Lecture 11: Drivers for climate change

Thur, Feb 11, 2010

	1. Climate
	2. Biomes
	3. climate change drivers
	4. consensus science
	5. abrupt climate change scenarios

 

1. Climate

Earth is a heat engine

• more energy in the equatorial region is dissipated toward the poles
• ocean currents carry much of this energy
• more heat trapped means more energy dissipated

local climate is determined by

• global currents
• latitude
• altitude
• relationship to other geological features (orographic effects)

2. Biomes and ecoregions

link

3. Climate change drivers

from chapter

figure 19-A with positive and negative drivers

resist	amplify
aerosols	greenhouse gases
ice and snow	decreased albedo
CO2 removal by plants	CO2 emissions from deforestation and degradation
heat and CO2 into oceans	heat and CO2 from oceans

positive feedback is the most dangerous (link)

 

4. Consensus science

There are multiple definitions of "consensus".

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_decision-making

Climate action such as in Copenhagen- all countries must agree

climate science -

• individuals, groups and models agree on major points
• use this to identify the areas in which they don't agree
• prioritize crucial areas of disagreement for potential impact and push for more research in those areas
  • examples:
  • tundra melting and methane
  • polar ice caps and albedo
  • iron fertilization of ocean phytoplankton

 

5. Abrupt Climate Change

link