1. Global Climate Change
Nature
Sunday Academy

2. What is Global Climate Change?
Change in Earth’s climate that lasts for an extended period of time (decades, centuries, millennia )
Due to natural processes and human activities that change the atmosphere
When due to natural processes, it is usually referred to as global climate variability

3. Climate vs. Weather Climate Weather
Average weather conditions over an extended period of time like 30 years
Ex. January is the coldest month in ND with avg temps from 2-17oF
Weather
Day-to-day conditions of a particular place
Temp, precipitation, wind
Ex. It was snowing yesterday but today is sunny.

4. Climate Variability

5. Activity One:
Graphing Temperature

6. Graphing Temperature Change

7. What causes Earth’s climate to change?
Changes in the atmosphere
Natural processes
Volcanoes
Tectonic plate movement
Changes in the sun
Human activities – any activity that releases “greenhouse gases” into the atmosphere

8. Earth’s Atmosphere
Earth’s atmosphere is a very thin layer that wraps the planet
Made of gases: 78%N, 21% O, 0.93%Ar, and trace amounts of Ne, He, H2, CO2, CH4
Acts like a blanket to prevent heat from escaping back into space
Greenhouse Effect

9. Without the greenhouse effect earth would be 59F colder

10. What are greenhouse gases?
Gases that have a capacity to absorb and emit heat
Can you name some greenhouse gases?
CO2, CH4, H2O, O3, NOx

11. Activity 1-Graphing CO2, CH4, and CO
Using Excel, you will be making a graph of the levels of these three gases.
Do you think there is a correlation between any of these gases and the change in temperature?
Write a hypothesis for the relationship between each of these gases and temperature.

12. Graph of Some Atmospheric Gases

13. Myth Busters on Gases and their effect on temperature
Myth Busters on Greenhouse gases

14. Where does it come from and where does it go?
Activity 2
Carbon dioxide
Sinks and sources
Where does it come from and where does it go?

15. CO2 Source vs. Sink
Source is a process or activity that releases Carbon dioxide into the environment.
A sink is a reservoir that takes up a carbon dioxide from another part of its natural cycle. 

16. Human-Produced Greenhouse Gas Levels

19. Activity Three: Ice Cores

20. Review What are the sources of CO2?
Combustion, respiration, and decomposition
What are the sinks for CO2?
The ocean and other large bodies of water and photosynthesis

21. What Next? We know some of the sources of CO2. Which are natural?
Which ones are man made?
How can we reduce our carbon footprint?