Download Climate Change Earth Science Primer MSTP

EARTH SYSTEMS SCIENCE
UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE:
A Primer on Earth Systems Science
IPCC
NASA
NASA
Dr. Jeffrey R. Corney, Managing Director
of the University of Minnesota’s Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve
ESNERGY
FLOW ISSUES
USTAINABILITY
The Concern!
IPCC
IPCC
ENERGY FLOW
NASA
Where It All Begins…
ENERGY FLOW
Photons Are Generated
ENERGY FLOW
A Long Journey from the Sun’s Core
ENERGY FLOW
Then, On to Earth…
European Space Agency
(93 Million Miles in about 8 Minutes)
1-A) The fact that we have seasons—Fall, Winter, Spring
and Summer—in the Northern Hemisphere (and Southern
for that matter), but not on the Equator is because:
a. Earth is closer to the Sun during Summer, farther
from it during Winter
b. The Equator is always under a low pressure air mass
c. Earth’s axis is tilted, tipping the Hemispheres away
or toward the Sun as it orbits
d. The Northern and Southern Hemispheres move
slower than the Equator
1-B) The fact that it is considerably warmer throughout
the year at the Equator than in the Arctic and Antarctic
regions of Earth is because:
a. The Arctic and Antarctic are always covered in ice
and snow
b. The Equator is always under a low pressure air mass
c. The Equator is covered with tropical rain forests that
retain heat
d. The Sun’s rays strike the Equator more directly
throughout the year than the Poles
ENERGY FLOW
Earth’s Tilt, Orbit and the Seasons
ENERGY FLOW
Univ. of Idaho
Earth’s Sphere Intercepting Energy
ENERGY FLOW
Latitudinal Solar Energy per Area
100%
TROPICAL (0o Lat.)
75%
TEMPERATE (45o Lat.)
50%
ARCTIC (60o Lat.)
EIU
ENERGY FLOW
Earth’s Gross Solar Insolation
Annual Mean Solar Insolation
intercepting top of Earth’s atmosphere
Wikipedia
ENERGY FLOW
How Much Energy Makes It to Us?
ENERGY FLOW
Net Solar Insolation at Surface
Annual Mean Solar Insolation
intercepting surface of Earth
Wikipedia
ENERGY FLOW
Energy Measured as Temperature
ENERGY FLOW
Earth’s “Heat Engine”
EO Earth
ENERGY FLOW
Oceans Transport Energy & Moisture
ENERGY FLOW
Water Absorbs a Lot of Solar Energy
NASA
Water has a high
specific heat
index—it absorbs a
lot of heat before it
begins to get hot.
Pearson Education
ENERGY FLOW
Oceans Absorb then Transport Energy
ENERGY FLOW
Solar Energy Drives the Water Cycle
ENERGY FLOW
Where Water Ends Up on Land
ENERGY FLOW
MSU
Energy Enters the “Life” Cycle
ENERGY FLOW
Solar Energy Builds Cells & Organisms
How Stuff Works
with Water Drives…
Carbon, Oxygen & Mineral Cycles
ENERGY FLOW
Energy & Water Affect Productivity
NASA
1-C) Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and
methane, retain heat within the Earth’s atmosphere. At
what level of the atmosphere is most of the heat retention
occurring?
a. Thermosphere (near edge of space)
b. Stratosphere (where most cloud layers are)
c. Troposphere (near surface where we live)
1-D) The ultimate source of heat in Earth’s atmosphere is
solar energy. How exactly does the warming of Earth’s
atmosphere occur?
a. Ultraviolet rays from the Sun directly hit
atmospheric molecules and excite them
b. Ultraviolet rays from the Sun directly hit Earth’s
surface and bounce back up
c. Earth’s surface absorbs ultraviolet energy that
slowly warms up Earth’s core
d. Earth’s surface absorbs ultraviolet energy and
reradiates it as infrared energy
ENERGY FLOW
Earth’s Energy Budget
49% REFLECTED
51% RE-RADIATED
51% ABSORBED
Jason Project
ENERGY FLOW
Atmospheric Layers
ENERGY FLOW
Surface to Atmosphere Energy Transfer
ENERGY FLOW
Earlham
TAMU
Energy Forms Air Masses
ENERGY FLOW
Air Masses Form Cells & Streams
NOAA
NOAA
ENERGY FLOW
Cells & Earth’s Rotation
Produce Prevailing Winds
ENERGY FLOW
Air Masses Over Ocean & Land
Produce Climates
ENERGY FLOW
Climate Close to Home
Wikipedia
1-F) The Earth’s major tropical rain forest and
temperate rain forest biomes are both characterized by
having a lot of trees and other plants, though they do not
share the same types of trees and plants. The primary
factor these two biomes have in common that allows for
so many trees and plants to grow successfully in both is:
a.
b.
c.
d.
The same general latitude
Direct sunlight throughout the year
High average annual temperature
High average annual precipitation
1-E) Heat energy from the Sun is first absorbed by Earth
by slowly transferring the heat to the ground (soil, rocks,
plants and parking lots). The heat then re-radiates out of
the ground and begins to warm the air near the surface of
Earth. What happens to that air as it warms up:
a. The air gets more dense and sinks, causing an area
of low pressure beneath it
b. The air gets more dense and sinks, causing an area
of high pressure beneath it
c. The air becomes less dense and rises, causing an
area of low pressure beneath it
d. The air becomes less dense and rises, causing an
area of high pressure beneath it
1-G) The Earth’s major desert biomes all tend to form
along the 30th Parallels (latitude) in both the Northern
and Southern Hemispheres primarily because:
a. Cool, dry air masses descend, causing a high
pressure area
b. Warm, moist air masses rise and cool, causing a
low pressure area
c. Cool and warm air masses are meeting, alternating
high and low pressure areas
d. Earth’s axis is tilted, tipping the Hemispheres away
or toward the Sun as it orbits
1-H) The Earth’s major temperate grassland and
temperate deciduous forest biomes all tend to form in
the Northern Hemisphere between 30 and 60 degrees
latitude primarily because:
a. Cool, dry air masses descend, causing a high
pressure area
b. Warm, moist air masses rise and cool, causing a
low pressure area
c. Cool and warm air masses are meeting, alternating
high and low pressure areas
d. Earth’s axis is tilted, tipping the Hemispheres away
or toward the Sun as it orbits
ENERGY FLOW
Earth’s Energy Budget
49% REFLECTED
51% RE-RADIATED
51% ABSORBED
Jason Project
ENERGY FLOW
Energy Moves Back thru Atmosphere
ENERGY FLOW
Atmospheric Composition
NITROUS OXIDE
WATER
Windows2Universe
CARBON DIOXIDE
METHANE
ENERGY FLOW
Atomic Absorption of Energy
Skeptical Science
ENERGY FLOW
Molecular Transfer of Energy
ENERGY FLOW
Windows2Universe
Energy Absorbed & Re-absorbed
ENERGY FLOW
Energy “Held” in the Atmosphere
Eventually, all
energy flows back
out of Earth’s
system and into
Space.
ENERGY FLOW
Energy’s Full Circle...Lost in Space!
Digital Recordings
ENERGY FLOW
ESNERGY
FLOW ISSUES
USTAINABILITY
The Concern!
IPCC
IPCC
ESNERGY
FLOW ISSUES
USTAINABILITY
The
TheCarbon
CarbonCycle
Cycle(pre-Industrial)
(pre-Industrial)
U.S. Dept. of Energy
ESNERGY
FLOW ISSUES
USTAINABILITY
CCESR
Carbon Stored & Cycled in the Present
How Stuff Works
2-A) Where is most of Earth’s actively cycling carbon
stored; i.e. most effective carbon “sink”?
a.
b.
c.
d.
In the atmosphere
In the plants and animals
In the coal, oil and natural gas
In the oceans
2-B) Which of the following describes the most abundant
active cycling or “flow” of carbon in to and out of Earth’s
atmosphere?
a. Between the plants, soil and the atmosphere
b. Between the ocean surfaces and the atmosphere
c. Between the coal, oil and natural gas sources and
the atmosphere
d. Between outer space and the atmosphere
ESNERGY
FLOW ISSUES
USTAINABILITY
Global Flows of Carbon (pre-Industrial)
Gigatons
120
120
90
90
ESNERGY
FLOW ISSUES
USTAINABILITY
Carbon Stored 300 Million Years Ago
(Released Today)
ESNERGY
FLOW ISSUES
USTAINABILITY
The Carbon Cycle Today
U.S. Dept. of Energy
ESNERGY
FLOW ISSUES
USTAINABILITY
Global Flows of Carbon Today
Gigatons
120 + 2*
7
4
120 + 3
90 + 2
90
Net increase of
2 ppm Carbon in
atmosphere per year
ESNERGY
FLOW ISSUES
USTAINABILITY
Ocean Acidification Impacts
ESNERGY
FLOW ISSUES
USTAINABILITY
Chemistry of Ocean Acidification
2-C) How exactly does an increase in carbon dioxide
actually contribute to warming Earth’s atmosphere?
a. Thickens the layer of molecules in the upper
atmosphere that block heat from escaping, similar
to how glass works in a greenhouse
b. Increases the odds that outgoing heat is recaptured
and retained by the molecules for a bit longer
c. Erodes the ozone layer so the Sun’s energy can enter
the atmosphere directly through the ozone hole
d. Actually, heat generated from all of the combustion
engine and deforestation burning is slowly warming
the atmosphere, not the carbon dioxide directly
ESNERGY
FLOW ISSUES
USTAINABILITY
More Carbon Dioxide in Atmosphere
B
C
Windows2Universe
A
Same timeframe for each scenario.
ESNERGY
FLOW ISSUES
USTAINABILITY
Energy “Held” Near Surface Longer
Net global increase:
of 1.5 W/m2 Energy
or 0.5oC Temperature
ESNERGY
FLOW ISSUES
USTAINABILITY
RADIATIVE FORCING CHANGES
“Warming” Sources (W/m2)
Greenhouse Gases
Ozone
Water Vapor
Solar Irradiance
Misc.
TOTAL
2.4
0.3
0.07
0.12
0.1
2.9
“Cooling” Sources (W/m2)
Land Use (albedo)
Aerosols
Cloud Albedo
TOTAL
0.2
0.5
0.7
1.4
IPCC
NET Radiative Forcing
1.5
CLIMATE SENSITIVITY =
~0.5oC/(W/m2 ) or ~0.9oF/(W/m2)
“Radiative forcing is a measure of the influence a factor has in altering the balance of incoming and
outgoing energy in the Earth-atmosphere system and is an index of the importance of the factor as a
potential climate change mechanism. In this report radiative forcing values are for changes relative to
preindustrial conditions defined at 1750 and are expressed in watts per square meter (W/m2).” - IPCC
ESNERGY
FLOW ISSUES
USTAINABILITY
Natural vs. Man Made Influences
Best Match!
ENERGY FLOW
Dr. Jeffrey R. Corney, Managing Director
University of Minnesota
Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve
2660 Fawn Lake Dr NE
East Bethel, MN 55005
(763) 434-5131
www.cbs.umn.edu/cedarcreek
[email protected]