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Chapter 2: The Physical World • Tectonic Plate Movement • Climate Controls • Climate Zones • Climate Change 1. Tectonic Plate Theory Figure 1.20 Hazards: earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis Oceanic and continental crusts Subduction and Orogeny Convergent, Divergent, and Transform boundaries Earthquakes of a 5.0 magnitude or greater, over a 10-year period. Note their relationship to midocean ridges and oceanic trenches. • Global Controls of Climate – Latitude – Land & water distribution – Atmospheric pressure & winds – Landform barriers • Latitude – Amount of solar energy received over the course of a year – Intensity of receipt of solar energy • Proximity to water (land & water distribution – Continentality vs. Temperate -56 degrees C (-68.8 degrees F), 1/13/2012 Atmospheric Pressure There are four broad pressure areas in Northern Hemisphere (and corresponding areas in Southern): •Equatorial Low-Pressure Trough (marked by the ITCZIntertropical Convergence Zone) •Polar High-Pressure Cells •Sub-tropical High Pressure Cells •Sub-polar Low-Pressure Cells Atmospheric Pressure & Winds • Landform Barriers Global Pattern of Average Annual Rainfall • Precipitation Sources – Convectional – Orographic – Cyclonic 2. Temperature and Precipitation 3 Types of Precipitation: Convectional, Orographic, Cyclonic Orographic Precipitation Figure 1.23 Cyclonic Precipitation Climate Zones—Modified Koppen System • Global Warming – Causes of global warming FIGURE 2.4 Solar Energy and the Greenhouse Effect The greenhouse effect is the trapping of solar radiation in the lower atmosphere, resulting in a warm envelope surrounding Earth. Causes of Global Warming (cont.) • Anthropogenic (humancaused) pollutants increase the greenhouse effect FIGURE 2.5 Increase in CO2 and Temperature These two graphs show the relationship between the rapid increase of CO2 in the atmosphere and the associated rise in average annual temperature for the world. The graphs go back 1,000 years and show that both CO2 and temperature have been relatively stable until the recent industrial period, when the burning of fossil fuels (coal and oil) began on a large scale. Global Climates: An Uncertain Forecast (cont.) • Global Warming – The four major greenhouse gases • Carbon dioxide (CO2): makes up more than 50% of anthropogenic greenhouse gases; comes mainly from burning fossil fuels • Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs): about 25% of human-generated greenhouse gases; come mainly from aerosol sprays, refrigeration, and air conditioning • Methane (CH4): about 15%; caused by burning of vegetation, by-products of cattle and sheep digestion, leaking natural gas pipelines, and refineries • Nitrous oxide (N2O): 5%; caused by agricultural chemical fertilizers • Average global temperature has increased by 1.33◦F from 1880 – 2008 • 11 of 12 warmest years on record since 1850 occurred between 1995 & 2006 • 8 of the 10 warmest occurred since 2000 • Over last 50 years, average global temperature has increased at a rate of .23◦F, about twice the rate for the entire 20th C • Temperatures in the N. Hemisphere are higher than at any time in the last 1300 years. • Since 1961, global ocean temperatures have increased, to a depth of 3000 m (9800 ft). • 80% of the heat added to the atmosphere has been absorbed by the oceans FIGURE 2.7 Auto Emissions in China In 2006, China surpassed the United States as the country that emits the most CO2 into the atmosphere. While the main reason for China’s huge emissions is the widespread use of coal to generate power, the rapid increase in private auto ownership is an increasing concern because car traffic has become a major cause of smoggy skies in China’s urban areas. Global Climates: An Uncertain Forecast • Effects of Global Warming – Computer models and scientists are coming to agreement on effects • Average global temperatures will increase 2 to 4°F by 2030; this rate of increase could double by 2100. – Same magnitude of cooling that caused the ice age 30,000 years ago • Major shift in agricultural areas – Wheat belt could become warmer and drier; lower grain yield – Canada and Russia could become warmer – Southern regions of the United States and Europe could become warmer and drier, requiring irrigation • Sea levels rise as polar ice caps melt, endangering low-lying islands and coastal areas around the world—could rise by 7.1 inches to 23.2 inches FIGURE 2.6 • Sea ice off Greenland during the summer thaw • Warming will be greatest over land and in northern high latitudes • Summer sea ice will disappear in the Arctic by the end of the 20th C • More intense cyclonic storms in tropics; midlatitude cyclones move poleward • Increase in rain in high latitudes; decrease in subtropics over land • Heat waves; extremes in temperature • Larger range for tropical diseases • Wildfire risk increased • Extinction of species Global Climates: An Uncertain Forecast • Globalization & Climate Change: The International Debate on Limiting Greenhouse Gases – Earth Summit—1992, Rio de Janeiro • First international agreement on global warming (167 countries) – United States, Japan, India, China failed to meet emissions reductions – Earth Summit—1997, Kyoto • Kyoto Protocol: 38 industrialized countries agreed to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases to below 1990 levels The International Debate on Limiting Greenhouse Gases • Former United States President Bush opposed Kyoto Protocol; United States never ratified it – Complying could damage U.S. economy – Large developing countries (India, China) were not bound to reduce greenhouse gases and would have an advantage – Russia ratified (2004), and Kyoto Protocol became international Law in early 2005 • Copenhagen: United Nations Climate Change Talks (December 2009) – Pact between U.S., China, India, Brazil, South Africa to take action on global climate change – Flawed, more intention than action