Climate change and global warming

greenhouse effect steps

-electromagnetic radiation at most wavelengths from the sun passes through earths atmosphere

-the earth absorbs some radiation and warms up. But some heat is radiated from the earth as infrared radiation

-some of this IR radiation is absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

-atmosphere warms up leading to greenhouse effect and global warming

Greenhouse gases effect

they trap outgoing infrared (heat) energy, causing Earth to warm

Carbon dioxide contribution to global warming

-burning loads of fossil fuels

-chopping down loads of trees, less photosynthesis

Methane contribution to global warming

-farm animals produce methane during digestion

-huge amounts of waste release methane as it decomposes

evidence of global warming

-have records going back hundreds of years which show the steady increase

consequences of increased co2 and methane

1) Higher temperatures cause seawater to expand & ice to melt, thus increasing the sea level - if it rises too much, it can cause flooding & destroy habitats

2) Increasing temperatures & the amount of rainfall changes may change the distribution of wild animals & plant species - species needing warmer temperatures may become more widely distributed whilst species needing cooler temperature may have smaller ranges

3) Changes in migration patterns

4)extreme weather with become more common and severe I.e floods and hurricanes

How to mitigate climate change

Use cars less often

Use different sources for fuel I.e hydrogen

Climate change

-a change in global or regional climate patterns

-the effects of global warming

General impact of climate change

-species that had been adapted to their environment may not be able to survive anymore as they can't adapt to new conditions or migrate fast fast enough

-biodiversity is likely to fall

One order of magnitude

x10