Question of the Unit- Climate
Posted by drakesci | Under Question of The Week Tuesday Feb 16, 2010Respond to the question below . Read the posts that have been written before you and try to add something new. If this is not possible, tell if you agree or disagree with the opinions posted before you. Your post will be counted as a HW grade.
100- Add some new knowledge to the post, agee or disagree with a reason
90- Add new knowledge, agree or disagree with no reasons
80- Add new knowledge OR agree/disagree with one reason
70- Agree or disagree with an unrelated reason.
60—–you need to review the climate material and try again!
List a specific evidence that supports idea of global warming.( You should do some additional online research about the effects of global warming….hint…..look for evidence of climate change in a particular location that is related to warming of Earth).
A specific evidence that supports the idea of global warming is the rising sea level. Sea level rise is caused by melting ice and glaciers. Huge bodies of ice cover almost 10% of Earth’s surface.
Scientists studied how much the sea level has risen in 50 year chunks to see if the speed is increasing. From 1900 to 1950 the average sea level rose only 50 meters. It began to rise faster from 1950 to 2000. From 2000 to 2010, the average sea level rise is 25 meters. This is faster than normal because it has risen 25 meters in only 10 years, while the sea level rise was 50 meters for 50 years before (1900-1950).
From 1900-1950, it averaged a one meter rise in one year. From 2000 to 2010, it averaged a 2.5 meter rise in one year.
Scientists have also found out that global warming could cause the sea level along the coast of the northeastern United States to rise two times as fast in the next century compared to in the past century. This could cause New York City to have damage from hurricanes and winter storm surges. The melting of the Greenland ice sheet would cause this rise in sea level near NYC.
If this continues to happen, the sea level could rise 10.2 inches from the ice sheet melting alone. It would be a threat to NYC because NYC is less than 16 feet above average sea level and some parts of Manhatten are only five feet above. If the sea level were to rise 10.2 inches, then NYC could have major flooding in some parts.
All of this shows some of the effects global warming has and can have on the environment.
Also to support what Morgan said above about evidence og global warming, as glaciers, ice masses, and ice caps melt, the sea level rises and this affests many thing. There is a domino-like occurrence that takes place when the ice melts and the water level rises. When there is, excess water, the rivers change their course, lake and sea levels rise affecting the migration and growth of plants and animals for example the endangered polar bear population. As the temperature of the artic increases, the ice melts making it hard for the polar bears and the animals they feed on to live. Since the ice in the Artic Ocean has started to melt, polar bears can no longer hunt for seal and other food that live on and under the ice. Some studies(http://www.artic.noaa.gov/essayschliebe.html) show that 1 million kilometers of ice per year has been lost in the past 30 years and that the ice thickness has been reduced by 40 percent. One extreme study states that polar ice may be non-existant within 50 years!
Global warming is also causing changes to the earth’s surface. The increased water level from glacial melt causes new water bodies to form such as lakes and rivers. Another example, which is a noticeable sign, is to loo at the earth’s crust and see if it has started to sag or warp because of the great amount of weight (from the glacier) that is ontop of it. Very notable examples of crust sagging are in parts of China. Very notable examples od crustal warping are in regions of Maine, and throught Eastern Asia. Human health and existence will also be affected if global warming continues. A study conducted by NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/global_warming_worldbook.html) indicates that diseases such as malaria and dengue could spread to larger areas. the increased number of predicted floods and droughts will affect the food supply and this could lead to hunger and malnutrition.
I was haing some trouble, but my post finally worked at 12:59 0n April 5th, I tried twice before though and they are still on my computer. On top of them written in italics is YOUR CLIMATE IS AWAITING IN MODERATION. I tried to post these on March 29th at 8:23 pm and April 5th at 12:05 pm. The same thing was written all three times.