Global Climate Change part 2

kyoto protocol

reduce GhG emission from all industrialized countries to 5.2% below that countries’ 1990 level by 2012. (not US bc lose economically)

paris climate agreement

keep global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius, more flexible, all countries

mitigation

pursue actions that reduce GhG emissions to lessen severity of future climate change

adaptation

pursue strategies to minimize its impacts

mitigation examples

local action (govt), carbon offset (donate=carbon neutrality), cap (limit total pollution) and trade (buy and sell permits), (geologic) carbon sequestration (store CO2), conservation/alternative energy (renewable sources), increase transportation efficiency, prevent deforestation, reforestation, direct air capture

proxy indicators

type of indirect evidence that serve as substitutes for direct measurements

ex. trapped bubbles in ice cores, cores in sediment beds, tree rings, coral reefs, cave speleothems,

global climate change

changes in earth’s climate (average weather that occurs in an area over period)

solar radiation

in troposphere, sun emits UV and infrared radiation (IR). when IR absorbs and warms earth, radiation emitted back to atmosphere as heat. GhG absorb and re-emits heat back towards Earth

GhG are good bc

keep earth warm and habitables. concern is over increase in concentration

natural greenhouse effect

-IR comes to earth from the sun

-absorbed by earth

-reradiated back as heat

-can’t escape earth’s atmosphere because it changed forms (IR→heat)

most common greenhouse gas

water

greenhouse gases:

water, CO2, CH4 (methane), N2O (nitrous oxide), CFC

GHG effect depends on…

…warming potential and its concentration in the atmosphere

greenhouse warming potential H2O

<1

CO2

1

424 ppm in 2023

methane CH4

25

N2O (nitrous oxide)

300

CFC

1600-13000

volcanic eruptions/fire

CO2

aerobic decomposition

CO2

anaerobic decomposition

CH4

termite mounds wood decay

CH4

water vapor-water cycle

H2O

use of fossil fuels

CO2

agricultural practices

CH4 and CO2

deforestation

CO2

landfills

CH4

natural gas drilling

CH4

industrial chemicals

HCFCs

environmental effects

• Glaciers melt

• Estuaries flood

• Thermal expansion of ocean

• Ice caps melt

• Stronger/intense storms

• Shifting ocean currents

• Sea level rise

• Permafrost melts (methane released)

• Coral bleaching

• Increased wildfires

• Marine ecosystems change

• Air convection currents change

• Soil change (due to change in temperature and rainfall)

human health effect

heat stroke, insect diseases (insects are disease vectors), drought-heat waves, displacement of coastal populations, altered precipitation patterns