WHAT LAYER OF THE ATMOSPHERE?

CROSS SECTION OF PERMAFROST

IN THE DISCONTINUOUS PERMAFROST, THE GROUND IS WITHIN 1-2 DEGREES OF MELTING, THE PERMAFROST WILL DISSAPEAR.

THE CONTINUOUS PERMAFROST WILL SEE UPHEAVALS IN THE FREEZING AND THAWING THAT WILL RESULT.

THE ARCTIC HAS 1/3 OF THE WORLD’S STORED CARBON. MUCH OF THIS WOULD BE RELEASED ON THAWING OF THE PERMAFROST.

SUB-ARCTIC WESTERN SIBERIA IS THE WORLD’S LARGEST FROZEN PEAT BOG.

IT CONTAINS HUGE AMOUNTS OF FROZEN METHANE HYDRATE.

METHANE IS A GREEN HOUSE GAS THAT CAN ABSORB 20 TIMES THE AMOUNT OF HEAT AS CARBON DIOXIDE.

Distribution of organic carbon in Earth (excluding dispersed carbon in rocks and sediments, which equals nearly 1,000 times this total amount). Numbers in gigatons (1015 tons) of carbon.

EFFECT OF SPRUCE BARK BEETLES ON THE KENAI PENINSULA.

The Anopheles mosquito, a carrier of many diseases such as malaria, encephalitis, yellow fever and dengue fever

Photo: CDC/James Gathany

WITH WARMING, THE RANGE INCREASES - LATITUDE AND ALTITUDE

THINGS AREN’T GETTING ANY BETTER:

CO2 EMISSIONS GREW AT AN ANNUAL RATE OF 1.1% IN THE 1990’S

FROM 2000 TO 2004, THE ANNUAL GROWTH RATE FOR CO2 WAS 3% - NEARLY TRIPLE THAT FOR THE 1990’S

DEVELOPING NATIONS ACCOUNTED FOR 73% OF THE EMISSIONS GROWTH

NO REGION HAD REDUCED THE PERCENTAGE OF ITS CARBON EMISSIONS

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

WHAT IS DRIVING THIS?

MAINLY POPULATION.

IT WAS NOT UNTIL 1830 THAT GLOBAL POPULATION REACHED ONE BILLION.

THE SECOND ONE BILLION TOOK ONLY 100 YEARS.

THE THIRD ONE BILLION TOOK ONLY 30 YEARS.

THE FOURTH ONE BILLION TOOK ONLY 20 YEARS.

THE FIFTH ONE BILLION TOOK ONLY 12 YEARS.

WE ARE ADDING POPULATION AT THE RATE OF 80 MILLION PER YEAR - MOSTLY IN THE POOREST COUNTRIES.

THIS IS A RECIPE FOR MANY BAD THINGS - NONE OF THEM GOOD.

POSSIBLE TIPPING POINTS:

1. CHANGE IN EARTH’S ALBEDO

2. MELTING OF GREENLAND ICE CAP AND CHANGE IN GULF STREAM

3. MELTING OF PERMAFROST AND RELEASE OF CARBON DIOXIDE AND METHANE

4. LOSS OF AMAZON RAIN FOREST

FACTORS THAT DETERMINE CLIMATE:

1. LATITUDE

2. ELEVATION

3. NEARBY WATER

4. OCEAN CURRENTS

5. TOPOGRAPHY

6. VEGETATION

7. PREVAILING WINDS

8. El NINO / LA NINA

REGIONAL CLIMATE DETERMINES THE TYPE OF ORGANISMS THAT CAN SURVIVE THERE.

WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT BIOMES – AREAS OF SIMILAR CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. THESE INCLUDE:

TUNDRATAIGATEMPERATE FORESTSGRASSLANDSDESERTSTROPICAL FORESTSAQUATIC BIOMES

ANOTHER CLIMATE CLASSIFICATIION SYSTEM IS THE KOPPEN SYSTEM.

IT IS BASED ON THE IDEA THAT THE BEST EXPRESSION OF CLIMATE IS THE TYPE OF NATIVE VEGETATION THAT EXISTS IN THE REGION.

THE SYSTEM USES 5 MAJOR CATEGORIES WITH SUBDIVISIIONS.

THE KOPPEN SYSTEM IS BASED ON TEMPERATURE, PRECIPITATION, AND SEASONS.

THE FIVE MAJOR DIVISIONS ARE:

GROUP A – TROPICAL/HIGH TEMPERATURE CLIMATES

GROUP B – DRY CLIMATESGROUP C – MILD TEMPERATE CLIMATESGROUP D – CONTINENTAL/LOW TEMPERATURE CIMATESGROUP E – POLAR CLIMATES

EACH MAJOR GROUP IS DIVIDED INTO TWO OR MORE SUB GROUPS DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF RAINFALL AND IF SEASONS EXIST.

FOR EXAMPLE, TAKE GROUP A, TROPICAL. IT IS DIVIDED INTO:

Af – TROPICAL RAINFORESTS – ALL 12 MONTHS HAVE AN AVERAGE RAINFALL OF 2.4 IN. OR MORE

Am – TROPICAL MONSOON – HAS A DRY SEASON SHORTLY AFTER THE WINTER SOLSTICE, BUT STILL WITH SOME RAIN

Aw – TROPICAL WET AND DRY OR SAVANNA - HAS A VERY DRY SEASON