Vivid description about climate change A NASA database based presentation. Geoengineering, solar , Mitigation and Adaption a social cause , vital signs of planet brief intoduction www.climate.nasa.gov

1. 1
Deptt. Of Mechanical Engineering

2. What is A Social Issue?
• A social issue is a problem that influences a considerable number of the individuals within
a society.
• It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control, and is the
source of a conflicting opinion on the grounds of what is perceived as a morally just
personal life or societal order.
• The term social order refers to a particular set or system of
linked socialstructures, institutions, relations, customs, values and practices, which
conserve, maintain and enforce certain patterns of relating and behaving

3. What is Climate Change?
 Climate change is a change in the usual weather found in a place. This could be a change in how much rain a
place usually gets in a year. Or it could be a change in a place's usual temperature for a month or season.
 Climate change is also a change in Earth's climate. This could be a change in Earth's usual temperature. Or it
could be a change in where rain and snow usually fall on Earth.
 Weather can change in just a few hours. Climate takes hundreds or even millions of years to change.
How Is It Different From Weather?
 Some people say “weather is what you get” and “climate is what you expect.”
 “Weather” refers to the more local changes in the climate we see around us, on short timescales from minutes
to hours to days to weeks. Examples are familiar – rain, snow, clouds, winds, thunderstorms.
 “Climate” refers to longer-term averages (they may be regional or global), and can be thought of as the weather
averaged over several seasons, years or decades. Climate change is harder for us to get a sense of because the
timescales involved are much longer, and the impact of climate changes can be less immediate.

4. Evidence Of Climate Change

5.  Global temperature rise :
The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th
century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere. Most of
the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with 16 of the 17 warmest years on record occurring since 2001. Not only was
2016 the warmest year on record, but eight of the 12 months that make up the year — from January through September,
with the exception of June — were the warmest on record for those respective months.
 Warming oceans :
The oceans have absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 700 meters (about 2,300 feet) of ocean showing
warming of 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969.
 Shrinking ice sheets :
The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass & shows Greenland lost 150 to 250 cubic kilometers (36 to
60 cubic miles) of ice per year between 2002 and 2006, while Antarctica lost about 152 cubic kilometers (36 cubic miles) of
ice between 2002 and 2005.
 Declining Arctic sea ice :
Both the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades.

6.  Glacial retreat :
Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world — including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes,
Rockies, Alaska and Africa.
 Decreased snow cover :
Satellite observations reveal that the amount of spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased
over the past five decades and that the snow is melting earlier.
 Sea level rise :
Satellite observations reveal that the amount of spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased
over the past five decades and that the snow is melting earlier.
 Ocean acidification :
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30
percent. This increase is the result of humans emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and hence
more being absorbed into the oceans.

7. The Causes !
 Most climate scientists agree the main cause of the
current global warming trend is human expansion of
the "greenhouse effect"— warming that results when
the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth
toward space.
 Certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from
escaping. Long-lived gases that remain semi-
permanently in the atmosphere and do not respond
physically or chemically to changes in temperature
are described as "forcing" climate change. Gases,
such as water vapor, which respond physically or
chemically to changes in temperature are seen as
"feedbacks."

8. Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:
Water vapour. The most abundant greenhouse gas, but importantly, it acts
as a feedback to the climate. Water vapour increases as the Earth's
atmosphere warms, but so does the possibility of clouds and precipitation,
making these some of the most important feedback mechanisms to the
greenhouse effect.
Carbon dioxide (CO2). A minor but very important component of the
atmosphere. This is the most important long-lived "forcing" of climate
change.
Methane. A hydrocarbon gas produced both through natural sources and
human. Methane is a far more active greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide,
but also one which is much less abundant in the atmosphere.
Nitrous oxide. A powerful greenhouse gas produced by soil cultivation
practices, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel
combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Synthetic compounds entirely of industrial
origin used in a number of applications, but now largely regulated in
production and release to the atmosphere by international agreement for
their ability to contribute to destruction of the ozone layer

9.  The role of human activity :
The industrial activities that our modern civilization depends upon have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels from
280 parts per million to 400 parts per million in the last 150 years. The panel also concluded there's a better than 95
percent probability that human-produced greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have
caused much of the observed increase in Earth's temperatures over the past 50 years.
 Solar irradiance :
It's reasonable to assume that changes in the sun's energy output would cause the climate to change, since the sun is the
fundamental source of energy that drives our climate system.
Indeed, studies show that solar variability has played a role in past climate changes. For example, a decrease in solar
activity is thought to have triggered the Little Ice Age between approximately 1650 and 1850, when Greenland was
largely cut off by ice from 1410 to the 1720s and glaciers advanced in the Alps.

10. The consequences of Climate Change
“Taken as a whole, the range of published evidence indicates that the net damage costs of climate change are likely to
be significant and to increase over time.”
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
 Frost-free season (and growing season)
will lengthen.
 Changes in precipitation patterns.
 More droughts and heat waves.
 Hurricanes will become stronger and
more intense.
 Sea level will rise 1-4 feet by 2100.
 Arctic likely to become ice-free.
.

11. Scientific consensus: Earth's climate is warming
Following Agencies Deals With Climate ~
 Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change, INDIA
 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
 The Geological Society of America
 American Association for the Advancement of
Science

12. Vital Signs !!!
Carbon Dioxide Measurement Artic Sea Measurement

13. Vital Signs !!!
Global Temperature Measurement Ice Sheet Measurement

14. Responding to Climate Change
“Climate change does not respect border; it does not respect who you are - rich and poor, small and
big. Therefore, this is what we call 'global challenges, which require global solidarity.”
Because we are already committed to some
level of climate change, responding to
climate change involves a two-pronged
approach:
1.Mitigation & Adaptation.
2.Energy Innovations-like biofuels , electric
airplanes, solar energy.

15. Mitigation and adaptation
 Mitigation – reducing climate change – involves reducing the
flow of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,
either by reducing sources of these gases (for example, the
burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat or transport) or
enhancing the “sinks” that accumulate and store these
gases (such as the oceans, forests and soil). The goal of
mitigation is to avoid significant human interference with the
climate system, and “stabilize greenhouse gas levels in a
timeframe.
 Adaptation – adapting to life in a changing climate – involves
adjusting to actual or expected future climate. The goal is to
reduce our vulnerability to the harmful effects of climate
change (like sea-level encroachment, more intense extreme
weather events or food insecurity). It also encompasses
making the most of any potential beneficial opportunities
associated with climate change (for example, longer growing
seasons or increased yields in some regions).

16. Hacking the planet- GeoEngineering
 What is geoengineering?
Geoengineering is an attempt to avoid or reduce the negative consequences of climate change by directly altering parts of the
Earth’s natural system. It’s different from “mitigation” efforts, where people try to reduce emissions of [heat-trapping]
greenhouse gases, or preserve natural carbon-dioxide storage or removal mechanisms like forests. It’s also distinct from
“adaptation,” which involves dealing with the impacts of climate change. There are two main methods:
“Solar radiation management (SRM)”reflects a small amount of the sun’s light and heat back into space. Works relatively
quickly. E.g. pumping sulfate aerosols into the stratosphere.
“Carbon dioxide removal (CDR)”removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Works slowly. E.g. combining large-scale bio-
energy production with carbon capture and storage technology.
 What are some examples of geoengineering?
The first involves reducing the amount of the sun’s energy reaching the surface of the planet. This could be done by injecting
sulfate particles into the upper atmosphere – essentially mimicking a large volcanic eruption and the cooling that follows. Or
injecting sea salt into the lower atmosphere to seed or brighten clouds so that they reflect incoming sunlight away from the
planet. Another option might be to increase the reflectivity of large areas of the Earth’s surface by changing the mix of plants
and vegetation.

17. Sources :
• IPCC Fifth Assessment Report
• National Research Council (NRC)
• National Snow and Ice Data Center
• Copenhagen Diagnosis, p. 36.
• Climate-nasa-gov
Thank You 