climate and global change notes 1-1 earth system science climate and global change lecture:three...

Climate and Global Change Notes

1-1

Earth System Science

Climate and Global Change

Lecture: Three 50-min classes or two 1-hr and 15-min classes for a semester

Labs: One 2-hr lab per week during the semester

Course Description: Introduction to the Earth’s atmosphere and climate system. Structure and interaction of the components of this system. Natural and human-induced changes in these components, including the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion, air pollution, acid rain, biodiversity, and climate change.

Possible The Earth System (2nd edition)Text: by L.R. Kump, J.F. Kasting and R.G. Crane

Many other options


1-2

Listening

Level 1 - Involvement in the Discussion

At this level, listeners evaluate the speaker’s words attempting to make connections with their own experiences, concepts from other courses, and ideas previously presented in this course. Some characteristics of level 1 listening include taking in main ideas; acknowledging and responding; not letting oneself be distracted; paying total attention to the speaker and the topic. It also requires that the listener show both verbally and nonverbally that he or she is truly listening.

Level 2 - Hearing Words, But Not Really Listening

At this level, people stay at the surface of the communication and do not listen to make connections and develop understanding of what is being said. They try to hear what the speaker is saying, but make little effort to understand the speaker’s intent. Level 2 listeners tend to listen logically, but remain emotionally detached from the subject. Level 2 listening can lead to dangerous misunderstandings because the listener is concentrating only slightly on what is said.


1-3

Listening

Level 3 -Listening in Spurts

Tuning in and tuning out, being only somewhat aware of the communication, mainly paying attention to other things. Level 3 listening is quiet, passive listening without responding. Often a person listening at this level is faking attention while thinking about unrelated matters. The listener may display a blank stare.


1-4

Introduction

Course Quote 1

As a crab moves on the ocean-bottom, but is of the water, so man rests his feet upon the earth - but lives in the air. Man thinks of the crab as a water-animal; illogically and curiously, he calls himself a creature of the land.

As water environs the crab, so air surrounds, permeates, and vivifies the body of man. If traces of noxious gas mingle with it, he coughs and his complexion turns deathly gray. If it becomes overcharged with water-droplets, he gropes helplessly in fog. If it moves too fast, he becomes a pitiable wind-swept creature, cowering in cellars and ditches. Even for rain he is dependent on air. If actually removed from air, he dies immediately.

Physicists describe the air as tasteless, odorless, and invisible. It could not well be otherwise. But these are not so much its qualities as adjustments of man. For if air impressed the senses, being at the same time all-pervasive, it would necessarily obscure all other tastes, odors, and sights.

George Stewart, "Storm", Modern Library, Random House, p. 19.


1-5

Introduction

Course Quote 2

Despite man’s pretensions to art and civilization, man’s existence depends on 4 inches of topsoil and the fact that it rains.

Author Unknown

Course Quote 3

Treat the Earth well: it was not given to you by your parents: it was loaned to you by your children.

We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.

Author Unknown


1-6

Introduction

Course Quote 4

1854 Chief Sealth of the Duwamiah Tribe (the Puget Sound Indians by another account) was asked to sell a large area of land in what is now Washington State. Seattle, a corruption of the chief’s name, is built in the heart of the Duwamish land. He and his people were promised a reservation by President Franklin Pierce. The following is a condensation of the reply written in 1855 and remains one of the most eloquent statements ever made in appreciation of the environment.

The great chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?

Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. For the land is sacred to us.


1-7

Introduction

Course Quote 4 (Con’t)

The shining water that moves in the stream and the river is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors. The rivers are our brothers, they quench our thirst. The rivers carry our canoes and feed our children. If we sell our land then you must remember, and teach our children, that the rivers are our brothers and yours, and you must henceforth give the rivers the kindness that you would give any brother.

And what is there to life when man cannot hear the lonely cry of the poor whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around a pool at night? The Indian prefers the soft sound of the wind darting over the face of a pond and the smell of the wind itself, cleansed by the rain or scented by the pinion pine. The air is precious to the red man for all things share the same breath: the beast, the tree, the man, they all share the same breath.


1-8

Introduction

Course Quote 4 (Con’t)

You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our own children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls earth, befalls the sons of earth. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

Even the white man, whose God walks and talks with him as friend to friend, cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all. We shall see. One thing we know, which the white man may one day discover – our God is the same God. You may think that you own Him as you wish to own the land; but you cannot. He is the God of man and His compassion is equal for the red man and the white. The earth is precious to Him, and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its Creator.


1-9

Course Roadmap

Observing Climate

Earth’s Radiation & Energy Budget

Hydrologic Cycle Oceanic Motions

Atmospheric Constituents

Introduction to the Climate System

Atmospheric Motions

Ocean Currents

Volcanoes & Climate

The Sun

Orbital Changes & Climate

Greenhouse Gases & Climate

Continental Drift

Climate & Global Changes

Ice & Sea Level

Stratospheric Ozone Hole

Earth - A Special Planet

Urban Changes & Climate

Regional Changes

Carbon Cycle

El Niño - La Niña & Climate

Motions & Climate


1-10

Climate and Global Change

What is Climate?What is Global Change or Global Warming?

Earth’s Climate System

Variability of the Earth SystemBudgets and CyclesExternal Forcing

Science Concepts

The Earth System (Kump, Kasting and Crane)

• Chap. 19 (p. 290)• Chap. 1

Introduction


1-11

Climate

• “The study of climate can assume many forms.... We will regard climate in a very broad sense in terms of the mean physical state of the climate system.The climate can be defined as a set of averaged quantities completed with the higher moment statistics (such as variances, covariances, correlations, etc.) that characterize the structure and behavior of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and cryosphere over a period of time.” (Peixoto and Oort 1992)

• “Climate is the synthesis of the weather in a particular region.” (Hartman 1994)

• “Climate is a summary of weather conditions over a period of years, including how temperature and rainfall vary with the seasons.” (Krauskopf and Beiser 1997)

• “Climatology is the study of the exchanges of energy and mass at the interface between the atmosphere and the surface of the Earth.” (Lydolph 1985)

• “The average course or condition of the weather at a place over a period of years as exhibited by temperature, wind velocity, and precipitation.” (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary 1975)

What is climate?


1-12

Climate Elements

• Air temperature - The degree of hotness or coldness of a substance asmeasured by a thermometer. It is also a measure of the average kinetic energy of the atoms and molecules in a substance.

• Humidity - A general term that refers to the air’s water vapor content (e.g., specific humidity, relative humidity, etc.).

• Air pressure - Atmospheric pressure is felt as the force that the air molecules exert of a surface. The magnitude of this force per area equals the weight of the air above that surface area.

• Clouds - A collection of many liquid water droplets or ice crystals (or both) in the atmosphere.

• Precipitation - Any form of water particles, liquid or solid, that falls from the atmosphere and reaches the ground.

• Wind - Air in motion relative to the Earth’s surface. Note: wind is a vector and has both speed and direction.

What parameters make up climate?


1-13

Climate

Alabama Annual Average Temperature

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

1895 1900 1905 1910 1915 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Year

Temperature (°F)

Annual Average112-Year Average30-Year Running Average10-Year Average

Data Source: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/divplot1_form.pl?0106


1-14

Climate

Alabama Annual Average Precipitation

Data Source: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/divplot1_form.pl?0106

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

1895 1900 1905 1910 1915 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Year

Precipitation (in)

Annual Average112-Year Average30-Year Running Average10-Year Average


1-15

Global Topography

Worlds Mountain Ranges

• Highest topography in red; blue lowest topography


1-16

Climate

Koppen Climate Classifications• Western hemisphere


1-17

Record Maximum Temperature

By State Through 2000• Alabama highest temperature = 112°F (9/5/1925 in Centerville)

Alaska = 100°FHawaii = 100°F

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/severeweather/a-thigh.gif


1-18

Record Minimum Temperature

By State Through 1996

Alaska = -80°FHawaii = 12°F

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/severeweather/a-thigh.gif

By State Through 2000• Alabama lowest temperature = -27°F (1/30/1966 in New Market)


1-19

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Temperature (°F)

Max Temp 48.9 54.6 63.4 72.3 79.6 86.5 89.4 89 83 72.9 61.6 52.4

Ave Temp 39.8 44.3 52.3 60.4 68.6 76 79.5 78.6 72.4 61.3 51.2 43.1

Min Temp 30.7 34 41.2 48.4 57.5 65.4 69.5 68.1 61.7 49.6 40.7 33.8

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Huntsville Temperature Climate

Huntsville Mean Monthly Temperature

• Mean Annual Temperature = 60.6°F (1971-2000)

• Record High = 102°F Record Low = -11°F


1-20

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Temperature (°F)

CHICAGO 22 27 37.3 47.8 58.7 68.2 73.3 71.7 63.8 52.1 39.3 27.4

PHILADELPHIA 32.3 34.8 43.2 53.1 63.5 72.3 77.6 76.3 68.8 57.2 47.1 37.4


Philadelphia Vs Chicago Temperature

Mean Monthly Average Temperature

• Chicago Mean Average Annual Temperature = 49.1°F (1971-2000)

• Philadelphia Mean Average Annual Temperature = 55.3°F (1971-2000)


1-21

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

Precipitation (In)

HUNTSVILLE 5.52 4.95 6.68 4.54 5.24 4.22 4.40 3.32 4.29 3.54 5.22 5.59


Huntsville Precipitation Climate

Huntsville Mean Monthly Precipitation

• Mean Annual Precipitation = 57.51 in (1971-2000)


1-22

0

1

2

3

4

5

Precipitation (In)

CHICAGO 1.75 1.63 2.65 3.68 3.38 3.63 3.51 4.62 3.27 2.71 3.01 2.43

PHILADELPHIA 3.52 2.74 3.81 3.49 3.88 3.29 4.39 3.82 3.88 2.75 3.16 3.31

SALT LAKE CITY 1.37 1.33 1.91 2.02 2.09 0.77 0.72 0.76 1.33 1.57 1.4 1.23


Philadelphia Vs Chicago Precipitation

Mean Monthly Average Precipitation

• Chicago Mean Annual Accumulated Precipitation = 36.27 in (1971-2000)

• Philadelphia Mean Annual Accumulated Precipitation = 42.05 in (1971-2000)

• Salt Lake City Mean Annual Accumulated Precipitation = 16.5 in (1971-2000)


1-23

Philadelphia Vs Chicago Humidity

Mean Monthly Average Relative Humidity

• Huntsville Mean Annual Relative Humidity (1971-2000)

- Morning = 85%; Afternoon = 62%

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Relative Humidity (%)

Morning 82 81 80 82 87 88 90 91 90 87 84 82

Afternoon 67 63 59 56 59 60 64 62 62 58 62 66



1-24

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Afternoon RH (%)

CHICAGO 70 67 63 57 56 58 59 60 60 58 66 71

PHILADELPHIA 60 55 53 50 53 53 54 54 56 54 56 59

SALT LAKE CITY 69 60 46 39 34 27 22 24 30 41 59 71


Philadelphia Vs Chicago Humidity

Mean Monthly Average Relative Humidity

• Chicago Mean Annual Relative Humidity; Morning = 80%; Afternoon = 62%

• Philadelphia Mean Annual Relative Humidity; Morning = 76%; Afternoon = 55%

• Salt Lake City Mean Annual Relative Humidity; Morning = 67%; Afternoon = 42%


1-25

Climate

Climate is

• Dynamic, changing, non-stationary

• Physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, meteorology, oceanography, etc.

• Multidisciplinary

• Complex and non-linear with complicated feedbacks


1-26

The Earth’s Climate System

What do we mean by the “Earth’s climate system”?

Is this a picture of the climate system?

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/BlueMarble/Images/land_shallow_topo_2048.jpg


1-27


Blue Marble Image

• Much of the information contained in this image is derived from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODISthat is flying over 700 km above the Earth onboard the Terra satellite

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/BlueMarble/BlueMarble_2002.html

QuickTime™ and aYUV420 codec decompressor

are needed to see this picture.


1-28


Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Hurricanes

• Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) Aqua satellite SST image; GOES cloud data

• Three-day average of SSTs for Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean 6/8/05-8/29/05

• Warm (orange & red) ocean waters fuel hurricanes- Areas in yellow, orange

or red represents 27.8°C (82°F) or above

• Hurricane Dennis path

Arlene (Jun 8-13) / Bret (Jun 28-29) / Cindy (Jul 3-7) / Dennis (Jul 4-12) / Emily (Jul 11-21)Franklin (Jul 21-29) / Gert (Jul 23-25) / Harvey (Aug 3-8) / Irene (Aug 7-18) / Jose (Aug 22-23)Katrina (Aug 23-30) / Lee (Aug 31-Sep 1) / Maria (Sep 2-10) / Nate (Sep 5-10) / Ophelia (Sep 7-18)Phillipe (Sep 17-23) / Rita (Sep 18-24) / Stan (Oct 2-5) / Tammy (Oct 5-6 ) / Vince (Oct 9-11 ) Wilma (Oct 17-25) / Alpha (Oct 22-24) / Beta (Oct 27-30) / Gamma (Nov 18-20) / Delta (Nov 23-28)Epsilon (Nov 29-Dec 8th) / Zeta (Dec 30 2005-Jan 6 2006)

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (LZW) decompressor


http://learners.gsfc.nasa.gov/mediaviewer/HurricanesWithJeff/Segment3/


1-29


Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Hurricanes

• Note cooling after passage

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (LZW) decompressor




1-30


Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Hurricanes (Con’t)


QuickTime™ and a decompressor


climate and global change notes 1-1 earth system science climate and global change lecture:three...

Documents

listening level

climate change

climate system

characteristics of level

passive listening

global change notes

global change lecture

air pollution