1. Section 16.2- Climate Change
According to NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 2009 tied for second warmest year on record, just behind The decade spanning 2000–2009 was the warmest on record. 1

2. Global Warming
Greenhouse effect- natural phenomenon of the earth’s atmosphere to act like a greenhouse.
Good Thing= why we are not a frozen planet
Greenhouse Gases (water vapor, CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, and CFCs) absorb the heat from sunlight and radiate it back toward the lower atmosphere.

3. Greenhouse Gases

4. Organisms (especially plants) need the effects of this warming.
Problem = too much of a good thing  too much heat is being absorbed by the atmosphere, causing severe weather pattern changes

5. The Role of CO2
As the level of CO2 increases, temperature is shown to increase
Humans directly add a large amount of CO2 into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels

6. Evidence of a Warming Earth
Rising global surface temperatures
Changes in precipitation patterns
Melting ice (glaciers, polar ice)
Rising sea level
Both photos show Sperry Glacier in Montana’s Glacier National Park.
Top: 1913
Bottom: 2008 6

7. Consequences
The earth is increasing its Global Temperature (+0.6 °C = 2 °F) since 1880.
Melting of the ice caps
Migrating animals change habits
Crops die due to drought

8. More storms- storms are more intense
People die because it’s too hot lack of water
Changing climates Difficult for plants to adapt
Warmer oceans
Rising sea levels
Increased ocean acidity

9. Studying Climate Change
Direct measurement is used to study today’s climate.
Proxy indicators, such as patterns in tree rings, give clues about past climates.
Models are used to make predictions about future climates.
Cross-section of a tree trunk 9