* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download The Great Conveyor Belt and Abrupt Climate Change
Survey
Document related concepts
Effects of global warming on humans wikipedia , lookup
Iron fertilization wikipedia , lookup
Climate change, industry and society wikipedia , lookup
Global warming wikipedia , lookup
Public opinion on global warming wikipedia , lookup
Climate change and poverty wikipedia , lookup
IPCC Fourth Assessment Report wikipedia , lookup
Future sea level wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming on human health wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming on Australia wikipedia , lookup
Years of Living Dangerously wikipedia , lookup
Ocean acidification wikipedia , lookup
Global warming hiatus wikipedia , lookup
Transcript
The Great Conveyor Belt and Abrupt Climate Change Cycle A TEAM iTeachers aka Team 10 Questions and Answers o Is there an agency from the government that has been tracking the temperatures of the oceans for several years? Event>Hydrosphere o Yes, it is called IOOS (Integrated Ocean Observing System), IOOS is a multiagency, cooperative effort based on a continuously operating network of buoys, ships, satellites, underwater vehicles, and other platforms that routinely collect real-time data and manage historical information. These data are needed for rapid detection and timely prediction of changes in our nation's ocean and coastal waters and they started collecting data in 1990. This does not give us a good picture of how the data can be reliable. We now by the article in the scenario that Benjamin Franklin collected data but how accurate was it and can that data be up to par as the data can is being collected now? http://secoora.org/classroom/flowing_ocean/currents_glossary http://www.ioos.gov/about/history.html Is there enough evidence to think that we are the problem in this equation? Biosphere>Event o According to research data this has happened before and it caused an Ice Age but this is not likely to happen, according to NASA. http://oceanmotion.org/html/impact/conveyor.htm How can you track the salt saturation of the oceans if it keeps moving? Event>Hydrosphere According to the IOOS, when water is saltier it is denser and will sink to the bottom of the ocean and the fresher water will rise. Fresher water is cooler than salty water and water closer to the poles will freeze easier. http://secoora.org/classroom/flowing_ocean/currents_glossary o Salt is naturally warm, does this have to do anything with the warming of the water. Event>Hydrosphere o Yes but it is more important to see what happens to the salty water. This is almost the same answer as the question above. Salty water is warmer but if the water is to saturated with salt it will sink and fresher water will rise. If the ocean stops its conveyer belt will the ocean currents stop? Event>Hydrosphere Yes they are connected buy according to the IOOS this is not likely to happen. It will affect is some ways but it will not affect the whole world. First, a slowdown or even a stoppage of the meridional overturning circulation would NOT spell the end to the Gulf Stream. Wind and large-scale turbulence drive the bulk of the Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, of which the Gulf Stream is a part. The Gulf Stream would, however, draw significantly less water from the tropics. Second, unlike during the Younger Dryas, a weakening of the meridional overturning circulation will NOT trigger another ice age. Rising temperatures due to global warming would offset most of the temperature drop. Armadas of icebergs floating off the New Jersey coast are just Hollywood fantasies. http://oceanmotion.org/html/impact/conveyor.htm o How will this affect animals that use the ocean currents to navigate and find their food? Event>Biosphere It keeps the ocean's temperature constant, distributes oxygen throughout the oceans and even on land (so basically distributes oxygen around the whole world), and also keeps some coastlines' temperature constant. It is relied on by almost all marine life and a lot of land life too, without it, many eco-systems would not be able to exist. http://www.bukisa.com/articles/81969_the-ocean-conveyor-the-bloodstream-ofthe-earth#ixzz1ey0XVvCe o Will this affect land animals or humans? Event>Biosphere o How much change in water temperatures can human life sustain? Event>Hydrosphere o Gases will be release and kill all living things. http://www.bukisa.com/articles/81969_the-ocean-conveyor-the-bloodstream-ofthe-earth#ixzz1ey1Q06K1 Human life can sustain and has sustained increase in global water temperatures. It is dependent on how drastic the temperature change is and if human life can adapt to that change. Is Global Warming affecting ocean currents? Event>Hydrosphere Global warming could affect ocean currents by altering the amount of freshwater being brought into the ocean waters. “Curry noted that excessive amounts of freshwater dumped into the North Atlantic could alter seawater density and, in time, affects the flow of the North Atlantic Ocean current. (Global warming has boosted freshwater runoff in the form of glacier melt water and additional precipitation, Curry said.)” (Roach, 2005) http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0627_050627_oceancurrent.html o Can human intervention prevent an abrupt change in the ocean currents? Biosphere>Event Human intervention can help to prevent or decrease Global warming. Humans can decrease the amount of natural resources being used and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. o Are these changes in the ocean currents happening at a pace where animal life is already adapting to them? Event>Biosphere “A new study shows that animals, plants, and insects are responding quickly to changing temperatures, moving their habitats to cooler climates so swiftly that they’ve surprised scientists.” (Newitz, 2011) Animals are already changing as the global temperatures increase. Newitz goes on to say that, “This study also reveals that the natural world has been aware of the effects of global warming for at least forty years, and some species are adapting to it as best they can.” http://io9.com/5831917/animals-are-adapting-more-rapidly-to-climate-change-thanhumans o If the circuit would stop would it affect the Water cycle? Event>Hydroshpere The ocean plays a key role in this vital cycle of water. The ocean holds 97% of the total water on the planet; 78% of global precipitation occurs over the ocean, and it is the source of 86% of global evaporation. Besides affecting the amount of atmospheric water vapor and hence rainfall, evaporation from the sea surface is important in the movement of heat in the climate system. Water evaporates from the surface of the ocean, mostly in warm, cloud-free subtropical seas. This cools the surface of the ocean, and the large amount of heat absorbed the ocean partially buffers the greenhouse effect from increasing carbon dioxide and other gases. Water vapor carried by the atmosphere condenses as clouds and falls as rain, mostly in the ITCZ, far from where it evaporated, Condensing water vapor releases latent heat and this drives much of the atmospheric circulation in the tropics. This latent heat release is an important part of the Earth’s heat balance, and it couples the planet’s energy and water cycles…. http://science.nasa.gov/earth-science/oceanography/ocean-earth-system/ocean-watercycle/ o What would be the effect on the ocean life if the conveyor would stop? Event>Biosphere o Without a mechanism to get the nutrients back to the surface, the oceans would lose about one-fiftieth of their nutrients to this sinking process each year, Sarmiento said. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0615_040614_SouthernOcean_2.ht ml What were the consequences if it did? Event>Hydrosphere>Biosphere Scientists call this density-driven component of the meridional overturning circulation the thermohaline circulation; thermo meaning heat and saline meaning salt. Without this density-driven process, deep water currents would no longer be created. The global conveyor belt would grind to a halt….http://oceanmotion.org/html/impact/conveyor.htm o How is Global Warning connected to the Great Conveyor Belt? Event>Atmosphere o Global warming will increase precipitation, river run-off, melting of the Greenland ice sheet, and melting of polar sea ice, all of which will increase the amount of fresh water flowing into the critical deep-water formation areas by Greenland…http://www.wunderground.com/resources/climate/abruptclimate.asp Why is global warming raising the potential of unlocking large amounts of fresh water now frozen in the vast of Greenland? Event>Atmosphere>Hydrosphere o o o The warming of air temperatures could also increase the evaporation in low latitudes and transport freshwater vapor toward high latitudes, where it falls as rain or snow into the oceans. Why does salinity affect germination? Event> Biosphere>Hydrosphere Electrolytes in the water inhibit the plants ability to absorb water which is essential for germination. http://www.echohem.com/t_dsalt.html Why does salinity and heat affect the density? Event>Hydrosphere As the temperature of a substance decreases, its density increases. Therefore, cold water is denser and sinks below warm water. Saline water is denser than fresh water because the densities of dissolved ions are greater than water. Therefore, saline water is denser and sinks below fresh of less saline water. http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/water-denstiy-effects-salinity-temperature/ Why does salinity affect the movement of water in the deep ocean? Event>Hydrosphere The ocean is divided into two layers: bottom (cold) and top (warm) layer. Salinity makes water dense causing it for it to sink to the bottom of the ocean, leaving a thin layer of warm water. The surface water gets warmed as it passes through the tropics and it loses its heat as it reaches the poles. This process continues as eventually all the saline water circulates through the ocean. http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/545.html http://sealevel.ipl.nasa.gov/education/classactivities/onlineetutorial2/ o This image shows how the density of the salt in the ocean affect the temperature of the oceans. If all the oceans play roles in stabilizing the world climate, how is it that the changes in water temperature could affect the great conveyor belt? Event>Hydrosphere Dramatic climate change can occur from the reduction of large-scale mixing of waterthermohaline circulation-throughout the ocean. Increased precipitation and widespread melting of ice caused by global warming could create a larger layer of fresh water that would slow or prevent normal themohaline mixing and would affect the currents offshore from Greenland and Newfoundland. http://www.neaq.org/conservation_and_research/climate_change/climate_change_and_ the_ocean.php o Is the marine life on the conveyor belt any different from the rest? Event>Biosphere The rich nutrients of the conveyor belt help feed the phytoplankton that lives at the ocean’s surface. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0615_040614southernocean.htmi What needs to be done? Torres and Rivera – Will research how the Biosphere is affected by the halting of The Great Conveyer Belt. Event >Hydrosphere>Atmosphere>Biosphere If the Conveyer Belt was to stop it will cause bacteria in the oceans to grow at an astronomical rate. Stagnant waters lacking in oxygen would provide a perfect home for anoxic bacteria. Anoxic bacteria gives off hydrogen sulfide gas which is colorless, toxic, and highly flammable and reeks of rotten eggs and flatulence. This would be released into the air and would be circulated around the Earth through the convection currents in the atmosphere. This would kill off almost all land living animals, plants and other life that respirate using oxygen and this is happening in some stagnant lakes and swamps but on a low scale such as in Green Lake, NY. Many animals that depend on the currents to find their food will be lost and food webs and chains will be affected and disrupt sea life population. This will in turn affect the food supply for humans, especially the ones that depend on seafood. http://www.bukisa.com/articles/81969_the-ocean-conveyor-the-bloodstream-of-theearth#ixzz1ey1Q06K1 How much of our food supply is provided by the ocean? Event>hydrosphere>biosphere The importance of seafood in the human diet varies greatly around the world. In the United States, consumption is roughly 7 kilograms (about 15 pounds) per person per year. Clams and oysters dominate the mollusk category, followed by scallops, mussels, and abalone. Total mollusk production exceeds 15 million metric tons annually. Humans eat fish protein more than any other type of protein. Read more: Food from the Sea - oceans, percentage, important, largest, salt, plants, source, marine, human http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/En-Ge/Food-from-the-Sea.html#ixzz1fUPGqlgc Arias and Medina- Will research how the Hydrosphere is affected by the Great Conveyer Belt. Event>Atmosphere>Hydroshpere Heat transported by the conveyor belt plays a major role in controlling the earth’s climate, including the direction of sea breezes. The conveyor belt continuous flow moves the water and releases heat causing the surface water to be evaporated and condensed. This is why the Pacific has a relative warmer temperature. As the poles warm up due to climate change there is more fresh water entering the ocean. This could cause the conveyor belt to a halt due to climate change. http://education.gsfc.nasa.gov/ESSSProject/NewLessons/hydrospere/ENSO/Team00?ts1sibg.pdf http://sos.noaa.gov/datasets/Ocean/ocean_conveyor_belt.html De Leon - Will research how the Lithosphere is affected by the Great Conveyer Belt? Event>Lithosphere For thousands of years the earths lithosphere was relied on the Great Oceans Conveyor belt to keep it firm and sturdy, but if this was to change a disaster may occur. If this was to happen the force of the plates tectonics that have shaped the Earth on the surface may move causing the disruption of the asthenospheric. Causing earth’s release of internal heat by convection, as if you were boiling pudding on a stovetop. The Hot asthenospheric mantles rise to the lithosphere and spread laterally, transporting oceans and continents. All caused by the changing temperatures due to a slow conveyor belt. This may also cause volcanoes to erupt or earthquakes to occur. I have placed a video that demonstrates the freezing of the ocean floor. http://youtu.be/SM6sDEtgPx0 http://homepage.usask.ca/~src594/Earthquakes.html Problem Statement If the Conveyer belt comes to a halts or slows down, what chain reactions will be created and to what magnitude can we expect this abrupt changes to occur? We need to see what chain reaction will affect living things and how. We should be able to learn what will happen to the water and how this will affect fish, bacteria, sea transportation, tides, and all the ways this changes will affect us and Earth.