How Does An Increase In The Annual Melt Season In Antarctica Have A Global Effect?

This article is about climate change happening on Earth now, which began when people started burning a lot of coal. For climate change a long time ago or on other planets, see Climate variability and change.

Global average temperature, shown by measurements from various sources, has increased since the Industrial Revolution.

Places that got warmer (red) and cooler (blue) over the past 50 years

Climate change happening now is both global warming because of humans, and also weather patterns changing because of the global warming. Global warming is the temperature of Earth's surface, oceans and atmosphere going up since people started burning a lot of coal.^[1] Average temperatures today are about 1 °C (1.8 °F) higher than before people started burning a lot of coal around 1750.^[2] But in some parts of the world it is less than this and some more. Most climate scientists say that by the year 2100 temperatures will be 2 °C (3.6 °F) to 4 °C (7.2 °F) higher than they were before 1750.^[3] The change people can see most easily because of this increase in temperature is the melting of ice caps all around the world. Sea level is rising for two reasons. One reason is because of ice on the land, like Greenland, melting into the sea. The other reason is because of water getting bigger when it gets warmer. Many cities will be partly flooded by the ocean in the 21st century.

Global warming is mostly because of people burning things, like gasoline to make cars go and natural gas to keep houses warm. But the heat from the burning itself only makes the world a tiny bit warmer: it is the carbon dioxide from the burning which is the biggest part of the problem. Among the greenhouse gases, the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the main cause of global warming, as predicted by Svante Arrhenius a hundred years ago, confirming the work of Joseph Fourier more than 200 years ago. When people burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas this adds carbon dioxide into the air.^[4] This is because fossil fuels contain lots of carbon and burning means joining most of the atoms in the fuel with oxygen. When people cut down many trees (deforestation), this means less carbon dioxide is taken out of the atmosphere by those plants.

As the Earth's surface temperature becomes hotter the sea level becomes higher. This is partly because water over 4 °C (7.2 °F) expands when it gets warmer.^[5] It is also partly because warm temperatures make glaciers and ice caps melt. The sea level rise causes coastal areas to flood.^[6] Weather patterns, including where and how much rain or snow there is, are changing. Deserts will probably increase in size. Colder areas will warm up faster than warm areas. Strong storms may become more likely and farming may not make as much food. These effects will not be the same everywhere. The changes from one area to another are not well known.

Some people have suggested trying to keep Earth's temperature increase below 2 °C (3.6 °F). On February 7, 2018, The Washington Post reported on a study by scientists in Germany. The study said that if the world built all of the coal plants that were currently planned, carbon dioxide levels would rise so much that the world would not be able to keep the temperature increase below this limit.^[7]

People in government and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are talking about global warming. But governments, companies, and other people do not agree on what to do about it. Some things that could reduce warming are to burn less fossil fuels, grow more trees, eat less meat, and put some carbon dioxide back in the ground. Shading the Earth from some sunlight (this is called geoengineering) could also reduce warming but we don't understand how it might change weather in other ways. Also people could adapt to any temperature changes. The Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement try to reduce pollution from the burning of fossil fuels. Most governments have agreed to them but some people in government think nothing should change. The gas produced by cows digestion also causes global warming, because it contains a greenhouse gas called methane.^[8]

Temperature changes [change | change source]

A graph of temperatures over the past two thousand years. The so-called Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age were regional phenomena, and were not experienced worldwide.

Climate change has happened constantly over the history of the Earth, including the coming and going of ice ages. But modern climate change is different because people are putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere very quickly.^[9]

Since the 1800s, people have recorded the daily temperature. By about 1850, there were enough places measuring temperature so that scientists could know the global average temperature. Compared with before people started burning a lot of coal for industry, the temperature has risen by about 1 °C (1.8 °F).^[2] Starting in 1979, satellites started measuring the temperature of the Earth.

Before 1850, there were not enough temperature measurements for us to know how warm or cold it was. Climatologists use proxy measurements to try to figure out past temperatures before there were thermometers. This means measuring things that change when it gets colder or warmer. One way is to cut into a tree and measure how far apart the growth rings are. Trees that live a long time can give us an idea of how temperature and rain changed while it was alive.

For most of the past 2000 years the average temperature of the world didn't change much. There were some times where the temperatures were a little warmer or cooler in some places. One of the most famous warm times was the Medieval Warm Period and one of the most famous cool times was the Little Ice Age (not really an ice age). Other proxy measurements like the temperature measured in deep holes mostly agree with the tree rings. Tree rings and bore holes can only help scientists work out the temperature back to about 1000 years ago. Ice cores are also used to find out the temperature back to about half a million years ago.

The greenhouse effect [change | change source]

Fossil fuel related CO₂ emissions compared to five IPCC scenarios. The dips are related to global recessions.

Coal-burning power plants, car exhausts, factory smokestacks, and other man-made waste gas vents give off about 23 billion tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the Earth's atmosphere each year. The amount of CO₂ in the air is about 31% more than it was around 1750. About three-quarters of the CO₂ that people have put in the air during the past 20 years are due to burning fossil fuel like coal or oil. The rest mostly comes from changes in how land is used, like cutting down trees.^[10]

Dust and dirt [change | change source]

Dust and dirt in the air may come from natural sources such as volcanos,^{[11] [12]} erosion and meteoric dust. Some of this dirt falls out within a few hours. Some is aerosol, so small that it could stay in the air for years. The aerosol particles in the atmosphere make the earth colder. The effect of dust therefore cancels out some of the effects of greenhouse gases.^[13] Even though humans also put aerosols in the air when they burn coal or oil this only cancels out the greenhouse effect of the fuel burning for less than 20 years: the carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere much longer and keeps on warming the earth.^[14]

Attempts to slow climate change [change | change source]

Some people burn less fossil fuel. Countries try to emit less greenhouse gases. The Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997. It was meant to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to below their levels in 1990. However, carbon dioxide levels have continued to rise.

Energy conservation is used to burn less fossil fuel. People can also use energy sources that don't burn fossil fuel, like solar panels or electricity from nuclear power or wind power. Or they can prevent the carbon dioxide from getting out into the atmosphere, which is called carbon capture and storage (CCS).

People can also change how they live because of any changes that global warming will bring. For example, they can go to places where the weather is better, or build walls around cities to keep flood water out. Like the preventive measures, these things cost money, and rich people and rich countries will be able to change more easily than the poor. Geoengineering is also seen by some as one climate change mitigation response. For example, a process using nanotechnology has been found to remove carbon dioxide from the air to create ethanol.^{[15] [16] [17]}

History of climate change science [change | change source]

Joseph Fourier; first to explain climate change

Svante Arrhenius; believed climate change would take many years

As early as the 1820s a lot of scientists were finding out about climate change. Joseph Fourier believed that light from the sun can enter the atmosphere, but cannot leave nearly as easily. He tried to prove that air can absorb the infrared radiation and will be given back to the Earth's surface. Later in 1859, John Tyndall discovered that water vapor and CO₂ trap heat waves given by the sun. In 1896, Svante Arrhenius tried to prove that it would take thousands of years for the industrial production of CO₂ to raise the Earth's temperature 5-6°C. But throughout the early 20th century many people did not believe this idea because it was too simple. In the mid 20th century, scientists worked out that there was a 10% increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the 19th century, which made it a little bit warmer. It was at this time that people believed the emissions of CO₂ would increase exponentially^{[ source? ]} in the future and the oceans would absorb any surplus of greenhouse gases. In 1956, Gilbert N. Plass decided that greenhouse gas emissions will have an effect on the Earth's temperature and argued that not thinking about GHG emissions would be a mistake. Soon after, scientists studying all different kinds of science began to work together to figure out the mystery of GHG emissions and their effects. As technology advanced, it was in the 1980s that there was proof of a rise in CO₂ levels. An ice core, captured through drilling, provided clear evidence that carbon dioxide levels have risen.^[18]

Effects of global warming on sea levels [change | change source]

Global warming means that Antarctica and Greenland ice sheets are melting and the oceans are expanding. Recent climate change would still cause a 6 meters (20 ft) sea-level rise even if greenhouse gas emissions were reduced in 2015 per a scientific paper in Science.^{[19] [20]}

Low-lying areas such as Bangladesh, Florida, the Netherlands and other areas face massive flooding.^{[21] [22]}

Cities affected by current sea level rise [change | change source]

Places that would be flooded by a 6 meters (20 ft) sea level rise

Many cities are sea ports and under threat of flooding if the present sea level rises.

These and the other cities have either started trying to deal with rising sea level and related storm surge, or are discussing this, according to reliable sources.

• London ^[23]
• New York City^{[24] [25] [26] [27]}
• Norfolk, Virginia, in Hampton Roads area of United States ^{[28] [29]}
• Southampton ^[30]
• Crisfield, Maryland, United States ^[31]
• Charleston, South Carolina ^[32]
• Miami, Florida, has been listed as "the number-one most vulnerable city worldwide" in terms of potential damage to property from storm-related flooding and sea-level rise.^{[33] [34]}
• Saint Petersburg ^[35]
• Sydney, Australia ^[36]
• Jakarta ^[37]
• Thatta and Badin, in Sindh, Pakistan ^[38]
• Malé, Maldives
• Mumbai, Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro ^[27]

Also, all other coastal cities are in danger.

Further reading [change | change source]

• What is climate change National Geographic Kids

• What is climate change? A really simple guide BBC

[change | change source]

• Climate change
• James Hansen
• Stern Review
• Pollution
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• Greenhouse effect

References [change | change source]

1. ↑ "What Is Global Warming?". National Geographic. 2019-01-22.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} IPCC (2018). "IPCC SR15 Summary for Policymakers 2018" (PDF). p. 6.
3. ↑ "Long-term Climate Change: Projections, Commitments and Irreversibility" (PDF). IPCC.
4. ↑ Thompson (Climate Central), Andrea (May 19, 2016). "Atmospheric CO2 May Have Topped 400 PPM Permanently". InsideClimate News . Retrieved August 12, 2016.
5. ↑ Mosher, Dave. "A bizarre property of water is flooding coastal cities like New Orleans". Business Insider . Retrieved 2020-12-07 .
6. ↑ Justin Gillis (3 September 2016). "Flooding of Coast, Caused by Global Warming, Has Already Begun; Scientists' warnings that the rise of the sea would eventually imperil the United States' coastline are no longer theoretical". New York Times. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
7. ↑ "If the world builds every coal plant that's planned". Washington Post. February 7, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
8. ↑ Boadi, D.; Benchaar, C.; Chiquette, J.; Massé, D. (2004). "Mitigation strategies to reduce enteric methane emissions from dairy cows: Update review". Can. J. Anim. Sci. 84 (3): 319–335. doi:10.4141/a03-109.
9. ↑ "Is the current climate change unusual compared to earlier changes in Earth's history?". European Environment Agency . Retrieved 2019-12-09 .
10. ↑ "Climate change 2001: the scientific basis". Grida.no. Retrieved 2010-11-03 .
11. ↑ "Sun-dimming Volcanoes Partly Explain Global Warming Hiatus". Scientific American. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
12. ↑ Volcanoes that act as air-conditioning for a warming world; Many small eruptions over the past decade or so have helped restrain climate change May 2014 issue Scientific American
13. ↑ "Aerosols: Tiny Particles, Big Impact". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. 2010-11-02. Retrieved 2019-05-02 .
14. ↑ Harrison, Anna. "'No sudden jump in warming' from emissions cuts". www.leeds.ac.uk . Retrieved 2019-10-11 .
15. ↑ Avery Thompson (October 17, 2016). "Scientists Accidentally Discover Efficient Process to Turn CO2 Into Ethanol; The process is cheap, efficient, and scalable, meaning it could soon be used to remove large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
16. ↑ "Nano-spike catalysts convert carbon dioxide directly into ethanol". Oak Ridge National Laboratory. October 12, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
17. ↑ BEC CREW (19 October 2016). "Scientists just accidentally discovered a process that turns CO2 directly into ethanol". ScienceAlert. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
18. ↑ "The Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Effect". history.aip.org . Retrieved 2017-11-01 .
19. ↑ John von Radowitz (July 13, 2015). "Rising oceans impact 'enormous'". Times of Malta. TimesOfMalta.com. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
20. ↑ Dutton, A. & others (10 July 2015). "Sea-level rise due to polar ice-sheet mass loss during past warm periods". Science (journal). 349 (6244). DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa4019. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
21. ↑ McKie, Robin; editor, science (7 March 2009). "Scientists to issue stark warning over dramatic new sea level figures". Retrieved 23 January 2017 – via The Guardian. CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
22. ↑ President Trump, Military Split on Climate Change at YouTube
23. ↑ Floods in London. [1] Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine Royal Geographical Society
24. ↑ "Sea Level Rise - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation". New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
25. ↑ interactive map from Climate Central
26. ↑ "Mapping Sea Level Rise to Help Recovery after Hurricane Sandy". U.S. Global Change Research Program. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
27. ↑ ^{27.0 27.1} World Bank, World Development Report 2010, 91.
28. ↑ Noguchi, Yuki (2014-06-24). "As Sea Levels Rise, Norfolk Is Sinking And Planning". NPR . Retrieved 2014-11-25 .
29. ↑ "National Security and the Accelerating Risks of Climate Change". TemplateLab.com. CNA Military Advisory Board. May 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
30. ↑ http://www.iapsc.org.uk/document/R_Crighton.pdf Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine Investigation of Air Pollution Standing Conference
31. ↑ Montgomery, David (2013-10-24). "Crisfield, Md., beats back a rising Chesapeake Bay". Washington Post . Retrieved 2013-10-27 .
32. ↑ Two cities, two very different responses to rising sea levels July 2, 2015 PBS NewsHour
33. ↑ Jeff Goodell (June 20, 2013). "Goodbye, Miami". Rolling Stone . Retrieved June 21, 2013. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development lists Miami as the number-one most vulnerable city worldwide in terms of property damage, with more than $416 billion in assets at risk to storm-related flooding and sea-level rise.
34. ↑ Climate Change Economics February 2015 National Geographic
35. ↑ "Coastal floods in Russia". Retrieved 23 January 2017.
36. ↑ "Most at risk: Study reveals Sydney's climate change 'hotspots'". 29 April 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
37. ↑ Cities, Connecting Delta. "Cities : Jakarta : Climate change adaptation :: Connecting Delta Cities". Retrieved 23 January 2017.
38. ↑ Khan, Sami (2012-01-25). "Effects of Climate Change on Thatta and Badin". Envirocivil.com . Retrieved 2013-10-27 .

Other websites [change | change source]

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How Does An Increase In The Annual Melt Season In Antarctica Have A Global Effect?

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