Changing Climate✅

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What is climate change

The long term change in global climate due to largely increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere

How has the climate changed since the Quaternary period

• the Earth’s climate was warmer and more stable before the Quaternary.

• Since then, things have changed quite significantly

• Global temperatures have shifted between cold glacial periods and warmer interglacial periods

• Since the last glacial period, 15000 years ago, the climate has been warming.

How do ice cores tell us about climate change

• Every year when it snows more ice is added to the sheets of ice in the Arctic and Antarctic

• scientists can drill down into this ice and remove tubes of ice called ice cores which are used to study ice that was laid down 800,000 years ago

What do ice cores tell us about climate change

• the ice cores contain information about past temperature

• ice encloses small bubbles of air that contain a sample of the atmosphere

• from these it is possible to measure directly the past concentration of gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

Are ice cores reliable

• it is very accurate because you can see the two different isotopes which clearly display the change

• and it is recorded by scientists

How does temperature data tell us about climate change

• reliable records of temperatures across the world began being kept from about 1880

• today there are more than 1000 weather stations recording temperatures

• new weather stations are added each year which makes the data even more reliable

What does temperature data tell us about climate change

• it tells us the temperature and helps us to compare to different time.

• And it helps us work out the global average temperature to find the hottest and coldest years

Is temperature data reliable

• it is the same method for over 100 years therefore there is little margin for ever for error

• as it is the same method, you can easily compare from year to year

How does sea ice extent tell us about climate change

satellite images can give us clear visual representation of the amount of ice in an area and show the change overtime

What does sea ice extent tell us about climate change

• it shows us how much ice in the sea there was from one time period to the next

• it shows how much sea ice has melted over time

Is sea ice extent reliable

• it is reliable as the photo is taken from the same place every single time

• you should use a scale to make sure it is more reliable

How do paintings and diaries tell us about climate change

• people who made paintings and wrote diaries many years ago can be used to see what certain places used to look like, for example the River Thames

What do paintings and diaries tell us about climate change

• you can see paintings of the Thames frozen over which shows that it was much colder in the UK before as the Thames does not freeze anymore

• it gives us an idea of climate change and provides a visual representation of one area may have looked like many years ago

Are paintings and diaries reliable

• Some paintings may be over exaggerated so it looks more aesthetically pleasing, for example painting more snow

• diaries can be false and the writer might be unreliable

• however they can both be helpful because they include the dates

What are the types of natural climate change

• Sun spots

• Volcanic eruptions

• Milankovitch cycles

Explain the three Milankovitch cycles

• Obliquity - changes in how much the Earth tilts on its axis

• Precession - the amount the Earth wobbles on its axis

• eccentricity - changes in the shape of the earths orbit

How can the change of the earth's orbit lead to natural climate change

• changes in the earths orbit may result in colder summers

• this means that snow doesn't melt in the summer and can potentially cause an ice age

• ice reflects solar radiation so if the coverage of ice on the planet increases (during an ice age) the planet will become colder and colder

• The process of the earth's orbit changing shape is called eccentricity

What are sun spots

• sun spots are dark spots on the sun's surface that are caused by magnetic storms

• they are temporary but the more sun spots there are, the more radiation the earth receives

How do sun spots impact global temps

• more sun sports means the earth receives more radiation from the sun

• This causes temperatures to rise

What are Super volcanoes

• Super volcanoes are volcanoes that erupt more than 1000 km3 of material in a single eruption

• this means that huge amounts of dust, containing ash, sulphur dioxide and water, are released into the atmosphere

• this dust blocks sunlight, resulting in cooler temperatures on Earth

Example of super volcano

• on 15th June 1991 Mount Pinatubo erupted, putting twenty million tonnes of sulphur dioxide and ash into the atmosphere

• over the next two years the Earth's average temperature fell by one degrees Celsius

What is the natural greenhouse effect

• Energy comes from the sun as shortwave radiation

• most energy passes through a layer of naturally occurring greenhouse gases

• the Earth's surface is warmed

• some energy is reflected back out to space as long wave radiation

• some energy escapes back out to space

• however the long wave radiation does not pass through greenhouse gases as easily as shortwave radiation

• some energy is absorbed by greenhouse gases and reflected back to Earth

• this means that Earth is warm enough for life to exist

What is the enhanced greenhouse effect

• Energy comes from the sun as shortwave radiation

• most energy passes through a layer of naturally occurring greenhouse gases

• human activity has put more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

• the earths surface is warmed

• some energy is reflected back out as long wave radiation

• some energy escapes back out to space

• longwave radiation does not pass through greenhouse gases as easily as shortwave radiation

• the thicker layer of greenhouse gases absorbs more energy and more is reflected back to Earth

• the earth becomes warmer and causes global warming

What does climate change cause

• Rising sea levels

• Extreme weather events e.g. Heatwaves

Social impacts of climate change

• Around the Maldives, sea water absorbs carbon dioxide, making it acidic

○ This reduces numbers of fish which local people rely on for food and income

• There is an increase of flooding due to climate change.

○ Lots of diseases spread through contaminated water

○ E.g. Cholera - 4000 deaths in 2023

• Pests can thrive in warmer temperatures e.g. Beetles

○ Some beetles attack coffee crops in Ethiopia; this impacts 700,000 families that rely on coffee for their income

Economic impacts of climate change

• With rising sea levels shutting down tourist resorts, the Maldives can no longer make its income from tourism

• During heatwaves, the farming industry can lose billions of pounds because crops and animals die

• With sea levels rising, water is becoming too salty to grow rice in

○ By 2050, the decrease in rice production may cost Vietnam 17 billion usd

Environmental impacts of climate change

• Lake Chad, which is used by 30 million people in Africa, has been shrinking due to less rainfall and lots of droughts

• Antarctica is losing ice mass at an average rate of 150 billion tons per year

What gases account for the enhanced greenhouse effect

• Carbon dioxide

• Methane

• Halocarbons

• Nitrous oxide

What activities release these gases (carbon dioxide, methane, halocarbons, nitrous oxide)

Carbon dioxide - cars, industry, deforestation Methane - farm animals Halocarbons - air con, fridges Nitrous oxide - agricultural fertilisers

How have carbon dioxide emissions increased over time

Since the industrial revolution, atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased by 150%

Social impacts of climate change in the UK (negative)

• the risk of diseases such as heat strokes will increase.

• People living in London will be worst affected by water restrictions

Economical impacts of climate change in the UK (negative)

• Industry may be impacted, eg Scottish ski resorts may have to close due to lack of snow

Hotter summers = increased pressure on water resources in the UK.

Environmental impacts of climate change in the UK (negative)

• sea levels could rise, covering low lying areas, in particular east England

• droughts and floods become more likely as extreme weather increases

• Winters will be 4.5o warmer by 2070

• Summers will be 6o warmer and 60% drier by 2070

Positive impacts of climate change in the UK (ec, env, soc)

Economic

• More people will take holidays within the UK, boosting the economy

 

Environmental

• New wetlands, from coastal flooding, may be formed

• Farmers can grow foods used to warmer climates (also economic)

 

Social

• Less strain on poor people to afford high costs of heating