WWF: Climate change Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is the most significant of the gases in our atmosphere which keep the Earth warm. 4 billion years ago its concentration in the atmosphere was much higher than today - 80% compared to today's 0.03%. But most of it was removed through photosynthesis over time. All this carbon dioxide became locked in organisms and then minerals such as oil, coal and petroleum inside the Earth's crust. A natural carbon dioxide cycle keeps the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere in balance. The amount of naturally produced CO2 is almost perfectly balanced by the amount naturally removed.
WWF: Climate Change | Threats Shop to Support WWF Shop at AmazonSmile to support our global conservation efforts every time you buy. It’s the same Amazon.com you know—same products, same prices—and 0.5% of each purchase price is donated back to WWF. What is climate change? Media playback is unsupported on your device BBC News looks at what we know and don't know about the Earth's changing climate. What is climate change? The planet's climate has constantly been changing over geological time. The global average temperature today is about 15C, though geological evidence suggests it has been much higher and lower in the past. However, the current period of warming is occurring more rapidly than many past events. What is the "greenhouse effect"? The greenhouse effect refers to the way the Earth's atmosphere traps some of the energy from the Sun. The energy that radiates back down to the planet heats both the lower atmosphere and the surface. Scientists believe we are adding to the natural greenhouse effect with gases released from industry and agriculture (known as emissions), trapping more energy and increasing the temperature. Most man-made emissions of CO2 are through the burning of fossil fuels, as well as through cutting down carbon-absorbing forests.
Clean Air Kids: Greenhouse Effect & Global Warming The Earth is wrapped in a blanket of air called the 'atmosphere', which is made up of several layers of gases. The sun is much hotter than the Earth and it gives off rays of heat (radiation) that travel through the atmosphere and reach the Earth. The rays of the sun warm the Earth, and heat from the Earth then travels back into the atmosphere. The gases in the atmosphere stop some of the heat from escaping into space. These gases are called greenhouse gases and the natural process between the sun, the atmosphere and the Earth is called the 'Greenhouse Effect', because it works the same way as a greenhouse. The atmosphere has a number of gases, often in tiny amounts, which trap the heat given out by the Earth. To make sure that the Earth's temperature remains constant, the balance of these gases in the atmosphere must not be upset. Some of the activities of man also produce greenhouse gases. Burning fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas - releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Is Global Warming Unstoppable? - University of Utah News Release: November 22nd, 2009 Is Global Warming Unstoppable? Theory Also Says Energy Conservation Doesn't Help Nov. 22, 2009 - In a provocative new study, a University of Utah scientist argues that rising carbon dioxide emissions - the major cause of global warming - cannot be stabilized unless the world's economy collapses or society builds the equivalent of one new nuclear power plant each day. "It looks unlikely that there will be any substantial near-term departure from recently observed acceleration in carbon dioxide emission rates," says the new paper by Tim Garrett, an associate professor of atmospheric sciences. Garrett's study was panned by some economists and rejected by several journals before acceptance by Climatic Change, a journal edited by renowned Stanford University climate scientist Stephen Schneider. The study will be published online this week. The study - which is based on the concept that physics can be used to characterize the evolution of civilization - indicates: "No," he says.
The coming climate panic? One morning in the not too distant future, you might wake up and walk to your mailbox. The newspaper is in there and it’s covered with shocking headlines: Coal Plants Shut Down! Airline Travel Down 50 Percent! New Federal Carbon Restrictions in Place! Governor Kicked Out of Office for Climate Indolence! Sometimes change is abrupt and unsettling. Shaking your head, you think: What just happened? With a non-binding agreement coming out of Copenhagen at the same time that atmospheric CO2 creeps above 390 parts per million, it’s possible that a new feeling might soon gain prevalence in the hearts of people who understand climate science. In the same way that paleoclimate records show evidence of abrupt climate changes, we think it’s increasingly possible that policy responses to climate change will themselves be abrupt. The backlash is brewing in the form of increasingly strident comments from respected and influential people. That’s a big problem.
Water Ecosystems – Saltwater | Wild Tracks The saltwater, or marine ecosystem has a large salt composition compared to freshwater, and covers nearly half of the earth. This biome is divided into oceans, coral reefs and estuaries. The marine biome supports more life forms than all other world habitats combined. Oceans are huge bodies of saltwater divided into four zones containing a rich diversity of species: The intertidal zone is the area where the ocean gathers at land. The pelagic zone is the water area further out from land and is often cold. The benthic zone is below the pelagic zone consisting of sand, silt and dead organisms at the bottom part where the temperatures decrease and where seaweed, bacteria, fungi, sponges, sea anemones, worms, sea stars and fishes are common. The very bottom of the ocean is known as the abyssal zone and is very cold, is highly pressured, and is high in oxygen content but low in nutritional content. Coral reefs are found in warm shallow waters and act as natural barriers along continents.
Oceanic climate World map showing oceanic climate zones, as defined by the Köppen climate types "Cfb", "Cfc", "Cwb" and "Cwc". Under the Köppen climate classification, the typical zone associated with the Oceanic climate is Cfb, although it includes subtropical highland zones not usually associated with marine climates. Often, parts of the Csb Mediterranean or Dry-Summer subtropical zones are not associated with a typical Mediterranean climate, and would be classified as Temperate Oceanic (Cfb), except dry-summer patterns meet Koeppen's minimum Cs thresholds. Properties[edit] Climates near the ocean generally have warm (but not hot) summers, and cool (but not cold) winters. Oceanic climates can have much storm activity as they are located in the belt of the stormy westerlies. Precipitation[edit] Seattle, a city with an oceanic climate In most areas with an oceanic climate, for the majority of the year precipitation comes in the form of rain. Temperature[edit] Locations[edit] Varieties[edit]
Sea Level | Climate Change Key Points After a period of approximately 2,000 years of little change (not shown here), global average sea level rose throughout the 20th century, and the rate of change has accelerated in recent years. 1 When averaged over all the world's oceans, absolute sea level increased at an average rate of 0.07 inches per year from 1880 to 2011 (see Figure 1). From 1993 to 2011, however, average sea level rose at a rate of 0.11 to 0.13 inches per year—roughly twice as fast as the long-term trend. Background As the temperature of the Earth changes, so does sea level. Changes in the volume of water and ice on land (namely glaciers and ice sheets) can increase or decrease the volume of water in the ocean (see the Glaciers indicator). Changing sea levels can affect human activities in coastal areas. The sea level changes that affect coastal systems involve more than just expanding oceans, however, because the Earth's continents can also rise and fall relative to the oceans. About the Indicator
Climate change is a global problem - and one we can all help tackle Last updated 05:00, March 31 2018 Caption Settings Dialog Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Video will play in 5 secondsPlay Now! Stop Climate change professor Tim Benton, from the University of Leeds in England, speaking from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in Christchurch on Monday. Some of the world's brightest minds have been in Christchurch this week to tackle the most pressing question of our generation – climate change. Climate change is perhaps the most important issue of our age, a peril that threatens the entire planet and one that will likely define the next 100 years or so in the same way the world wars, nuclear crisis and international terrorism did the last. The present occupant of the White House aside, there are few who choose to wilfully ignore the danger signs or blinker themselves from the abundance of evidence around them.
Are Coral Reefs Adapting to Moderate Climate Change? A recent modeling study shows that widespread bleaching events, like this one in Thailand in 2010, will become more common in the future. However, the study also found signs that corals may be adapting to warming—the question is if it can be fast enough to keep up with the rate humans are burning fossil fuels. Coral reefs may be able to adapt to moderate climate warming and improve their chance of surviving through the end of this century, if there are large reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. This finding along with data to suggest that corals have already adapted to part of the warming that has occurred so far is part of a study funded by NOAA. Warm water can contribute to a potentially fatal process known as coral bleaching, in which reef-building corals eject the algae living inside their tissues. This study explored a range of possible coral adaptive responses to warming temperatures previously identified by the scientific community.