FACTORS AFFECTING CLIMATE CHANGE
By: Aiman and Vaishnavi
WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?

Change in average
‘weather’
Everything associated
to weather
 Temperature
 Precipitation


Referred to on a
global scale
NATURAL CAUSES
Solar output
 Ocean variability
 Continental drift
 Earth’s tilt
 Comets, meteorites
 Orbital modifications
 Volcano (dust and gas)
 Less snow and ice cover on
Earth

VOLCANOES
Large volumes of sulphur
dioxide, water vapour, dust,
ash in the atmosphere
 Over the years: sulphur
dioxide can reach higher
levels of atmosphere

Block sun rays  leads to
cooling
 Sulphur dioxide combines
with water

Forms droplets of sulphuric acid
 Small droplets can stay in air
for several years

EARTH’S TILT

Causes seasons

Controls severity of the
seasons
More tilt = warmer
summers and cooler
winters
 Less tilt = cooler summers
and milder winters
 Earth’s axis not fixed


Changes approx. half a
degree a century

Causes changes in climate
OCEAN CURRENTS
Oceans cover approx. 71% of the Earth
 Absorb twice as much of sun’s radiation than
land
 Move a lot of heat across the planet
 Can change direction and slow down
 Escaped heat  usually in the form of water
vapour (most abundant greenhouse gas)


Forms on clouds shading the Earth’s surface

Has a cooling effect
CONTINENTAL DRIFT
•NEW ICE
SHEETS
•NEW
VOLCANOES
•NEW OCEANS
ANTHROPIC CAUSES

Increase in fossil fuel use
(Industrial Revolution)






Natural resources overused
(construction, industries, transport,
consumption)
Clearing of land for houses
Increases in dust and smog
Changes in land use
Increase in C02 emissions and
other green house gases
Changes since industrial era
30% increase in C02
 145% increase in CH4
 15% increase in N20

GREENHOUSE EFFECT



Natural system  regulates Earth’s
temperature
When sun rays hit Earth’s atmosphere,
some reflected, others absorbed and
later radiated into atmosphere
Some heat radiated to atmosphere does
not escape to space



Absorbed and trapped by atmospheric gases
(GHG’s)
Certain human activities disrupt
balance of the system
More heat trapped in the atmosphere
increase in Earth’s temperature
GREENHOUSE GASES

Produced by combustion of
fossil fuels
Energy-production
 Transportation
 Industry


Study of carbon flow
through carbon cycle

½ of human-produced C02
 in atmosphere
ANTHROPOGENIC SOURCES OF
GREENHOUSE GASES




CO2 (Carbon Dioxide)
Methane (CH4)
Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
CARBON DIOXIDE



Most important
Burning of fossil fuels
Uses of fossil fuels
Energy in transportation &
manufacturing
 Heating
 Electricity generation
 Industry


Rising emissions of C02 due to
Land use
 Deforestation
 Land clearing
 agriculture

METHANE

Sources







Rice farming
Cattle ranching
Decaying organic materials
Sewage treatment plants
Coal mining
Natural gas extraction
Deforestation


Slow smouldering of trees  combustion reaction
Released from landfills, waste dumps, oil drilling,
coal mining
NITROUS OXIDE
2/3 comes from
management of livestock
feed and waste
 Nitrogen fertilizer usage
 Certain industrial processes
 Fossil fuel use
 Emission partly from
fertilizers , leguminous
plants


such as beans and pulses 
nitrogen to the soil.
CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS
Refrigerator agents
 Atmospheric levels now
decreasing due to
international treaties


Montreal Protocol on
Substances that Deplete
the Ozone Layer
Sources of Greenhouse Gases in Canada
Sources of Greenhouse Gases in Agriculture
Bibliography

http://www.ccse-swcc.nb.ca/climat/CCAF/PEISCIA.pdf

http://www.tutorvista.com/ks/factors-affecting-climate-change

http://web.viu.ca/sc403/Global_Warming/page3.htm