1-1
Earth System Science
Climate and Global Change
Lecture:
Three 50-min classes or two 1-hr and 15-min classes for a semester
Labs:
One 2-hr lab per week during the semester
Course Description: Introduction to the Earth’s atmosphere and climate system.
Structure and interaction of the components of this system. Natural and
human-induced changes in these components, including the
greenhouse effect, ozone depletion, air pollution, acid rain, biodiversity,
and climate change.
Possible
Text:
The Earth System (2nd edition)
by L.R. Kump, J.F. Kasting and R.G. Crane
Many other options
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Listening
Level 1 - Involvement in the Discussion
At this level, listeners evaluate the speaker’s words attempting to make
connections with their own experiences, concepts from other courses, and ideas
previously presented in this course. Some characteristics of level 1 listening
include taking in main ideas; acknowledging and responding; not letting oneself
be distracted; paying total attention to the speaker and the topic. It also requires
that the listener show both verbally and nonverbally that he or she is truly
listening.
Level 2 - Hearing Words, But Not Really Listening
At this level, people stay at the surface of the communication and do not listen to
make connections and develop understanding of what is being said. They try to
hear what the speaker is saying, but make little effort to understand the speaker’s
intent. Level 2 listeners tend to listen logically, but remain emotionally detached
from the subject. Level 2 listening can lead to dangerous misunderstandings
because the listener is concentrating only slightly on what is said.
Climate and Global Change Notes
1-3
Listening
Level 3 -Listening in Spurts
Tuning in and tuning out, being only somewhat aware of the communication,
mainly paying attention to other things. Level 3 listening is quiet, passive listening
without responding. Often a person listening at this level is faking attention while
thinking about unrelated matters. The listener may display a blank stare.
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Introduction
Course Quote 1
As a crab moves on the ocean-bottom, but is of the water, so man rests his feet
upon the earth - but lives in the air. Man thinks of the crab as a water-animal;
illogically and curiously, he calls himself a creature of the land.
As water environs the crab, so air surrounds, permeates, and vivifies the body of
man. If traces of noxious gas mingle with it, he coughs and his complexion turns
deathly gray. If it becomes overcharged with water-droplets, he gropes helplessly
in fog. If it moves too fast, he becomes a pitiable wind-swept creature, cowering
in cellars and ditches. Even for rain he is dependent on air. If actually removed
from air, he dies immediately.
Physicists describe the air as tasteless, odorless, and invisible. It could not well
be otherwise. But these are not so much its qualities as adjustments of man. For
if air impressed the senses, being at the same time all-pervasive, it would
necessarily obscure all other tastes, odors, and sights.
George Stewart, "Storm", Modern Library, Random House, p. 19.
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Introduction
Course Quote 2
Despite man’s pretensions to art and civilization, man’s existence depends on 4
inches of topsoil and the fact that it rains.
Author Unknown
Course Quote 3
Treat the Earth well: it was not given to you by your parents: it was loaned to you
by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.
Author Unknown
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Introduction
Course Quote 4
1854 Chief Sealth of the Duwamiah Tribe (the Puget Sound Indians by another
account) was asked to sell a large area of land in what is now Washington State.
Seattle, a corruption of the chief’s name, is built in the heart of the Duwamish land.
He and his people were promised a reservation by President Franklin Pierce. The
following is a condensation of the reply written in 1855 and remains one of the most
eloquent statements ever made in appreciation of the environment.
The great chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. How can
you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do
not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy
them?
Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every
sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is
holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through
the trees carries the memories of the red man. We are part of the earth and it is part
of us. For the land is sacred to us.
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Introduction
Course Quote 4 (Con’t)
The shining water that moves in the stream and the river is not just water, but the
blood of our ancestors. The rivers are our brothers, they quench our thirst. The
rivers carry our canoes and feed our children. If we sell our land then you must
remember, and teach our children, that the rivers are our brothers and yours, and
you must henceforth give the rivers the kindness that you would give any brother.
And what is there to life when man cannot hear the lonely cry of the poor
whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around a pool at night? The Indian
prefers the soft sound of the wind darting over the face of a pond and the smell of
the wind itself, cleansed by the rain or scented by the pinion pine. The air is
precious to the red man for all things share the same breath: the beast, the tree,
the man, they all share the same breath.
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Introduction
Course Quote 4 (Con’t)
You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of
our grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth
is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our own
children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls earth, befalls the sons of
earth. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he
does to the web, he does to himself.
Even the white man, whose God walks and talks with him as friend to friend,
cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all. We
shall see. One thing we know, which the white man may one day discover – our
God is the same God. You may think that you own Him as you wish to own the
land; but you cannot. He is the God of man and His compassion is equal for the
red man and the white. The earth is precious to Him, and to harm the earth is to
heap contempt on its Creator.
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Course Roadmap
Introduction to the Climate System
Observing Climate
Atmospheric Constituents
The Sun
Stratospheric Ozone Hole
Orbital Changes & Climate
Earth’s Radiation & Energy Budget
Greenhouse Gases & Climate
Volcanoes & Climate
Atmospheric Motions
Motions & Climate
Urban Changes & Climate
Hydrologic Cycle
Oceanic
Motions
Ocean Currents
El Niño - La Niña & Climate
Climate & Global Changes
Continental Drift
Regional Changes
Ice & Sea Level
Carbon Cycle
Earth - A Special Planet
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Introduction
Climate and Global Change
Science Concepts
What is Climate?
What is Global Change or Global Warming?
Earth’s Climate System
Variability of the Earth System
Budgets and Cycles
External Forcing
The Earth System (Kump, Kasting and Crane)
•
•
Chap. 19 (p. 290)
Chap. 1
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Climate
What is climate?
•
“The average course or condition of the weather at a place over a period of
years as exhibited by temperature, wind velocity, and precipitation.” (Webster’s
New Collegiate Dictionary 1975)
•
“Climatology is the study of the exchanges of energy and mass at the interface
between the atmosphere and the surface of the Earth.” (Lydolph 1985)
•
“Climate is a summary of weather conditions over a period of years, including
how temperature and rainfall vary with the seasons.” (Krauskopf and Beiser
1997)
•
“Climate is the synthesis of the weather in a particular region.” (Hartman 1994)
•
“The study of climate can assume many forms.... We will regard climate in a
very broad sense in terms of the mean physical state of the climate system.
The climate can be defined as a set of averaged quantities completed with the
higher moment statistics (such as variances, covariances, correlations, etc.)
that characterize the structure and behavior of the atmosphere, hydrosphere,
and cryosphere over a period of time.” (Peixoto and Oort 1992)
Climate and Global Change Notes
1-12
Climate Elements
What parameters make up climate?
•
Air temperature - The degree of hotness or coldness of a substance as
measured by a thermometer. It is also a measure of the average kinetic energy
of the atoms and molecules in a substance.
•
Humidity - A general term that refers to the air’s water vapor content (e.g.,
specific humidity, relative humidity, etc.).
•
Air pressure - Atmospheric pressure is felt as the force that the air molecules
exert of a surface. The magnitude of this force per area equals the weight of
the air above that surface area.
•
Clouds - A collection of many liquid water droplets or ice crystals (or both) in
the atmosphere.
•
Precipitation - Any form of water particles, liquid or solid, that falls from the
atmosphere and reaches the ground.
•
Wind - Air in motion relative to the Earth’s surface. Note: wind is a vector and
has both speed and direction.
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Climate
Alabama Annual Average Temperature
67
Annual Average
112-Year Average
30-Year Running Average
10-Year Average
66
Temperature (°F)
65
64
63
62
61
60
1895 1900 1905 1910 1915 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Year
Data Source: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/divplot1_form.pl?0106
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Climate
Alabama Annual Average Precipitation
80
75
Annual Average
112-Year Average
30-Year Running Average
10-Year Average
70
Precipitation (in)
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
1895 1900 1905 1910 1915 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Year
Data Source: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/divplot1_form.pl?0106
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Global Topography
Worlds Mountain Ranges
•
Highest topography in red; blue lowest topography
Climate and Global Change Notes
1-16
Climate
Koppen Climate Classifications
•
Western hemisphere
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Record Maximum Temperature
By State Through 2000
•
Alabama highest temperature = 112°F (9/5/1925 in Centerville)
Alaska = 100°F
Hawaii = 100°F
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/
climate/severeweather/a-thigh.gif
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Record Minimum Temperature
By State Through By
2000
State Through 1996
•
Alabama lowest temperature = -27°F (1/30/1966 in New Market)
Alaska = -80°F
Hawaii = 12°F
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/
climate/severeweather/a-thigh.gif
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Huntsville Temperature Climate
Huntsville Mean Monthly Temperature
Mean Annual Temperature = 60.6°F (1971-2000)
Temperature (ЎF)
•
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
JAN
FEB MAR APR MAY JUN
JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
83 72.9 61.6 52.4
Max Temp 48.9 54.6 63.4 72.3 79.6 86.5 89.4 89
Ave Temp 39.8 44.3 52.3 60.4 68.6 76 79.5 78.6 72.4 61.3 51.2 43.1
Min Temp 30.7 34 41.2 48.4 57.5 65.4 69.5 68.1 61.7 49.6 40.7 33.8
•
Record High = 102°F
Record Low = -11°F
Climate and Global Change Notes
1-20
Philadelphia Vs Chicago
Temperature
Mean Monthly Average Temperature
•
Chicago Mean Average Annual Temperature = 49.1°F (1971-2000)
•
Philadelphia Mean Average Annual Temperature = 55.3°F (1971-2000)
Temperature (ЎF)
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
CHICAGO
PHILADELPHIA
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
22
27
37.3
47.8
58.7
68.2
73.3
71.7
63.8
52.1
39.3
27.4
32.3
34.8
43.2
53.1
63.5
72.3
77.6
76.3
68.8
57.2
47.1
37.4
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Huntsville Precipitation Climate
Huntsville Mean Monthly Precipitation
Mean Annual Precipitation = 57.51 in (1971-2000)
7.00
6.00
Precipitation (In)
•
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
HUNTSVILLE
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
5.52
4.95
6.68
4.54
5.24
4.22
4.40
3.32
4.29
3.54
5.22
5.59
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Philadelphia Vs Chicago
Precipitation
Mean Monthly Average Precipitation
Chicago Mean Annual Accumulated Precipitation = 36.27 in (1971-2000)
•
Philadelphia Mean Annual Accumulated Precipitation = 42.05 in (1971-2000)
•
Salt Lake City Mean Annual Accumulated Precipitation = 16.5 in (1971-2000)
Precipitation (In)
•
5
4
3
2
1
0
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
CHICAGO
1.75
1.63
2.65
3.68
3.38
3.63
3.51
4.62
3.27
2.71
3.01
2.43
PHILADELPHIA
3.52
2.74
3.81
3.49
3.88
3.29
4.39
3.82
3.88
2.75
3.16
3.31
SALT LAKE CITY
1.37
1.33
1.91
2.02
2.09
0.77
0.72
0.76
1.33
1.57
1.4
1.23
Climate and Global Change Notes
1-23
Philadelphia Vs Chicago
Humidity
Mean Monthly Average Relative Humidity
Huntsville Mean Annual Relative Humidity (1971-2000)
-
Morning = 85%; Afternoon = 62%
Relative Humidity (%)
•
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
Morning
82
81
80
82
87
88
90
91
90
87
84
82
Afternoon
67
63
59
56
59
60
64
62
62
58
62
66
Climate and Global Change Notes
1-24
Philadelphia Vs Chicago
Humidity
Mean Monthly Average Relative Humidity
•
Chicago Mean Annual Relative Humidity; Morning = 80%; Afternoon = 62%
•
Philadelphia Mean Annual Relative Humidity; Morning = 76%; Afternoon = 55%
•
Salt Lake City Mean Annual Relative Humidity; Morning = 67%; Afternoon = 42%
Afternoon RH (%)
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
CHICAGO
70
67
63
57
56
58
59
60
60
58
66
71
PHILADELPHIA
60
55
53
50
53
53
54
54
56
54
56
59
SALT LAKE CITY
69
60
46
39
34
27
22
24
30
41
59
71
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Climate
Climate is
•
Dynamic, changing, non-stationary
•
Physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, meteorology, oceanography, etc.
•
Multidisciplinary
•
Complex and non-linear with complicated feedbacks
Climate and Global Change Notes
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The Earth’s Climate System
What do we mean by the “Earth’s climate system”?
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/
BlueMarble/Images/land_shallow_topo_2048.jpg
Is this a picture of the climate system?
Climate and Global Change Notes
1-27
The Earth’s Climate System
Blue Marble Image
•
Much of the
information
contained in
this image is
derived from
NASA’s Moderate
Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer,
or MODIS
that is flying over
700 km above the
Earth onboard the
Terra satellite
QuickTime™ and a
YUV420 codec decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/BlueMarble/BlueMarble_2002.html
Climate and Global Change Notes
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The Earth’s Climate System
Sea Surface Temperature (SST)
and Hurricanes
•
•
•
•
Advanced Microwave Scanning
Radiometer (AMSR-E) Aqua
satellite SST image;
GOES cloud data
Three-day average of SSTs for
Caribbean Sea and Atlantic
Ocean 6/8/05-8/29/05
Warm (orange & red) ocean
waters fuel hurricanes
Areas in yellow, orange
or red represents 27.8°C
(82°F) or above
Hurricane Dennis path
http://learners.gsfc.nasa.gov/mediaviewer/
HurricanesWithJeff/Segment3/
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Arlene (Jun 8-13) / Bret (Jun 28-29) / Cindy (Jul 3-7) / Dennis (Jul 4-12) / Emily (Jul 11-21)
Franklin (Jul 21-29) / Gert (Jul 23-25) / Harvey (Aug 3-8) / Irene (Aug 7-18) / Jose (Aug 22-23)
Katrina (Aug 23-30) / Lee (Aug 31-Sep 1) / Maria (Sep 2-10) / Nate (Sep 5-10) / Ophelia (Sep 7-18)
Phillipe (Sep 17-23) / Rita (Sep 18-24) / Stan (Oct 2-5) / Tammy (Oct 5-6 ) / Vince (Oct 9-11 )
Wilma (Oct 17-25) / Alpha (Oct 22-24) / Beta (Oct 27-30) / Gamma (Nov 18-20) / Delta (Nov 23-28)
Epsilon (Nov 29-Dec 8th) / Zeta (Dec 30 2005-Jan 6 2006)
Climate and Global Change Notes
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The Earth’s Climate System
Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Hurricanes
•
Note cooling after
passage
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
http://learners.gsfc.nasa.gov/mediaviewer/HurricanesWithJeff/Segment30/
Climate and Global Change Notes
1-30
The Earth’s Climate System
Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Hurricanes (Con’t)
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
http://learners.gsfc.nasa.gov/mediaviewer/HurricanesWithJeff/Segment3/
Climate and Global Change Notes