This is not the whole story…
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GHG emissions
Heat waves
Drought
Precipitation
Flooding
Cyclones
Sea Surface Temp
Sea level
Ocean acidification
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Arctic sea ice
Glaciers
Lake ice
Snow cover
Snowpack
Growing season
Plant hardiness
Leaf/Bloom dates
Bird wintering
ranges
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GHG concentration has
risen significantly since
the beginning of the
industrial era
Power stations
represents the largest
source
CO2 represents 72% of
GHG emissions
Wikipedia | GNU
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Way to measure levels of GHG’s in the
atmosphere based on their ability to cause
changes in Earth’s climate
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An increase in forcing = warming
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A decrease in forcing = cooling
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From 1990 – 2008, the climate forcing of all
GHG’s in Earth’s atmosphere increased 26%
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Frequency of Heat
Waves has increased
since the 70’s
Percentage of the US
experiencing heat
waves has increased
Most severe heat
waves occurred
during the “Dust
Bowl” in the 30’s
NOAA
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NOAA
From 2001-2009,
30-60% of the US land
area experienced
drought conditions at
any given time.
Data has not been
collected for a long
enough period of time to
determine whether
droughts are increasing
or decreasing
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Average precipitation has
increased worldwide
Higher percentage of
precipitation has come as
intense, single day events
in recent years
8 of the top 10 years for
extreme one-day events
have occurred since 1990
Occurrence of abnormally
high annual precipitation
totals has increased
Wikipedia
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Hope you brought your rain boots!
Wikipedia | Creative Commons
Wikipedia | GNU
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6 of the 10 most active
hurricane seasons have
occurred since the
mid-90’s
Increase is closely
related to variations in
sea surface
temperature in the
tropical Atlantic
Let’s think on this
one…
NASA
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Amount of heat stored in the ocean has increased substantially
since the 1950’s
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Affects sea level and currents
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SST’s have been higher during the past three decades than at
any other time (since large-scale measurement began in the
1800’s)
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Wikipedia | GNU
Increased at a rate of
0.6 inch/decade since
1870
Changes in ice can
increase or decrease
the volume of water in
the ocean
As warm warms, it
expands slightly
Cartoon by Nick D Kim, used by permission
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If the entire
(2,850,000 km3)
Greenland ice sheet
were to melt, global
sea levels would
rise 7.2 m!!
(23.6 ft)
Sea Level Rise
Simulation
Courtesy of NOAA
Wikipedia | Public Domain
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Dark blue
represents a 5m
sea level increase
Light blue
represents a 10m
sea level increase
© 2011 The Pennsylvania State University
Flickr | Creative Commons
The Maldives Meeting | 10/17/09
President of Maldives held a meeting with his cabinet
underwater to stress that climate change was real and
that it would have a very negative effect on the island
• An island republic in the northern
Indian Ocean
• Southwest of India
• Maldives is made up of a chain of
1192 small coral islands that are
grouped into clusters of atolls
• It has a total area of 298 sq km
• Arguably the lowest-lying country
in the world, the average elevation
is 1 m above sea level
NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
NOAA
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Has become more acidic over the past 20 years
Studies suggest it is substantially more acidic
than a few centuries ago
Associated with increase in CO2 dissolved in
the water
Affects sensitive organisms like corals
Healthy
NOAA
Unhealthy
NASA
NASA
Extent of Arctic sea ice in 2009 was 24% below
the 1979-2000 historical average
Photos courtesy W. O. Field, B. F. Molnia and the National Snow and Ice Data Center,
University of Colorado, Boulder.
Image courtesy National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder.
Have shrunk since the 60’s and the rate has accelerated over the last decade
Over 2,000 miles3 have been lost which since 1960 which has contributed to the
observed rise in sea level
Lakes appear to be freezing later and thawing
earlier
Length of time lakes stay frozen has decreased
at a rate of one to two days/decade
NASA
NASA
Wikipedia | GNU
The portion of North America covered
by snow has generally decreased since
1972
There is a lot of year to year variability
From
19502000,
depth of
early
spring
snow in
western
US and
Canada
decreased
Wikipedia | Public Domain
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Average length of the
growing season in the
lower 48 has increased
by 2 weeks since early
1900’s
A large and steady
increase has been
noticed over the past 30
years
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Wikipedia Creative Commons
Observed changes
reflect early spring
warming and late arrival
of fall frosts
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Areas where specific
plants are capable of
growing
Includes withstanding
the minimum
temperatures of the zone
Where are the hardiness
zones shifting?
Observations suggest
that leaf/bloom dates
are now occurring
earlier than in the early
1900’s
Difficult to determine if
this change is
statistically meaningful
Wikipedia | Creative Commons
Wikipedia | Creative Commons
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Bird species in North America have shifted their wintering
grounds northward by an average of 35 miles since 1966
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They have also moved their wintering grounds farther from
the coast, consistent with rising inland temperatures
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Climate Time Machine
Courtesy of NASA
Wikipedia | GNU
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Current Values
Courtesy of NASA
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Climate Change is the new Global Warming
 There are many changes in addition to rising temperatures
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Heat Trapping Gas is the new Greenhouse Gas
 Greenhouse has a connotation of being lush and full of
growth
 In reality …
what is happening is an increase in temperature which is
doing the opposite of promoting lush, green growth, but
rather retreating of glaciers, ocean acidification, etc.
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The presented evidence shows clearly that
many fundamental measures of climate are
changing in the lower atmosphere
Identifying and analyzing indicators will
improve our understanding of climate change,
validate projections of future change, and
assist us in evaluating efforts to slow climate
change and adapt to its effects