16
CHAPTER

• A natural process in
which greenhouse
gases absorb heat
and release it slowly
back into the
atmosphere
• Greenhouse gases
absorb heat and
release it slowly, while
an actual greenhouse
traps warm air inside
a structure.

Without greenhouse gases, Earth would be too cold to support life.

•H2O vapor
•Carbon dioxide CO2
•Ozone O3
•Nitrous Oxide N2O
•Methane CH4
•Fluorinated gases HFC’s

• Latitude is a measure of
a place’s distance from
the equator.
• The greater the latitude,
the cooler a location’s
overall climate will be.
• Sun’s radiation strikes
regions at Earth at
different angles (causing
different temps) and 3
regions (tropical,
temperate and polar)

• Earth's tilted axis causes the seasons.
Throughout the year, different parts of Earth receive the Sun's
most direct rays.
North Pole tilts toward the Sun = summer in the N. Hemisphere.
South Pole tilts toward the Sun = winter in the N. Hemisphere

• Caused by convection currents
resulting from rising warm
air and falling cool air
• Transports moisture
and heat
• Global wind patterns
move warm air away
from equator, toward
poles.
• Cold air moves from
poles toward equator.
• Winds pick up moisture and
can carry it for long distances
until it falls as precipitation.

• Ocean currents, which are caused by a combination of
unequal heating of water and unequal salinity, affect climate
by transporting heat.
• The ocean absorbs a lot of carbon dioxide, causing a global cooling
effect. The ocean can hold 50 times more CO2 than is found in the
atmosphere.

The Oceans and Climate
• Warmer, less saltier water
moves along the surface of the
ocean and colder, saltier water
moves deep beneath the
ocean’s surface.
• Cooler saltier water sinks at
the poles and warmer less
saltier water from the equator
moves to take the place of the
cooler water.

The Oceans and Climate
• Normally prevailing winds blow from east to west along the
equator (the winds move warm water westward)
• El Niño equatorial winds weaken, surface water becomes
warmer. It causes rainstorms/floods in areas that are usually
dry.

The Oceans and Climate
• Temperatures in the Pacific ocean are colder than average.
• Causing colder and wetter weather in the Midwest

Other Factors That Affect Climate

Other Factors That Affect Climate

Other Factors That Affect Climate

Lesson 16.2 Climate Change
According to NASA’s Goddard Institute
for Space Studies, 2009 tied for second
warmest year on record, just behind
2005. The decade spanning 2000–2009
was the warmest on record.

A world in which warming reaches 4°C above preindustrial
levels, would be one of unprecedented heat waves,
severe drought, and major floods in many regions, with
serious impacts on human systems, and ecosystems

1. Rising global surface temperatures

Evidence of a Warming Earth
2. Changes in precipitation patterns

Evidence of a Warming Earth
3. Melting ice (glaciers, polar ice) Did You Know? Since 1986, the
Larsen Ice Shelf near Antarctica
has lost an area more than
3 times the size of Rhode Island.
Both photos show Sperry Glacier in Montana’s Glacier National Park. Top: 1913 Bottom: 2008

Evidence of a Warming Earth
4. Rising sea levels
Global mean sea level
has risen about 8–9
inches (21–24
centimeters) since
1880, with about a
third of that coming in
just the last two and a
half decades. The
rising water level is
mostly due to a
combination of melt
water from glaciers
and ice sheets and
thermal expansion of
seawater as it warms.

• Direct measurement is used to study today’s climate.

Studying Climate Change
Cross-section of a tree trunk
• Proxy indicators, such as patterns in ice cores, tree rings,
give clues about past climates.

Studying Climate Change
• Models are used to make predictions about future climates.

• According to studies,
increases in greenhouse
gases are the primary
cause of climate change.

Finding the Cause of Climate Change
• The increase in greenhouse gases is mainly due to burning of
fossil fuels and changes in land use.

The 2015 Paris Agreement
commits countries to limit
the global average
temperature rise to well
below 2°C above pre-
industrial levels, and to aim
for 1.5°C.
Scientists have said
crossing the 1.5°C
threshold risks unleashing
far more severe climate
change effects on people,
wildlife and ecosystems.
Finding the Cause of Climate Change

Lesson 16.3 Effects of Climate Change
In 2003, a severe
heat wave in
Europe killed
35,000 people.

• Shifting Habitats - usually toward the poles or to higher
altitudes.
Californian lilacs are growing
higher on mountainsides than
once they did

Effects on Organisms
• Migrations start earlier in the spring.
Did You Know? Robins arrive on a
Colorado mountaintop about 2 weeks
earlier than they did in 1970.
Migrating sandhill cranes

Effects on Organisms
• Loss of ice makes hunting seals difficult for polar bears.

1. An increase in ocean temperature is associated with a
process called coral bleaching, in which algae living within
corals die. Without the algae, coral cannot survive.

Effects of a Changing Ocean
2. Changes in ocean acidity, resulting from an increase
in dissolved carbon dioxide, can harm organisms causing
organisms' shells and skeletons made from calcium
carbonate to dissolve. Examples of sea life that are being
directly affected are oysters, clams, sea urchins, corals, and
certain species of plankton.

1. Agriculture and Forestry: Effects are complex.
• Can be positive: Lengthened growing season for some crops
• Can be negative: Droughts and forest fires

2. Economy: Decreased yields; increased property
damage due to severe storms and climate conditions
Current Effects of Global Climate Change

3. Human health: Extreme heat waves increasingly
common, can cause heat stroke and death
Current Effects of Global Climate Change

1. Diseases: Warmer temperatures can promote spread of
diseases transmitted from animals to people.
Black-legged ticks, known
to spread Lyme disease

Future Effects of Climate Change
2. Sea level: Low-lying populated coastal areas may flood as
sea levels rise.
Did You Know? In the United
States, 53% of the population
lives in coastal areas.

Future Effects of Climate Change
3. Saltwater Intrusion - contamination of aquifers resulting
from rising sea levels and a decrease in glacial ice may
threaten freshwater supplies.

Future Effects of Climate Change
4. Freshwater depletion - a decrease in glacial ice may
threaten freshwater supplies.