climate change

what is the natural greenhouse effect?

greenhouse gases are present in the Earth’s atmosphere. as the sun heats up the surface of the Earth, greenhouse gases trap the heat inside thte atmosphere, keeping the planet warm.

However, as the amount of greenhouse gases (eg. CO2) in the atmosphere has increased, the Earth has been getting much hotter than normal

what are greenhouse gases?

greenhouse gases occurr naturally and trap heat in teh earth atmosphere. they include:

• water vapour

• CO2

• methane

• nitrous oxide

what are climate proxies?

climate proxies are sources that can tell us about how the earth has been changing

examples of climate proxies

• tree rings

• coral reefs

• ice cores

• pictures

• paintings

• global average temperature

what can tree rings tell us?

tree rings can tell us about how the weather on Earth has been changing and provide an accurate representation of the climate at the time.

for example, in warm, wet years they grow wider, and in cold, dry years they grow thinner. however, in areas with less seasonal variation, the tree rings are not as useful.

how do ice cores work?

scientists remove long cylinders of ice from ice sheets, and analyse the amount of CO2 and oxygen in them to see what the climate was like at the time. Ice cores provide the longest visible evidence of the climate known today

what can pics and paintings tell us?

pictures and paintings can show us how the climate has changed through satellite images and paintings dating back hundreds of years.

However, for pictures evidence is only available as far back as the 1800’s and piantings depend on the artists interpretation

what can the global average temperature tell us?

Scientists use global average temperature to analyse climate change over the years and how human shave impacted the Earth

There are many reliable weather stations around the world, any many more are being added, making it even more reliable.

Scientists can also use the global average temperature to explain natural events, such as an ice age or heatwave However, reliable records are only available from the 1800's.

positive impacts of climate change

• plants will flourish in warmer, wetter weather

• tourism will increase as the weather is better

• new shipping routes will be available when the ice melts

• if the ice melts in places like siberia and alaska, they will be able to grow their own crops.

• it will be easier to access oil in alaska and canada

negative impacts of climate change

• drough is increasing in areas such as the Sahel in Africa, leading to starvation and less money for teh country as they can’t grow crops

• sea levels are rising, which could cause countries like the Maldives to sink underwater

• rainfall is increasing and sea ice is melting

place-specific impacts

• in Greenland, warmer weather means there will be more tourists, and it will be easier for people to fish

• In Tuvalu, sea levels are rising, so if people have to evacuate they have made an agreement with New Zealand to allow people to move there

• In India and Pakistan, a heat wave caused over 200 deaths

• In Japan, Typhoon Hagibis was the most violent storm to hit the country for 60 years

what are the mitigation strategies

there are some solutions to help reduce CO2 in teh atmosphere, attempt to prevent the global average temperature from rising so high, or to raise awareness

examples of mitigation strategies

• zero-carbon emission houses are being created to minime CO2 emissions and utilize renewable energy

• aforestation is being implemented in area that were once deforested, to help recover the natural habitat

• social media is being used to raise awareness about climate change, without spending any money or impacting the environment

• renewable energy is being utilised to prevent emitting greenhouse gases and harming the environment