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Patterns in environmental quality and sustainability Unit 3 Create a definitions list using the handout Weather Climate Atmosphere Insolation Short-wave radiation Long-wave radiation Albedo (Natural) Greenhouse Effect Heat budget Ozone Diffuse radiation Acid rain Heat transfer (vertical and horizontal) Latent heat External Forcings Atmosphere and change Aims: To understand how the atmosphere functions and how its components are being altered Page 100 and 101 – Planet Geography : Read and answer question 1 on back of definitions page (with diagram) GREENHOUSE EFFECT – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzCA60WnoMk Radiation balance = The atmosphere, which contains gases such as water vapour and carbon dioxide, absorbs the Earth's long-wave radiation and subsequently reemits long-wave radiation in all directions. This is known as the "greenhouse effect," which is just one part of the energy exchange process between the surface and the atmosphere. Without it we would be 60F cooler Our atmosphere HEAT BUDGET Net Radiation Received, W m-2 Heat Budget • Incoming solar radiation is not evenly divided over the earth • Net surplus of radiation in tropics and deficit at high-latitudes • This leads to a transport of heat by the oceans and atmosphere from the equatorial regions to the poles • This need to redistribute heat is the main driving force the oceanic and atmospheric circulation Why differences in the amount of solar radiation? 1) Angle of impact of solar radiation 2) Solar constant 3) Distance from the sun 4) Tilt of the planet 5) Wobble CHANGES IN SOLAR RADIATION AFFECT OF CLOUDS (AN EXAMPLE OF NEGATIVE FEEDBACK) POSITIVE FEEDBACK – melting of the ice, more seawater, increase in albedo, less heat reflected, more heat abosrbed – LINKS TO FUTURE SLIDE CHANGES IN ALBEDO (Quantitative measure) About 50 million sq km of the Earth's terrestrial surface undergo a transition each year from freeze to thaw. This change can be detected by the amount of sunlight that is reflected by the Earth's surface at various wavelengths. 0 (none is reflected) – 1 (all is reflected) Examples? Deep ocean water = 0 Fresh snow = 1 Examples of albedoes • • • • • • • Oceans and lakes Sea ice Fresh snow Tundra Conifer forest Broadleaf forest Desert 0.03-0.10 0.30-0.45 0.75-0.95 0.15-0.20 0.09-0.15 0.15-0.20 0.20-0.45 The snow – albedo feedback loop Increases in temperature Decreases in snow cover Increase in heat absorption Decreases in albedo CHANGES IN LONGWAVE RADIATION CLIMATE CHANGE – CAUSE AND EFFECT (including solutions) Composition of Earth's Atmosphere Nitrogen 78.1% Oxygen 20.9% Argon 0.9% Carbon dioxide, Methane, Rare (inert) gases 0.1% Water vapor Ash cloud CLIMATE CHANGE – CAUSES CLIMATE CHANGE - AIR http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/inter active/2009/oct/22/climate-change-carbonemissions CLIMATE CHANGE - WATER CLIMATE CHANGE - WATER CLIMATE CHANGE - WATER CLIMATE CHANGE - WATER http://flood.firetree.net/?ll=16.3412,97.3388& z=12&m=7 CLIMATE CHANGE - WATER CLIMATE CHANGE – EFFECTS: PEOPLE Natural Earth would be frozen -19 degrees Celsius (present 15 degrees). Venus 462 degrees! Mars too cold. 80-90% of greenhouse gases is water vapour CLIMATE CHANGE – RESPONSES: KYOTO CLIMATE CHANGE – RESPONSES: COPENHAGEN Global weirding Causes: Human – before the industrial revolution Earth had roughly 280 ppm of CO2. Today – 384 ppm. Natural – earth’s orbit is not circular, its an ellipse – cycle of 100,000 yrs. Also, earth’s tilt – creates seasons but every 40,000 yrs it changes slightly. Also, earth’s orbit changes very slightly every 21,000. These 3 are called the Milankovitch Cycles. Looking back over the last 670,000 yrs using ice data, ave temp has varied by 6 degrees centigrade. This is to large to be explained by natural factors alone. In the last 50 yrs, CO2 particles inclreased from 280ppm to 284ppm – not coming from the oceans but burning fossil fuels. IPCC report in 2007 stated that with 90% confidence greenhouse gas emissions were due to inudstry and agricultural. If increase to 550 ppm then = 3 degree rise. 450 ppm = 2 degree rise. Effects – bleaching of coral /acidification due to carbonic acid being produced – CO2 plus H20. China has accelerated emissions in the last 5 yrs though. Political interference has altered some IPCC reports though plus models can be unreliable. Western Siberia – carbon could be released from peat bogs – 500bn tonnes if the ice thaws . Need to understand that climate change is not always going to behave in a linear fashion – exponential instead. P.131 – detail for Montana. Global warming is not uniform like the term implies. Its uneven. Solution – local meteorologists can educate ppl. Controversial though. Soil and Change Aims: To identify the causes and effects of soil degradation as well as evaluate solutions S.D. = Negative process often accelerated by human activities (improper soil use and cultivation practices, building areas) that leads to deterioration of soil properties and functions or destruction of soil as a whole, e.g. compaction, erosion, salinization. (E.U.) Drought: a deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time, usually a season or more Drought and desertification: case study India and Pakistan • Processes and human and physical causes: Drought due to physical structure of the region (NATURAL) Monsoon rains fall in certain parts of the region but not in other which causes drought and desert conditions (NATURAL) Increasing population creating pressure which is faster than overall growth of India (HUMAN) irrigation is diverting water from the North and South (HUMAN) Greater amounts of animals – increased by over 50% between 1983 and 1997 (HUMAN) More land is being sown also (HUMAN) Erosion from wind (3%) and water (18% land) 18% forest degraded, salting (2%) waterlogging (1%) (HUMAN?) ARAVALLI HILLS: Eastern boundary of the Thar desert (meeting point of humid and arid areas). Rainfall not declining and slight variations in Monsoon rainfall ut environmental pressure = hills exploited for marble and limestone and metal ores (destruction of vegetation). Between 1972-84, 42% of forest has been removed and sand dunes have taken their place. Run off is now more rapid with overgrazing and population increase. Environmental damage in a LEDC – Case study : The Sahel The Sahel regions are areas which experience desertification. So what has caused this?-Us! S O D U Soil exhaustion (planting too many crops) Overgrazing (too many cattle) Deforestation (cutting down trees) Up and down ploughing Why does the Sahel suffer from desertification? DESERTIFICATION Increase in cattle Increase in population Deforestation for fire wood Grassland grazed more intensively Roots no longer hold soil together Roots may be eaten as well as grass Leaves no longer protect soil from weather Less vegetation means less protection from weather Loose top soil blown away by wind Loose top soil blown away by wind (Soil Erosion) (Soil Erosion) = DESERTIFICATION = SOIL DEGRADATION - SOLUTIONS Notes(Guajarat): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkYhW9AUCG8 Excellent video about how water problem is being solved by women AUSTRALIA’S DRY RUN Farmer – now only has 70 cattle when 5 yrs ago had 500. Have to feed on roadside grass since has no grass. He cannot buy grain since $000,000’s in debt. Only him and his wife working on the farm used to have 5 farmhands. "The last three years we've had essentially no water. That's what is killing us.“ Water is present along the Southern Main Canal, an irrigation channel from the Murray River. The farmer is allowed to draw 273m gallons a water a yr after paying for a permit. City of Adelaide, corporate farms and protected wetlands all take the water also. Due to drought in last 3 years, the farmer is not allowed to take water. Still pays for water but cannot use it. All farmers are facing difficulties. Current 7 yr drought is worst in Australia’s 117 yr history. When rainfall happens it can sometimes miss the areas that need it plus towns of Queensland get flooded. 3/4s of a degree temp increase over the last 15 years so greater evaporation is taking place. This area is one of the least fertile places on Earth. Soi is old and fertile because it hasnt been stirred up by glaciers within the past million years. Colonial powers felled 15bn trees which could cope with the arid conditions and introduced crops not suited to a desert ecosystem as well as animals. Endless plowing degraded the soil further. Murray River has been affected by weirs, locks and barrages so irrigation can take place. Unnatural – run high when it should low, runs low when it should be high – increased salinity so poisons wetland and makes land unfit for cultivation. There is conflict for the water. Communities are becoming ghost towns. Whole farming sectors such as rice collapse. Riverland district of South Australia – farmer can only use 16% of their water allocation. He has to choose one crop over another. One farmer states that the government encouraged unsustainable farming practices. Goyder Line – bounadary that marks the limit of sufficient rainfall for crops to grow in South Australia. Settlements, irrigation and crop land was established on the wrong side of the line, where grassland gave way to bush. Crops became a large part of exports. Water was used without any limits (used to wash away soil, irrigation was leak proof). Water rights culd be sold by farmers that didnt use them. Industrialists were offered tax incentives to create superfarms, e.g. Olive groves. Late 90s New South Wales And Queensland handed out many licenses to extract water. Increased drought meant decreased allocations. The mouth of Water and change • How is water utilized at a regional level • Human and environmental factors affecting physical water scarcity and economic water scarcity • Safe drinking water http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywBE4qCU-E Dubai History: DEWA . Aral Sea Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Kazakhstan Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan 1918 1930 1970s 1980s 1987 Moynaq, Uzbekistan Economic water scarcity Indian Caste System Israel and Palestine Biodiversity and change Aims: To understand the concept and importance of biodiversity and examine the causes and effects of reduced biodiversity ...defined as a forest in the tropics receiving 4-8 meters of rain each year The importance of tropical rainforests RAINFOREST PHARMACY ANIMAL HABITAT HOME FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE REGULATING CLIMATE 1992 2006 National Geographic article notes Amazonia – last 40 years approx 20% of Amazon has been cut down (more than last 450 yrs) altho doesnt count selective logging. An additional 29% could be lost. This will mean less rain, more drought and more fires and more greenhouse gases. CAUSES – 1)Road building (105,000 miles of unauthorised roads) created by loggers. Ranchers and others move in once loggers have gone. They then claim rights to the land, (titles are fraudulent). Brazil’s agricultural dept found that >62k claims were fraudulent. IBAMA – env agency. Has only a handful of inspectors. Overwhelmed and have to deal with violence. Post Stang – Gov had a crackdown, suspending logging permits. Uncovered corruption within IBAMA; selling millions of endangered hardwoods to US, EU & Asia. Brazil using satellites to track clearings but inadequate resources on the ground. History – 1970s – Brazil’s military gov had a poLicy of ‘occupy it or lose it’ to get ppl out of the SE to Amazonia. Poor settlers rarely given title to the land though whilst those well connected given large blocks which encouraged logging and ranching. Had to productively use the land within 5 yrs though or risk losing ownership. If no productivity then ppl moved in and conflict took place. Mato Grosso – Blairo Maggi – ‘King of Soy’ + governor of the state. Built a city, Sopeal, to service a plantation. Hey buys soy from 900 mid-size farms. Brazil is an agricultural powerhouse – the world leader in beef exports, 2nd to the US in soy beans. Brazil is the only country where soy expansion can take place. Maggi is working with environmentalists though and supports international environmental & social standards, (no slave labour. No illegally cleared land, no spraying near streams). Further info here also! Soy beans need large amounts of chemicals Could be Long term economic and env problems though since unknowns re acidification of soils. In Mato Grosso, farmers can clear up to 20% of their land with the remainder left as reserve. If veg is a mixture of savanna and trop rainforest then up to 50% can be cleared. Laws are flauted though. American MNCs who produce agri procts – tractors, also benefitting. Feb 2006 – President Lula announced protection of 16m acres - only environmental friendly logging can take place. This and other measures have reduced deforestation by 30% in 2005. Indians patrol areas using satellite tech and have weapons. 7 dams are planed to be built on the Xingu and Madeira rivers as well as other large projects. Dams will power aluminium smelters. US NC Cargill is being sued for poor EIA of the port of Santarem. However last summer Cargill and 2 other big soy traders agreed to a 2 yr moratorium on buying soy beans from newly deforested land. Sustainable development / environmental sustainability Aims: To understand the concept of environmental sustainability and evaluate a national strategy CASE STUDY – SOUTH AFRICA (plus Hippos) Definition – sustainable development ‘…..development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. ‘ Brundtland Report 1987 Local environmental sustainability – case study Hippos http://www.hipporoller.org/ Problem: Keeps children out of school Health problems – 20l – spine / childbirth Landmines Need a secure water source for economic growth and poverty reduction Solution: Can carry more water 90kg of water now 10kg Moves over most types of terrain South Africa: Kgautswane Kgautswane, South Africa. Rural area where 120,000 residents depend on a small number of wells to provide them with water. Not enough and only provide water once or twice a week. Have to spend as much as 7 hours a day collecting water. Community leaders responsible for organising Hippos who prioritises needs, (old, AIDS)