why study global warming? stories/s412.htm
TRANSCRIPT
Photograph by Peter Essick
• Species distributions are changing
• Some animals are moving toward the poles
• Some are moving up mountains
• Many are losing habitat, migration routes
As Habitats Change
Plants and Disease
• Agricultural crops may be affected as local weather and seasons change
• Insect population explosions
• Invasive species• Disease distributions:
malaria, cholera, etc
http://www.mindfully.org/Air/Global-Warming-Health20aug00b.GIF
www.uaf.edu/.../2004/ ninilchik-beetles.html
Increased severe weather: droughts, floods, hurricanes
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0409/feature3/zoom5.html
“More than a hundred million people worldwide live within three feet of mean sea level.” ~National Geographic fact
http://www.ourbangla.com/bangladesh/pg/flood/FLOOD_JESSORE_17_8AP_JWH_s0.jpg
Causes: Greenhouse gases
• Burning fossil fuels
• Forest fires
• Volcanoes
• Deforestation
www.ctv.ca/.../ 1038431872899_41?s_name=&no_ads=
www.unexplainable.net/.../ article_581.shtml
•Collapsing ground from melting permafrost
http://climchange.cr.usgs.gov/info/assessment/tok.jpeg
•Melting sea ice
http://www.phenology.org.uk/standard/home/why/images/polalbearsicemelt.jpg
http://www.ciel.org/Pictures/ice_arch.jpg
REDUCE COREDUCE CO22 Emissions! Emissions!
• Clean Electricity / Clean Electricity / Alternative EnergyAlternative Energy
• Smart Transportation Smart Transportation and Land Useand Land Use
• Healthy Farms and Healthy Farms and ForestsForests
• Promote Conservation / Promote Conservation / RestorationRestoration
• Make Greener ChoicesMake Greener Choices
So how do ecosystems respond to elevated CO2?
• Study site: Cheyenne, WY
• Treatments:– Elevated CO2
– Heating– Changing rainfall
patterns
• CO2 sink or source?
CO2 uptake and respiration
500
510
520
530
540
550
560
570
580
590
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Time (seconds)
CO2 (ppm)
What is happening belowground?
Pulse 1 Ecosystem respiration
Day of Pulse-2 0 2 4 6 8
Ecosystem respiration (umol/m^2/s)0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16A1E1C1
NEE Pulse 1
Day of Pulse-2 0 2 4 6 8Net Ecosystem Exchange (umol/m^2/s)
-0.6
-0.5
-0.4
-0.3
-0.2
-0.1
0.0
0.1
0.2
A2 E2 C2
NEE Pulse 2
Day of Pulse-2 0 2 4 6 8Net Ecosystem Exchange (umol/m^2/s)
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0.0
0.2
A2 E2 C2
CO2 fluxes…. Responses to rainfall