenomenon which is expected to hit the Philippines by October 2015 until the first quarter of 2016. To ensure that there is enough for everyone’s needs, water distribution is already being interrupted or rationed in several parts of Metro Manila and surrounding areas.A shortage in water supply not only leads to less water for us to use for our domestic needs, but also threatens food production and energy supply. Angat Dam in Bulacan, for example, provides almost 97% of Metro Manila’s domestic, municipal and industrial water requirements, as well as 27,000 hectares of rice farms in Bulacan and Pampanga. It is also utilized to generate 246 megawatts of electricity.It is therefore important for each of us to do what we can to ensure that we do not deplete this supply. By learning to use water prudently and efficiently, not only during...
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...directions come together to form the main river, which ultimately drains into a large water body such as a lake or a sea or an ocean. The area drained by a single river system is called a drainage basin. A closer observation on a map will indicate that any elevated area, such as a mountain or an upland, separates two drainage basins. Such an upland is known as a water divide (Figure 3.1). Sr ea m B 3 T Sr ea m A W at er Di vi de subcontinent. Accordingly, the Indian rivers are divided into two major groups: • the Himalayan rivers; and • the Peninsular rivers. Apart from originating from the two major physiographic regions of India, the Himalayan and the Peninsular rivers are different from each other in many ways. Most of the Himalayan rivers are perennial. It means that they have water throughout the year. These rivers receive water from rain as well as from melted snow from the lofty mountains. The two major Himalayan rivers, the Indus and the Brahmaputra originate from the north of the mountain ranges. They have cut through the mountains making gorges. The Himalayan rivers have long courses from their source to the sea. They perform intensive erosional activity in their upper courses and carry huge loads of silt and sand. In the middle and the lower courses, these rivers form meanders, oxbow lakes, and many other depositional features in their Figure 3.1 : Water Divide The world’s largest drainage basin is of the Nile river in Egypt •...
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...Global Warming Global warming, an increase in the earth's temperature due to the use of fossil fuels and certain industrial and agricultural processes leading to a buildup of “greenhouse gases” (principally carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and water vapor) in the atmosphere. Since 1896 it has been known that these gases reduce the escape of the earth's infrared radiation into space and this function to maintain the earth's relatively warm temperature. This is called the greenhouse effect. Although there is broad agreement that human activity, such as burning fossil fuels has reached a scale that is beginning to influence climate, there is much uncertainty and debate over how much and how fast the climate will warm. Elevated global temperatures could result in coastal flooding and the shifting of major climatic zones and may have serious implications for agricultural productivity. Since 1850 there has been a mean rise in global temperature of approximately 1.8 Fahrenheit and a 28 percent rise in carbon dioxide levels. While most scientists think this temperature rise to the increase in carbon dioxide levels, other scientists argue that this temperature rise could just be part of a natural fluctuation; such fluctuations have been recorded for tens of thousands years and operate in short-term as well as long-term cycles. Because of the difficulty of distinguishing between emissions caused by humans and those caused by natural sources, and a number...
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...Do all liquids evaporate at the same rate? Evaporation is when a liquid turns into a gas. The molecules move and vibrate so fast that they go into the atmosphere as molecules of water vapor. Evaporation is very crucial in the water cycle. The hotness from the sun powers the evaporation procedure. Water starts to evaporate at about 32 degrees Fahrenheit but it occurs gradually. As the temperature rises, the evaporation starts happening quicker. So the warmer it is the faster evaporation happens. Evaporation rates also depend on the quantity of liquid there is. If there is little water in a place than less water is going to be evaporated from that area. If there are large amount of liquids in an area, a lot of water is going to be evaporated....
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...Ways In Which We Can Make Residential High-rise Buildings More Sustainable- Toronto is North America's 'High-rise boomtown'. That being said, Toronto has 130 high-rise buildings under construction as of the beginning of this year, 92% of which are residential. Also note that most are exclusively condominiums (Evans, 2014). With the growing numbers of condominiums in a highly populated city, the concern becomes, what ecological impact will it have. With all these new residential buildings going up, it is time to start thinking about, “How can we make residential high-rises more sustainable in Toronto?” in terms of energy conservation and efficiency. If this significant problem is overlooked it could cause serious issues with our city, our ecosystems could be wiped out completely, our air and water could be entirely con-taminated, and it could diminish our natural resources. It affects more than just the residents whom live in the buildings, it affects the developers/builders, the residents of neighbouring buildings, even the kids that play in the park across the street. This paper will look at the problem and some possible solutions in terms of using renewable energy sources to sustain residential high-rises. Methods including Geothermal energy to heat and cool the building, Green-roofs that can be used to grow plants/food and can gather rain water, Cistern tank to catch all the rainwater that can then be used to wash clothes and flush toilets and possibly also for irrigation...
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...The melting of ice glaciers is considered to be a normal act of nature. The real problem occurs when “the snow replenishing it is less than the melted water.” (Mathias, 2011). This problem is occurring with the majority of glaciers around the world, with the size of the glaciers reducing causing an increase in the sea water levels. The primary culprit for the sudden melting of ice glaciers is the rapid industrialization and the burning of fossil fuels taking place. There are many negative effects on the earth because of the rapid melting of ice glaciers but the most prominent ones are global warming, shortage in fresh water and the rise in sea level. The human population has taken action to try and reduce the severity of these effects, and have been successful in doing so, but they are still very present. Global warming is a concern that is well-known by the majority of our population and a mutual effort of several countries to reduce the overall release of pollution and greenhouse gases was carried out through a contract called the “Kyoto Protocol.” This is one good example of the awareness of the issues that we as a planet are facing, and how we have tackled these severe issues. Glacier melting is on the rise and the effects, as a result, are becoming more serious which is why it is worth investigating ways in which these situations can be mitigated. The relationship between the melting ice glaciers and global warming is best described as a feedback loop, which defined by...
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