Global Warming
Research Project
-What is it?
-Global Warming is when the average earth’s temperature rises.
-increase in atmosphere’s temperature due to changes in the climate and greenhouse effect.
Specifications:
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Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere by using natural gas, coal, oil, fossil
fuels and burning of forests.
Toxic waste is dumped into poorer countries which creates pollution
Developing countries produce a lot of pollution because they need cheap fuel
The main natural greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and
nitrous oxide.
Over the last 20 years , the earth has become warmer than at any time in the past two
thousand years
Because of the rise in earth’s temperature weather patterns continue to become worse.
There are more severe droughts, heat waves, and blizzards.
The industrial revolution led to much of pollution because there was huge growth in
cities, factories and the automobile industry
Polar ice caps melt because of global warming which causes sea levels to rise. This is a
problem because many coastlines and islands will be under water
When the water warms it expands
Global warming can effect crops and the growing of food
Climate changes start to occur when there is global warming. The vegetation is affected
in that area because it is not accustomed to the different weather
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Main cause of Global warming is emissions of carbon dioxide by industrial Nations.
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Has taken 200 years to get to the point it is now (temp. has raised 1.1 degrees F from
the 1800’s to 2000)
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Factors in the increases the greenhouse effect:
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Co2 is a major factor to the increase of greenhouse effects (trapping of heat from the
sun’s radiation by gases in the atmosphere).
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Co2 (carbon dioxide) is artificially produced by burning fossil fuels ( coal, natural gas,
gasoline)
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Deforestation has limited the regenerative capacity of the amosphere to naturally get rid
of carbon dioxide by photosynthesis.
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causes changes in ecosystems, location of flora and fuana, and changes in human
activities.
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Global warming will later on cause:
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- desertification and drought (which needs to food and water shortage)
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-deforestation (which needs to further climate change)
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-Floods
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- Accelerated melting of glaciers also called Thermal expansion (which leads to
a rise in sea-level and floods)
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- Destruction of ecosystems (such as coral reefs)
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- Co2 emissions cause:
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-acid rain (normal pH of rain is 6; acid rain is pH 5)
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- acid rain causes changes in soil and aquatic life,etc.
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- ozone layer destruction which protects us from UV rays
What is the result of global warming worldwide and in specific locations?
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Worldwide the sea level may rise and many costal areas (ie: Florida) may be threatened
by this because some may even become submerged under water. Even though, many
places will experience a rise in water level many other places will experience droughts.
In specific places
Book: An Inconvenient Truth The Crisis of Global Warming by Al Gore
o Worldwide- pg.54- Higher temperatures dry out soil which needs to hold in
moisture in order for healthy crops to grow. If here in the US we continue to add
CO2 in the atmosphere at the rate we have been, in less than 50 years vast
areas of farmland will dry up.
o Worldwide- pg.57- Due to drier soil and leaves, wild fires are becoming much
more common.
o Worldwide- pg. 72- Warmer water increases the moisture content of storms , and
warmer air hold more moisture. So when there’s a downpour, more of it falls as a
big, one-time rainfall or snowfall.
o China- pg.75- Global warming relocates rainfall so that certain places experience
unusual dry spells. In China, in 2005, there was flooding in one province while a
neighboring province experienced drought conditions.
o Canada/Ward Hunt/Ice Shelf- pg.82- Largest ice shelf in the north pole cracked
in half.
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Arctic- pg.84- The arctic is an area that’s meant to stay frozen 365 days out of
the year, yet the ice caps is melting quickly, in part because it is so thin and also
because it floats on water. The more it melts, the faster it melts. Open sea water,
however, absorbs most of the heat from sunlight instead. As water warms up it
causes more melting at the edges of ice.
North polar ice cap- pg.86- As the north polar ice cap is melting, the polar bears
are having to face many difficulties. Because so much ice has melted, the polar
bears must swim longer distances. For the first time, some polar bears are
becoming exhausted and they are drowning before they reach next ice floe.
Alaska- pg.88/89- There are trees in Alaska that put their roots deep into
permafrost (a layer of soil that remains permanently frozen). Decadessometimes centuries- ago, but now as the permafrost melts, trees are losing their
anchor, causing them to sway in all directions.
Arctic circle- pg. 90- Land north of the Artic circle is frozen most of the year.
However, global warming has begun to thaw large areas of permafrost. This is
why some buildings have begun to collapse--- they were built on permafrost that
thawed and became too soft to support the structures.
South pole- pg.94- The southern ocean experiences natural shifts in weather
from one decade to the next, but this warm spell has continued, causing the
thinning of sea ice. Less sea ice means fewer krill, the penguins’ main food
source. Also, weakened ice is more likely to break apart and drift off to sea,
carrying off young penguin chicks.
Worldwide- pg.101- When the ice that was on land falls into sea, it rises to sea
level, which is one of the reasons sea levels will continue to rise worldwide
unless global warming is checked.
History of Global Warming
Beginning:
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Most scientists believe that global warming on a large scale began with the Industrial
Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The idea that people could increase the greenhouse effect dates back to 1896.
 The Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius was first to do research on this topic.
In the 1960’s, scientist at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, got evidence of an increase in the
amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. There discovery led to the beginning of
research from many new scientists.
Global Warming Future:
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Completely eliminating greenhouse gas emissions is not possible because lifesustaining activity would cease to exist.
Those emissions can be reduced.
First, people can use energy wisely
Scientists calculate that sea levels will rise 1.6 feet during the next century as oceans
heat up and expand and ice melts.
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Some scientists say 95 percent of reefs worldwide may be lost in the next 50 years.
Global Warming Future Dangers…
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Increase in carbon dioxide can lead to more rapid and robust growth of wild plants,
including dangerous ones such as global warming. This was researched by Duke
Biology students and professors.
Due to the fact that increases of carbon dioxide heat the earth, winters would be warmer.
Cold winters that usually would kill of many deadly insects wouldn’t be as cold, leading
to many more insects on the earth. Such as disease carrying insects and ticks.